Page 116 of Deadly Secrets

My cries were filled with agony, a pain so deep and dark that it threatened to infest every corner of my soul.

Chapter 43. WE ARE GOING HOME

(Sienna)

I don’t know how long I sat there, cradling Lizzie in my arms, with my gaze fixed on nothing in particular and my mind lost in a daydream. That was until the house lit up with blue and red lights. Shortly after that, someone shouted from the opposite side of the main door.

“Police! Open up!”

Before I knew it, the front door slammed open, and two cops with guns barged in.

I opened my mouth and immediately closed it. I was covered in blood, my knuckles white after so long holding tight onto Lizzie’s sweater. My vision blurred with tears as one of the police officers pointed his gun at me while the other one secured the perimeter.

“Miss, I’m gonna need you to put your hands up and slowly step away from her?”

“I didn’t mean to. They were going to kill me,” I cried.

“Miss, I won’t repeat myself. Put your hands up and step away from the girl.”

I followed the officer’s orders. I stood and put my hands up with my palms facing him. They were shaking and covered in blood.

So much blood.

“All clear!” the second officer yelled from the opposite side of the cabin.

“Don’t move,” he ordered, still pointing his gun at me. He knelt and checked Lizzie’s vitals first, and then James’. Then, he took his radio out and spoke to the hand unit. “Dispatch, this is Officer Larsen, Badge number 467112, Unit 57. I need backup at 12 Alma Bridge Road, near Los Gatos Creek Trail. Requesting one unit to respond. We have two 10-7s on the scene, and I’m gonna need an EMS. Code 3.”

“Officer Larsen, this is dispatch. Copy that. One backup unit is needed at 12 Alma Bridge Road, near Los Gatos Trail. You have requested an EMS and have two 10-7s on the scene—code 3. Your backup unit is en route to your location, arrival thirteen minutes. Keep us updated on the situation,” a woman spoke through the radio.

“While we wait for backup to arrive, why don’t you tell me your name?”

“My name is Sienna Moore,” I responded, still holding my hands up.

“Okay, Sienna, can you explain to me what happened here?”

* * *

I was sitting inside the ambulance when I heard the screams.

The paramedics had already examined my head wound, disinfected and stitched the cuts from my arm, and cleaned the few lacerations I got from the ropes. I also had scratches from the fight with Lizzie, and my neck and face were a canvas of bruises. Still, I regarded them with pride, seeing them as badges of honor.

I didn’t care about the scars on my body.

I had survived.

“Sienna! SIENNA!”

I raised my head upon hearing my name spoken by the familiar voice.

A police officer blocked Zayn’s access to the cabin with a hand pressed on his chest.

“Sorry, kid, but you can’t go inside. It’s a crime scene,” the police officer informed him.

“What the fuck!? I’m the one who called you. Let me in, you sonofabitch; my girlfriend is in there!”

“Zayn? Zayn!” I kept calling his name while I ran toward him. As soon as our bodies made contact, he engulfed me in his arms—one around my waist while his other hand cradled my head against his muscular chest. A moment later, Noah and Ander joined the group.

“We were worried sick. What happened?” Noah asked, stroking my hair while I buried my face in Zayn’s chest. Their smell and warmth grounded me.

---