Page 37 of Avenging Kelly

“Fleming’s in the bar, and there’s a girl of about fourteen who’s set to deliver a baby in a couple of weeks,” I answered as I kept watching the surrounding neighborhood to be sure nobody was coming to ambush us.

People on the street were going on with their lives, completely unaware of what was going on above that bar—or at least I hoped they were. If they knew there were young girls up there and what Rick had them doing and they did nothing about it? I worried my head would explode.

“I’ve got an idea that might buy you some time. Set the place on fire—not a bonfire, but a small one, and then call the fire department. They’ll look for everyone in the building, and they’ll find those girls. They’ll have to call CDSS, and Marianna has friends there from her work in the public school system. She’ll be able to track the kids to ensure that fucking social worker doesn’t…”

“Oh, Devaney can’t do anything to anyone anymore. Someone shot her through the window of her house while Kelly and I were there. It wasn’t us, I swear, but someone didn’t want her talking to us,” I answered.

Duke chuckled a bit. “Good. I’ll make sure Casper knows she’s no longer a problem.”

That was the thing I’d forgotten—Casper and Mathis had done everything they could to find Mia Boone. The Hacker would definitely want to know that Charlene Devaney was no longer an issue, and not because of anything we did.

“The fire should bring the cavalry running. Just make sure you guys are out of there. Don’t let Kelly do anything you wouldn’t do yourself, please. Don’t leave anything behind to even hint that you had anything to do with the fire.”

I saw Kelly heading toward me, so I needed to get off the phone. “Copy.”

I put the phone in my pocket and ran across the street to stop him. “I talked to Duke. New plan.”

After I explained it to him, I saw a slow grin split his handsome face. “Well, well. That’s a great idea except for one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“We can’t put whoever’s up there in danger of not being able to get out because of that fucking ladder. Hell, we can’t assume they even know what to do if the place is on fire, and as old as it is, I wouldn’t guarantee it won’t go up quick. The girls have to be outta there before we torch it,” Kelly responded. I knew it was the damn truth.

“I’m going up,” Kelly insisted.

“No. We’ll both go,” I replied.

I helped Kelly climb up on my shoulders so he could reach the shitty ladder. He climbed it—and I was mesmerized watching him—and when he got to the top, he had enough leverage to push it down. It screeched loudly, but as I hid behind the nearby dumpster, I could see nobody came to check what was happening.

I climbed the ladder and stood on the metal landing next to him. “I’m not sure what we’ll find when we go in there, but I have to tell you something. Kelly, I love you. I don’t want us to end when this is over. We’ll get through this shit, and we’ll find out who took Mia. The two of us can watch out for each other, and we’ll get you off whatever drugs they’ve got you hooked on. Please, say you’ll give us a chance.”

Kelly’s face showed surprise. “How can you love me? You don’t know the horrible things I’ve done, London. You can’t…”

I chuckled, leaning into his body to whisper in his ear. “Oh, yes, I can. Don’t think you can talk me out of loving you. It’s too late.”

I pulled away and looked into those captivating brown eyes, seeing the little creases in the corners that showed he was happy with my confession.

“Really? I’m a horrible person, London. You shouldn’t—”

“Nothing matters from the past, Kelly. We have this very minute, and what we do in the present is important. Plus, we have the future to look forward to now that we’ve found each other. Let’s concentrate on that,” I said.

The window next to the fire escape landing was open an inch at the bottom, and I could see a long hallway. I slowly slid it up and crawled through, signaling for Kelly to wait a minute so I could get a feel for what was going on.

The first door I tried was locked, so I skipped it and reached for the next doorknob. I twisted it and pushed the door. There, inside, was a young girl who couldn’t have been over twelve. She was asleep with a cloth doll in her arms, and my heart ripped in two.

I walked into the room and kneeled next to the bed, gently shaking her shoulder. Her blonde hair was tangled around her face, and when her eyes popped open, they were the bluest I’d ever seen. Her mouth opened to scream, but I held up my finger for her to be quiet.

“I’m here to help you, I promise. I need you to get the other girls so we can get out of here. Can you do that?” I whispered to her.

She nodded and sat up. I could see she was in lingerie that would be considered scandalous on an adult woman. It was sickening to see it on a child, so I hurried over to a dresser against a wall on the left and found her a sweatshirt and jeans.

“Here, put these on. What’s your name?” I whispered as I handed over the clothes and turned my back to give her privacy.

“Anna,” she answered quietly. A minute later, she touched my right hand, so I glanced down to see she was dressed.

“Anna, I’m St. Michael,” I told her as I handed her a pair of slip-on sneakers I’d found next to the dresser. She quickly put on the shoes and took my hand as if I was her savior. I knew in my gut that the girls were going to need years of extensive therapy if there was any possibility of them living a normal life.

“How many of you are up here?” I asked her before we stepped into the hallway. Kelly had climbed in through the window and was waiting for us, though Anna jumped when she saw him and rushed behind me.

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