I rush to her side and catch her in my arms as we both crumble to the floor. She drops the gun beside us, buries her face in my chest and clings to me as tightly as she can. I’m in an extremely uncomfortable position, but I don’t dare move. I lightly stroke her hair and give her calm, soothing words.
“You know her?” Luke asks.
I nod, “This is Kelly. She was my little sister when I was in thehouse of horrors. She was only about six when they sent me off. She has to be about sixteen now.” I’m still holding her, much like I used to when she was younger, and gently rocking her back and forth.
“Andi, he was going to hurt you,” Kelly whispers into my neck. “I had to stop him.”
“Everything’s going to be ok, sweetheart,” I whisper back.
Luke moves a little closer and Kelly jumps, drawing into me as if she’s scared to death of him.
“Sweetheart, this is Luke. He’s my fiancé and he would never, ever hurt you. You can trust him. No one will ever hurt you again,” I vow to her.
“It’s ok, Kelly. I will keep my distance if you want. I just want to talk to you. Is that ok?” Luke gently coaxes her.
Kelly looks at me, I nod to let her know that it’s ok and she nods.
“Thank you, Kelly. Can you tell us about tonight?” Luke asks. I keep rocking her and gently rubbing her hair.
“He said he was going to hurt Andi. Delia said she would kill her. Jackson wanted to have his way with her. I had to stop him. Had to stop her,” Kelly’s rambling a little but I get the gist of what she’s trying to tell us.
“Kelly, we need to call the police and report all this. But Luke and I will protect you. I won’t leave you. Do you understand?” I’m trying to be as reassuring as possible, but I’m highly cognizant of the fact that the door is unlocked and they could come back at any time. Jackson was injured but they’re both still alive. I don’t want to freak Kelly out by pointing this out to her though.
She nods in understanding. She’s completely trusting me to take care of her just like she did when she was little and first came to the Rhoades’ house. Luke steps away to call the police. I vaguely hear him ask them to come without sirens. I’m sure he’s thinking of how it would impact Kelly in her current state.
I am trying to come up with a strategy for taking care of Kelly when Luke walks back towards us. She doesn’t jump this time but she still keeps a wary eye on him. He squats down so he’s not lording over us. “The police are on their way. We have to answer some questions about what happened tonight. We won’t leave you, Kelly.”
“That’s right, baby. We’re right here.” She nods and I notice her stronghold on me has lessened a little. “You saved us, didn’t you?” This earns me a tiny smile. I’ll take it, though.
Luke looks at me, “They’re sending a female detective in to talk to us.” Relief floods through me. I didn’t even think of that but I can always count on Luke to take care of me.
Hours later, we’ve answered Detective Burns’ questions over and over again. She asked the same question at different times and in several different ways. I know she’s testing our story for inconsistencies and she’s finally satisfied that she’s gotten the full story out of us. She puts out an APB for Jackson and Delia Rhoades, knowing he will more than likely visit a hospital or clinic somewhere between Atlanta and DC. Once he goes in for treatment, they’ll get him.
Since Kelly is a minor and the news of the abuse that happened in that house is national news, Detective Burns didn’t take Kelly to the juvenile hall or call the Department of Family and Children Services. Her reasoning was there is no body and no definite proof, yet, that Kelly actually shot him.
She discharged a firearm but until she has a bullet in hand that matches the ballistics from the gun Kelly had, there is no crime. Also, if there was a bullet wound, Delia could have just as easily been the shooter. Detective Burns also stationed a couple of units outside my house and they will make frequent rounds to check the entire perimeter of the house.
I really like Detective Burns.
I convince Kelly to stay with Luke and me for the night, or what’s left of it now, and I get her settled into the bed after she had a long, hot shower. By the time I tucked her in, she seemed much calmer than before. She hugged me tightly but it was more of a thankful, reunion hug rather than the end-of-my-life squeeze she gave me earlier. I kissed her forehead and told her to sleep soundly because she’s safe now. She was sound asleep within a minute of closing her eyes.
Luke and I sat up until sunrise, talking over all the events of the night and what will happen next. It’s concerning that they still haven’t found Jackson and Delia. He probably used a private physician to treat his wounds so he wouldn’t be reported to the authorities. We can’t live the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders. I want this to be over. It’s really all so…..anti-climactic.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
LUKE
“Luke, Andi, come out back!” My dad yells from the backyard. We make our way through the kitchen and head out the back door to Mom’s backyard haven. Everyone is gathered around the fire pit, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs. Mom and Kelly just brought out more food.
As soon as Kelly puts the food on the table, she bounds over to Andi and throws her arms around her neck. Andi laughs and grabs her up. Kelly is very little for a sixteen-year-old and sometimes we all treat her like she’s much younger. Sometimes it makes her mad, but usually she eats it up, like she’s doing now when Andi is fawning over her.
It’s really a great sight. Kelly came to live with my parents soon after she showed up at our house that night. Mom and Dad were thrilled to take her in and she still gets to be Andi’s sister. She doesn’t spend time alone with Dad yet, but she does talk to him and include him in things, so I know she’s trying. They’re preparing to officially adopt her and make her a real Woods.
It’s been two weeks since that awful night. The night I thought I would have towatch and listen to Andi be raped by that madman. They planned to torture her and kill her in front of me and then kill me. Kelly overheard all of their sick, sadistic plans of what they would do to Andi. How they would torture her and beg for them to kill her long before they finished with her. Kelly remembered Andi and how she always took care of the younger kids in the Rhoades’ house.
She said she couldn’t let anything bad happen to Andi, so she took one of Jackson’s guns and followed himtonight. She knew he’d come after Andi at the club, so she waited and followed him when he left the club before we did. She was hiding in the house when we got home. Kelly said she recognized the look he had when he was moving towards Andi. He was going to hurt her badly before finally killing her, so she shot him. Her only regret is that she didn’t kill him – not that we know of, anyway.
I’ve been asking Andi every day when she’s going to marry me. I’ve tried to talk her into going to Vegas and doing it in one of the drive-through chapels. Or we can go to Gatlinburg and rent a chapel. Or we can go to the Justice of the Peace right here in Atlanta and get married right now. I don’t care where or how or who is there.
