“No, you won’t,” came Rose’s voice. “He was going to kill me. He said over and over that he was going to fuck me and then kill me.”
Rose’s language made her wince, but Mercy was more alarmed by Rose’s white face. Shock. Blood still ran from her sister’s nose, and it was smeared across her cheek and down her dress.
“He had my dress up around my waist,” Rose said matter-of-factly. “He was moments away from raping me.” She shuddered and pulled her cardigan tighter over her dress. “Who is it?”
“We don’t know,” said Mercy.
“Where’s the other guy?”
“What?” Mercy and Levi gasped.
“There were two of them,” Rose’s knuckles whitened on her sweater. “Two of them grabbed me. One let go when he heard Mercy’s voice.”
An engine and spinning tires sounded in the distance. Levi ran for the window and pushed back the curtain. He watched for a few seconds and then turned back. “All I could see was a dust cloud.”
“They’re going to get the police.” Mercy’s teeth clattered together. “He’ll tell them we killed someone.”
Levi took three large steps and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking her in the eye. “No, he won’t. How will he explain that they were both attacking Rose and you? He won’t do that. He’s a coward. He’s running away. I bet these are the guys who killed Jennifer and Gwen.”
Mercy stared at him, desperately wanting to believe. “We killed someone. They’ll lock us up.”
Levi turned his head to study the man on the floor. “No, they won’t. No one will know.”
“What?” said Rose. “Levi, are you crazy? We killed someone!”
He gripped Mercy’s shoulders tighter, his gaze boring into hers. “Can you clean this up? If I take care of the body, can you and Rose get rid of the blood?”
She blinked. “Yes. Where—”
“Don’t ask.”
She nodded, not wanting to know.
“Levi, you can’t do this,” argued Rose. “We need to call the police.”
“Why? So they can arrest Mercy and me? Do you want to testify in court about what you just went through?”
“But they need to stop the other guy before he hurts another woman.”
Levi’s laugh was empty. “He’s long gone. They’ll never find him. We shook him up. I bet he doesn’t try it again.”
“But I’ve heard the other guy’s voice before,” Rose insisted.
Mercy spun around. “Where?”
Rose’s pale face went a shade paler. “At the Bevinses’ ranch.”
Mercy couldn’t breathe. “Rose, are you sure? How do you know?”
“I just know,” she said, but her face was uncertain.
“Who is it?” Levi asked. “One of the family? One of the hands?”
“I don’t know,” Rose cried. “I just know I heard it when we were there for the Saint Patrick’s Day barbecue two weeks ago.”
“So it could have been anyone,” Mercy said. “Nearly the entire town was there for that party.”
Rose’s face crumpled. “I’m no help.”
Mercy pulled off her plaid overshirt as she moved to her sister, and used it to wipe the blood and tears off her sister’s face. “You’re shook up. That would rattle anyone.”
“But I know what I heard,” Rose insisted. Mercy exchanged a look with Levi.
“We can’t tell Mom and Dad,” said Levi slowly. “We especially can’t tell them that you heard the voice at the Bevinses’ ranch. Dad will declare war.”
Mercy stared at him as Rose sucked in a breath. “We have to tell them.”
“No. No, we don’t,” said Levi.
Mercy’s mind raced through the possibilities. Dad would stop at nothing until he found who’d attacked his girls. If he thought that person was from the Bevinses’ ranch, the town would be more divided than it already was. The police would know she and Levi had shot an unarmed man in the back.
The bare walls of a prison cell flashed in her head. “Levi’s right. We clean it up and don’t tell anyone.”
“I’m getting a tarp.” Levi dashed out the back door.
“We can’t let him hide that we killed someone, Mercy.” Rose’s fingers went to Mercy’s shoulders and then gently touched her sister’s jawline and cheeks. A gesture that meant she needed comfort. Mercy put her hands over Rose’s, pressing them into her face, also needing to feel her touch.
“I think it’s for the best,” Mercy whispered. “I can clean this up. Levi’s right. Who’s going to come back and accuse us of murder while they were trying to kill us first? He doesn’t know this guy is dead. He’d already left.”
“But I’m sure he heard the shots.”
“Probably, but he can’t assume his friend is dead. Most likely he’ll think he got away. What exactly happened?”
Rose took a deep breath. “I was cleaning in the den when someone came in through the front door, and I assumed it was Levi because of the heavy boot tread, but I realized there were two sets of boots. Then I heard the mirror in the powder room shatter.”
“What?” Mercy dashed to the half bath near the front door. Rose was right. Someone had pulled the small mirror off the wall and thrown it to the floor. “Why?”