Like he had played it so many times before.
When did the games ever end?
8
She probably shouldn’t be here rightnow. Sheshouldbe at school. If her grandfather found out that she’d skipped school again, he’d be really angry. The last thing she wanted to do was make him angry or anything. He turned so mean when that happened. But sometimes, there were things that had to be done. Do the right thing—her mother had always told her she had to do what wasright.It had taken Riely a while to figure out what “right” was, though.
Riely knew what she was doing was crazy. But she had to know. These people right there… they weren't going to want anything to do with her. She knew that.
Not considering what her father had done and everything. Why would they want her around? What if she was as bad as he was? Her grandfather was a bad man. Her dad was bad. Other people in his family… she had thought they were probably bad too. Before they had all died too.
Maybe it was somehow in her blood or something. She touched her necklace. She did that when she felt nervous now. Riely had paid a lot of attention to how shefeltat times. So the counselor at the school would think she was okay and wouldfocus on someone else. She knew her grandfather had given her the necklace to prove a point. She wasn't an idiot. She knew…what he had done. How he had gotten it.
Knew who it had once belonged to.
Maybe he hadn't done it himself but he had made someone do it for him. He had lots of power that way. He’d told her that before.
He hurt people. She knew he did. He liked to hurt people, and it got him what he wanted.
And if he knew what she was doing right now—he would probably kill her too.
He didn't really care that she was his son’s kid. If he did he would have told the world about her from the beginning. She’d figured that out years ago. She was just the grandkid he’d gotten stuck with so that no one would askquestions.He’d told her that before, too.
Her Grandpa didn’t really want her. He just hadn’t wanted anyone else to take her, either.
She just stood where she was and watched all the little kids at the park as they played. She remembered going to a playground with her mom all the time. When she had been a little girl and everything. When life wasnormal.
These little kids—they were so lucky. They had people who loved them.
She just walked over to the picnic table and watched.
There were a lot of little kids around here. And they…didn’t know there were monsters living right next door. Riely knew, though. She just didn’t know how to stop them.
She had little sisters out there somewhere, who needed the world to be safe for them.
She just didn’t know how to make that happen.
Riely stayed right where she was and cried.
9
They didn’t have enoughwarm bodies in Major Crimes right now. Dom had been pulled away for two hours from working the Kimball evidence, just to handle a low-level assault case that had heated up two years after the initial attack. Now, he was finally back to working on what could actually make a better difference. Miguel was back, at least, but Jarrod was still out with Haldyn. Would be for at least another week.
Dom understood it, Jarrod loved that woman—and she needed him now. Gunnar had gotten pulled up to Wyoming on another angle on his OPJ case.
With Kimball, Costovia, and Bell all having been part of Major Crimes’s lower divisions, it put a damned strain on the Major Crimes who were left.
And then that dumbass Daniel had suspended Heather. No one knew why. All Dom knew was that Heather had come in a day or two after what had happened to her sister—and she had gotten into a major argument with Daniel. And ended up suspended. Without pay.
Well, hell no. That wasn’t happening. He had made certain Daniel knew that. At least Heather would get fuckingpaid.What had Daniel been thinking?
He was at his desk in the bullpen whenshecame in. Madison had a beyond pissed expression on her face that immediately drew his attention. She came almost stomping over to him—he tensed. She avoided him as much as she possibly could, both on the job and off. That was the status quo and he aimed to keep it that way.
Leading himself not into temptation, after all.
But she was coming right at him. Dom stood. Something had happened.Everytime something happened, she came to him. He just didn’t know if she realized she did that yet. He had, a long time ago. Since the choir hall shooting when he had found her on a gurney covered with her own blood, and that of her closest friends.
He still relived that day in his dreams at night.
