Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 60848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“Don’t worry, honey. Knight’s all over this shit.”
“I know.” And I did. “You all are. Aren’t you?”
Tiny held my gaze for a second before seeming to remember the urgency of the situation. He cleared his throat gruffly. “Yes. We need to go.”
I nodded. “Yes. Sorry.”
“Are the girls up ahead?”
“Yes. Zelda had Kira’s hand and they followed Violet. I just stopped to get our jackets.”
“Good. Come on. We’ll catch up to everyone.”
We hadn’t gone far when we heard a small whimper, followed by a frantic cry from the child’s mother up ahead. Tiny stopped and listened. “Go on, Penny. I’ll find little Rita and bring her out. Let her mom know.”
Tiny knelt to look under the big table next to the kitchen entrance. “Hey, there.” He held out his hand for the child. “Want me to take you to your mom?” His voice was gentle, almost tender, as he spoke to her. The child nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“That’s my brave girl.” Tiny reached for the child.
I saw her mother and flagged the woman down. She sobbed in relief.
“Your mom’s right here, and I’m watching out for both of you.” The child crawled from under the table and threw herself at Tiny, crying as he held her.
Something twisted in my chest at the simple kindness of the gesture. It also didn’t escape me that the child had gone to Tiny with no fuss at all. Rita clung to Tiny as he brought her to her mother. The girl didn’t want to let go so Tiny guided us all out of the building. He didn’t rush us but kept us moving as quickly as possible. It was like his energy was so calm it spilled over to the rest of us.
Outside, the morning sun seemed absurdly bright. There was a police vehicle just inside the gated drive at the side of the building. Knight had a tablet he held in front of the officer, pointing at something. I heard something overhead and looked up to see a drone fly overhead to the opposite end of the building.
Tiny kept us moving until we reached a grassy area under a big maple tree on the far inside corner of the property. About a hundred yards in the distance, I could see the compound of Kiss of Death adjacent to us. The fencing surrounded us too, but there was a separate chain-link fence between the two buildings.
“Stay here,” he said, his voice low. “I need to go back and see what Knight needs. Violet has the key to the gate lock leading to the compound. If she takes you guys there, go. OK?”
I nodded. “OK.”
Fear clutched at my throat. “Be careful,” I whispered, unable to stop myself from reaching for his hand.
His fingers closed around mine for a brief moment, warm and strong. “I will be.” His eyes held mine briefly and he smiled. Then he was gone, moving back toward the building with purposeful strides.
I realized how drastically my world had shifted. I had someone to stand between me and the girls and anyone who wanted to hurt us. Which is why I was never going to ask what had happened to the abusers who’d been rumored to have gone missing. Because unless I read the man completely wrong, Tiny would absolutely kill Andy. If he did, I’d never see Tiny again. He’d go to prison and they’d throw away the key.
At the thought, I had a need to be near my girls. I glanced around and saw Zelda headed my way, a panicked look on her face. My heart stuttered and I actually clutched my hand to my chest from the panic building rapidly inside me.
“Mommy! I can’t find her! Mommy!” Zelda was full-on snot crying. I knew how she felt because I was seconds away from the same direction.
“Kira?” My voice cracked as I called her name, rising in pitch as panic clawed its way up my throat. “Kira!”
“She was right beside me!” Zelda’s voice cracked as she continued to cry. “She let go of my hand when we got outside and I thought she was right with me!”
“It’s OK,” I gasped out. Shock was rapidly replacing the panic as my mind shut down the possibility of losing my daughter. “Stay with Violet, OK? I’ll find her.”
Violet saw us and took one look at my face before hurrying to my side. “What’s wrong?”
“Kira’s missing,” I choked out. “Keep Zelda safe for me.”
“Do you think she went around the front of the building?” Violet pulled out her phone as she looked in the direction she’d indicated. “But why would she leave Zelda? The girls are always close together.”
Zelda gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide in horror.
“Zelda, honey?” I knelt in front of her, gently grasping her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”