My gut churns. “How long were you seeing him?” I force the words out between clenched teeth.
No matter the answer, she was too young. A year ago, Sierra would have been seventeen. Too fucking young for a forty-year-old man.
Her eyes turn sad. “It would have been nine years this past February.”
“Fuck,” I hiss. She was nine years old when it started. His wife, Eloise, was still alive then, but she suffered severe depression and had a toddler to care for, so her mind was occupied with other things. It probably never crossed her mind that her husband was busy abusing a nine-year-old while she was home with their daughter.
The shadow shifts behind her back, getting closer. My eyes move to the gun. She’s lowered it a couple of inches, but it’s still pointed at Maisy. I slide my gaze to Ellie, who’s trembling in her seat, tears tracking down her cheeks and fear darkening her face.
“How did your parents not know about this?” I ask, keeping her focus on me. “Why didn’t you ever tell them?”
She licks her lips and pain lances her face. “I wanted to at first, but Gary said they’d never believe me. He was friends with them, and he said they’d know I was lying, and I’d get into trouble. I was scared in the beginning, but after a while, the things he did to me felt good. I never wanted him to stop. He always said he loved me once he was finished and swore once I turned eighteen we wouldn’t have to hide anymore.”
“And that’s why you shot Brittney?”
“Yes,” she growls, her face contorting angrily. “That stupid bitch had to tattle to her teacher.”
“What about Earl? Why shoot him?”
She bares her teeth. “That old nosy bastard caught me getting rid of the gun in the dumpster behind The Hill. When he turned away to call JW, I knew I had to stop him. I couldn’t shoot him because it would make too much noise, so I grabbed a broken bottle and jammed it into his fucking neck. He didn’t know what hit him until it was too late.”
I grit my teeth at the carelessness way she talks about the old man who’s been a part of Malus since the beginning.
“And Trouble? Why try to kill him?”
“Because he’s the one who confirmed Brittney’s allegations and took Gary away from me.”
I ball my hands into fists and press them against my sides. It’s the only way to keep from strangling the crazy woman. A small part of me feels pity for what happened to her at Gary’s hands, but a bigger part sees the person holding a gun on my child, threatening her life. The same women who shot another child, intending to kill her.
Life is full of choices, and we all have to choose what path to take. The right one or the wrong one. We choose our own fate. Circumstances can persuade us down the wrong path, but only if we let them. We choose where we want our life to take us. If a situation leads us one way, then we let it. The decision isn’t made for us.
Sierra chose the wrong path. She chose one of destruction and inflicting pain on others. She made that choice, and in doing so, sealed her fate.
I look back at my daughter, my heart breaking at the utter panic and terror on her face. I look to Ellie next and silently tell her with my eyes that I love her and that everything is going to be okay.
When I pull my eyes back to Sierra, I let my hatred shine through for a split second before wiping my face clean of all emotion.
I look at her and make my choice. There’s no Goddamn way in hell I’ll let this woman take away the two most important people in my life.
I take a deep breath and steady my heart rate. “Sierra, I want you to listen to me.” Her head cocks to the side, and even though the gun never wavers, I know I’ve got her attention. JW appears behind her, only a couple of feet away. I’ve got to find a way to get the gun pointed away from Maisy before he makes his move. “What Gary did to you was wrong. A child should never be touched in that way. You know the history of Malus when it was Sweet Haven, and you know the way things are now. You know what we do to people who harm others that way. Gary knew this too, but he still chose to hurt his children. He made that choice, knowing the consequences.”
“You’re wrong!” she yells, spit flying from her mouth and her lips pulling back into a snarl. She levels the gun back on me, exactly as I hoped. “Gary loved me! He loved me so much that he said he couldn’t stand to be around me without touching me. He’d sneak in my bedroom at night sometimes because he hated being away from me. He said he was glad when Eloise died because it meant he could be with me more.” She’s panting, her eyes manic and her chest pumping rapidly. “We were going to be a family. Me, him, Brittney, and Jacob. He said we were going to be a special kind of family.”
Jesus fucking Christ. Gary sure did a number on her. Special family, my ass. Gary would have had his own harem of sex objects to fuck and torment, and more than likely had plans to get Sierra pregnant as soon as possible to add more.
The thought turns my stomach and magnifies the rage boiling inside me.
“Gary didn’t love you, Sierra,” I say and take a step forward, hoping like fuck I’m making the right move. “He was a sick bastard who liked to prey on children.” The muscles in my legs tense and I shift my body to the side. “He deserved every single bullet hole my brothers and I put in him. He’s rotting in hell, right where he belongs.”
Her eyes flash fire and her lips peel back from her teeth. She releases an ear-piercing shriek. “NOOOO!”
Just as I spring forward at the same time JW does, she swings the gun back toward Maisy. Everything happens so fast. The blast of the gun is deafening, obliterating every molecule in my body. My fucking heart constricts, squeezing so tight I can’t draw in air. Maisy’s screams ring in my ears just as JW makes contact with Sierra. I look over to where Maisy was just sitting, to find her chair tipped back and her lying on her back with Emo on his hands and knees above her.
I run over and skid to my knees on her other side.
“Oh fuck,” I grunt hoarsely, fear tightening my throat. “Maisy, baby, are you hurt?”
I scan my eyes up and down her body, running my hands over her arms, legs, stomach, and shoving one under her to check her back. I tilt her head back and forth, finding nothing. Not one speck of blood.