Richard was a broken mess on the lawn, blood pooling beneath his head, his face unrecognizable. He was barely conscious, making weak gurgling sounds as he tried to breathe through his shattered nose and mouth.
But he was still breathing.
“Let me finish him, Jack,” I begged, my voice raw. I struggled against Gunner’s arms that were locked tight around me.
“No, not here,” he argued. “Not in front of the whole fucking neighborhood.”
My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath, my body shaking with adrenaline and fury that had nowhere to go. Gunner’s arms loosened around me, and I looked toward the front door.
There she stood, outlined by the light coming from inside the house. Fourteen years old, with a heavy blanket wrapped around her; though I knew it wasn’t to ward off the evening chill.
Its purpose was security.
“You need to leave,” she said softly as sirens sounded in the distance. “Before they get here.”
“We can take him with us,” I offered, taking a step toward her. She didn’t flinch, didn’t step back. She stood a little taller.
“No, he needs to go back to prison, and my mother needs to know what he did.” She looked at the man moaning on the ground. “I won’t tell them who you are.”
I hesitated as the sound of sirens drew closer.
“Go,” she urged.
“Come on,” Jack hissed. He and Gunner climbed onto their bikes, and I waited. I’d go to prison if it meant this girl would be safe. And in prison, I could finish him off.
She opened the blanket, and I saw her ripped nightgown. “Thank you.”
“You shouldn’t have to thank me.”
“Youshouldn’t have been the one to protect me.”
“What will you tell them?” I asked. I didn’t want to leave her alone.
“That an angel saved her,” an old, grizzled voice said as he stepped up on the porch. The girl leaned into him when he put his arm around her.
I snorted at the description. I was the furthest thing from an angel.
“Please go,” she pleaded.
I nodded and ran to my truck. My eyes met hers in the rearview mirror as she took a deep breath and huddled down on the steps while she waited for the cops to come.
Could I trust her?
Something in my chest told me I could. That she wouldn’t bite the hand that saved her. I had contacts in the prison in Little Rock; from there I’d make contacts at the prison here in Pennsylvania. If he made it that far, he wouldn’t make it further.
I drove to the hospital, Jack and Gunner on my tail. When I pulled into the parking lot, I searched for the car that had become familiar and pulled up beside it.
“Derek, what the fuck are you doing?” Jack asked, his words laced with anger and impatience.
“Get out of here, Jack. I don’t want the bitch to see you.”
He and Gunner hadn’t worn their cuts. We weren’t in Silver Shadows’ territory. Even still, Gunner didn’t blend into a crowd by any stretch of the imagination.
“Trust me,” I urged.
The two men sped off to the other side of the lot, refusing to leave me alone. I leaned against my truck while I waited for her to come out. She would have gotten a call by now.
The automatic doors opened, and Stacy came running out. Her car beeped and started up as she rushed across the parking lot. She pulled on the handle to open the door, and I slammed my hand against it, holding it closed.
