Page 118 of River Wild

“No. What’s the worst thing they can do to me?”

“Put you in prison,” I whisper.

“Trust me, Red; that wouldn’t be the worst thing that’s happened to me.”

I worry my lip with my teeth.

“You’re wondering why I do this,” he says in a low voice. “Why I would want to help stop other people’s children from being hurt.”

“Yes,” I say quietly.

The silence is long. My heart thuds hard with every second I wait.

His voice is agonizingly, painfully low when he says, “Because I was one of those kids, Carrie. I was hurt by someone who was supposed to care for me.”

God, no.

My throat thickens with tears. I swallow roughly.

I knew something bad had happened to him. The thought that it had been this passed through my mind … but to hear him say it …

It’s hard to hear. It hurts me more than I ever thought possible.

The tears fill my eyes. I’m afraid to look at him because, if I do, I know they’ll flow freely.

“W-was it … your stepdad?” My voice trembles.

“Yes.” His voice is like ice.

I take a controlled breath to steady my voice. “Is that why your mom killed him? Did she find out that he was hurting you, and she shot him?” I know that I would do the same if it were my child.

He lets out a ragged breath, and I finally lift my eyes to his. The tears I was holding back overflow and run down my face.

He slowly shakes his head. “No, Carrie. That’s why I killed him.”