Page 30 of Dolly

The brightness of her cheeks fades, and her shoulders drop as the memory takes hold.

“You don’t have to think about it now.” I take the clothes from her. “Let’s get you dressed.”

“I can do it.” She sits on the bed. “There’s lots to do before we leave here.”

She’s right. First order of business is figuring out exactly where we are. I shove into my jeans and t-shirt while she lays her clothes out. While she’s dressing, I go to the window and twirl the stick on the blinds to open them. Bright sunlight blinds me.

“Fuck!” I clench my eyes against the light. Keeping them shielded with my hand, I take another look outside. The front yard is covered in dead grass. Crumpled up papers blow across the sidewalk. I blink until I adjust to the sunlight well enough to make out the rest of the street. Worn down houses. Broken shutters. Boarded up doors. Red spray paint marks the windows and exterior walls.

We’re in an abandoned town. How far from Lake Palos?

I close the blinds. My mind lists all of the things we need to do, the supplies we need.

“Are we going to leave them…?” Dolly asks, standing in the doorway, looking down the hall at the room we left the assholes to rot.

“I need to get the computers out of there. Then we’ll search the rest of this place for anything else that will be useful.”

“Like food?” She presses her hand to her stomach.

“Fuck yes.” I laugh. “Food is top priority.”

“I’ll go downstairs. Maybe the fridge is full.”

I catch her arm before she gets far. “No. Stay up where with me. Don’t wander by yourself.” We don’t know for sure Bossman and Beardman were the only people in the house. Getting showered was risky enough, I’m not willing to push my luck and let her scope out the downstairs unprotected.

“Then let me help,” she insists. She’s lost a lot of weight. Her sweater drowns her.

I sweep her hair behind her ear. “Okay. Go through the rest of the stuff in here and see if you can find any purses or wallets. And if anything fits, take it.” I look down at her bare feet. Scratched and calloused from her time in the cellar. “And don’t forget shoes.”

She wiggles her toes with a laugh. “I guess those would help, huh?”

Her chuckle envelopes me in warmth.

“Yeah.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll get what we need from the other room. I should have a jacket. It’s black with a gray liner. See if you can find it. It will have my wallet in the inside pocket…unless they removed all that stuff.” Rapists, murderers, torturers—why wouldn’t thieves be on the list? “When I’m done, I’ll come get you. Don’t leave this room, okay?” She’s seen enough of those fuckers to last her three lifetimes, no need to extend it.

“Sure. I don’t want to look”— a shudder goes through her—“at them.”

“You don’t have to, ever again.” I squeeze her shoulders.

Dolly rifles through the discarded clothing while I make my way back to the playroom.

Standing outside the door, the stench of death already leaks into the hallway. The sight inside is overwhelming. I have to gulp in a sizable breath to keep my mind from spinning. They are dead. Finally, and forever, they’ll leave Dolly alone.

The simple computer set up is quick to dissemble. There’s a closet in the room I hadn’t noticed before. Inside, I find a three-drawer file cabinet. External hard drives and flash drives. Too many to carry in my hands.

“Ken?” Dolly’s at the door

I grit my teeth. “I told you to stay in the other room,” I bark before I can bite back the words. Her eyes widen a fraction, and her chin tucks into her chest.

With a sigh, I get up from where I’m crouched in the closet. “I’m sorry.” And I am. She’s safe with me. I can’t take out my frustrations on her. “No, don’t look at them.” I grab her chin and direct her gaze to me. “Why did you come in here? Did you need something?”

“I need a bag to put the clothes and shoes inside.”

“Let’s go downstairs. Maybe we can find a garbage bag or something.” I slide my hand down her arm and lace our fingers together, giving hers a gentle squeeze. “And some food.”

That has her smiling. Hell, if we find something edible down there, I’ll be happy as fuck. My stomach stopped begging for sustenance a while ago, but the possibility has brought back shadow pangs in my belly.

Leaving the mess in the room behind, we make our way down the hall. I keep Dolly behind me as we descend the carpeted stairs. The house is still. No creaks or shuffling. Once down in the front hall, the scent of pizza lures us to the kitchen. A large pizza box sits on the counter with half a six pack beside it.

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