Ava shrugged. “Do you want me to justify him running out so you can pretend he doesn’t have commitment issues or not?”
Honestly, all I wanted was to get rid of this unsettled feeling. If Caine did have commitment issues and a visit to my sister gave him cold feet, I could deal with that. All I needed was honesty.
Caine
Fifteen years ago
This was the fourth stop she’d made to pick flowers on the side of the road on her ride home. Her life sounded like a clusterfuck of bad shit, yet she spotted the beauty in the middle of weeds and tall grass.
I stayed at least two blocks back, and she hadn’t seemed to notice me at all. Which reminded me, I also needed to have a heart to heart with my little lamb about being aware of her surroundings. Any psychopath could be tailing her.
Well…
It had to be a good two miles before she finally pulled into a driveway. The house was actually pretty nice. I’d envisioned a run-down trailer down at the end of a long dirt road, with sheets hung to conceal the windows and heavy brush camouflaging any sign of life—probably three or four rusted-out, non-functional cars on the lawn. But the driveway she pulled into was paved and led to a small but well-maintained Cape Cod-style house. The grass was mowed, open curtains framed the windows, and neighbors were outside nearby, going about their business. The single car in the driveway was a few years old and had one of those Jesus fish symbols on the back. Nothing like I’d expected.
I watched as the little girl disappeared around the side of the house and came back to the front door without her bike a minute later. Without hesitation, she walked inside.
I stayed there looking around for a good half hour after that. For the first time, I questioned whether maybe she was making things up. She could’ve had a vivid imagination. The seed of doubt was planted, but my gut told me she wasn’t telling a tall tale. I took one last look at the ordinary house and turned to head back home. At least I wouldn’t have to wait much to find out—so long as she showed with her sister tomorrow.
I waited six hours. At a little after one in the afternoon, I gave in to the fact that she wasn’t coming this morning. Before I’d followed her home yesterday, I’d had zero doubt something was going on. But now, after seeing an ordinary-looking house in a normal neighborhood, doubt had crept in. Then again, Ted Bundy looked pretty fucking normal, too. I groaned and stood from the back pew where I’d listened to three masses this morning as I watched the door. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I knew where I was heading.
Four blocks from her house, I realized I needed gas. Since I also needed to figure out a game plan, I made a pit stop at a full-service station with a mini mart and headed inside to pay the attendant. My hand was on the door handle when, from the corner of my eye, I saw something that caught my attention. Parked on the side of the station was a car that looked damn familiar—the same make and model as the one parked in the little girl’s driveway yesterday.
Benny is a damn mechanic.
I walked over and took a look at the back of the car. Sure enough, there was the Jesus fish symbol. Looking over at the mini mart, I saw a two-bay garage attached to it. One of the doors was closed, but the other was open about two feet. The lights were also definitely on.
I lingered inside the mini mart, pretending to read the back of a bag of chips while the two customers finished paying. When it was just me and the woman working the register, I took a can of soda and a Snickers bar to the register.
“Is the auto shop still open? My car has some rattling I’d like to get checked out.”
She looked up at the clock. “Closed at noon today. But I think Benny’s still inside.”
My body tensed. “Thanks. Is there an office or something?”
The cashier waved toward a door at the back. “Go right through that door. He’s probably in one of the bays.”
My breathing became deeper with each step as I headed into the dim garage. There was a screwdriver sitting on the top of a red tool chest. I picked it up and shoved it into the back pocket of my jeans.
“Hello?” The garage held four cars, but there didn’t appear to be anyone inside.
A man poked his head out from underneath the hood of one of the cars the next bay over and nearly scared the shit out of me.
“What can I do you for?”
I stared at him. I had no plan.
He pulled a towel from his pocket and started to wipe his hands as he took a step toward me. “We’re closed. I need to be getting home to my girls. There’s a station about a mile north of here, if you got car problems.”
His girls.
“You Benny?”
“I am. Who’s asking?”
I needed a stick to poke the bear. A light bulb lit in my head. “I’m a friend of your daughter’s.”
Suddenly I had his attention. His entire demeanor changed. He stopped wiping his hands and looked me square in the eyes. “My daughter’s not allowed to have any boy friends.”
“Why is that?”
His face contorted with anger. “Because she’s a little slut.”
We had been standing on either side of a car, but he started to walk around it toward me.
“You sniffing around my daughter? Let me give you a little advice. You want a nice girl. That one…she’s no good. Fifteen years old and nothing but trouble already.”
“Keep away from them both.”
Benny looked momentarily taken aback. He paused his advance toward me. A slow, evil smile spread across his face. It gave me chills. I was staring into the face of a monster.
“You think you know something? Why don’t you go on and spit it out.”
“You like little girls. You sneak into the older girl’s room at night and threaten her to keep quiet or you’ll do the same thing to her little sister. Keep away from them both, or I’ll go to the police.”
He narrowed his eyes, searching, as he seemed to piece together a puzzle. Seeing the full picture for the first time, a sardonic smile grew on his lips. His tone matched the evil of his face.
“You got something to do with them packing a bag, planning to run away, don’t you?”
I said nothing.
He took a step closer. “They won’t be running anywhere after last night. Taught them a lesson, just like I’m going to teach you.” Benny reached into his overalls pocket and pulled out a small remote. Staring at me, he aimed it at the partially open garage door, and it started to come down. I followed his eyes as they locked on a tray full of tools within his reach. Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion.
He reached for a wrench.
I pulled the screwdriver from my back pocket.
I was scared shitless, until he spoke again.
“Get your own damn pussy.”
Caine
“What are you looking at?”
Murphy rested his head on my lap, his big brown eyes staring up at me. I scratched his favorite spot behind his ears, and he let out a big sigh.