Emotion overtook her. She fell to her knees in the mud as great, gasping sobs escaped her mouth. Rain pummeled her head as horrific images pummeled her imagination.
Marilyn and Ivy were gone. She knew it. Her mother had feared for her life, and she’d been killed just as she had predicted.
Teslyn didn’t know how long she stayed like that. Long enough for the cold from the rain to seep into her bones. Long enough to wonder what was taking the firemen so long to arrive. Long enough to consider staying in town overnight or turning around and heading home. She wanted to curl up inside her mother’s car and never leave it, to inhale the scent of Marilyn’s cigarettes and try to remember what had made her worth hating.
Teslyn’s body felt heavy as she pulled herself to a stand and slowly turned around, her eyes catching on something half-hidden by darkness. Peeking out from behind the rusted metal shed was a small girl. She wore a light nightgown, her pale feet bare against the dark, wet earth. Her face was covered in soot or dirt, her long hair clearly tangled.
Could it be? Teslyn approached, her voice wavering as she asked, “Are you Ivy?”
The girl nodded.
Teslyn leaned down so they were on eye level. The girl was small. Too small for a healthy five-year-old. “I’m Teslyn. Did your mom tell you about me?”
Ivy shook her head no.
That stung a little, she wasn’t going to lie. “I’m your sister. I used to live here before you were born.” The girl furrowed her brow, eyeing her skeptically. “It’s true,” said Teslyn. “Marilyn was my mom, too.”
“Momma didn’t get out.” Her voice was flat, her face void of emotion, and Teslyn suspected Ivy was in shock. She needed to get to a hospital, be seen by a doctor. Teslyn opened her mouth to say as much when the wail of sirens echoed in the distance. “Finally.”
Her sister snatched her hand, squeezing it tightly. “We gotta hide!”
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s gonna find us. We gotta hide.”
“Who’s going to find us?”
“He wouldn’t let me out. I had to crawl out the bottom of the trailer.”
“In the fire? There was someone here?”
Ivy nodded frantically. “A policeman. My window was stuck and he wouldn’t help me get out.”
The sirens grew louder. Ivy wept, her chin trembling as she spoke. “We gotta hide, now!”
Marilyn had said he owned the police, and Teslyn suddenly understood the danger she had summoned to their door. “Is he coming here with the sirens?”
“Uh-huh,” Ivy sniveled, hysterical.
“Quick, get in my car.” She jogged to it, the girl fast on her heels. Teslyn started the engine and tore down the gravel road as quickly as she could, pulling to the side when a fire truck passed. “Get down,” she commanded, the girl unbuckling her seat belt and moving to the floor as the fire engine and a police car raced past.
This was bigger than Teslyn knew how to handle, bigger than she could manage on her own, and she desperately wished she had someone to help her. Rayne’s boyfriend, Ghost, flashed in her mind. He was in the military, and though Teslyn didn’t know exactly what he did, she’d long suspected it was top secret and dangerous. He was brawny and solid and intimidating as all hell.
Ghost will know what to do.
Teslyn pulled back onto the road and voice-dialed Rayne.
“Who’re you calling?” asked Ivy.
“A friend of mine.” Her hands tightened painfully on the steering wheel. “We’re going to be okay.”
“You promise?”
Teslyn’s promise to her mother resonated in her mind. She shot a glance at her little sister. The girl was clearly exhausted. She’d nearly been killed and had lost everything she’d ever known, and she was Teslyn’s responsibility now—and for the rest of their lives. “I promise.” She reached for Ivy’s hand and squeezed, pressing down on the accelerator as sirens pierced the quiet of the night.
One way or another, she’d make sure that was true.
CHAPTER4
