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Jesus Christ.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa—” I held my hands up, pulse racing. “Don’t come out there, baby,” I warned her, watching with my heart in my mouth as she climbed onto the windowsill and lowered herself onto the shitty veranda. I knew it was shitty because I’d almost cracked my neck climbing up there. Shannon was dressed in a pair of navy pajama shorts and a vest and had a worn pair of runners on her tiny feet. No hoodie. No jacket. Nothing. “Just climb back in,” I coaxed, panicking at the sight of her up there. “And I’ll come inside and get you.”

“Ican’t.” She shook her head and continued to shimmy on her ass to the edge of the veranda. “He locked the door.”

“Throw me down your keys,” I called back. “Don’t climb down here—”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand,” she whispered. “He’s acting really strange, Johnny, and I don’t want him to know I’m leaving. Just catch me, okay?”

Ah, fuck.

“Shannon, you’re going to hurt yourself,” I choked out, in full-blown panic mode now. “You can’t climb down from there, baby. You’re too small.”

“Don’t go near the door, Johnny,” she begged when I moved to do just that. “Please! Just…just break my fall, okay?”

Furious, I bit down a snarl and walked to the edge of the path, feeling thankful as hell that I was almost six foot four. “Okay.” Reaching up, I held my arms out to her, praying she had the dexterity to not trip up and break her bleeding neck. “Nice and slow.”

She nudged herself to the edge of the veranda and I panicked. “Don’t jump,” I warned her. “Just drop your legs down, and I’ll grab them.”

Thankfully, Shannon listened to me and gingerly lowered her legs. “Good job.” Catching ahold of her legs, I wrapped an arm around them and held my free hand up for her to take. “I’ve got you,” I promised. “Trust me—”

I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence because Shannon quite literally flung herself down to me. Catching her easily, I hooked an arm around her back and lowered her to her feet. “Don’t you ever do that to me again,” I choked out, breathing hard from the almost heart attack she gave me. “You could have killed yourself.”

“Sorry,” she whispered, burying her face in my chest. “Thanks for coming.”

“Where’s Joey?” I asked as I led her to my car.

“He’s gone, Johnny,” she sobbed. “He left.”

“And Darren?”

“He went to find Joey,” she sniffled, sinking into the passenger seat. “It’s all gone to hell.”

“Is your mother in there with him?”

She nodded. “I couldn’t do anything. He just… He just showed up and she was standing there. I was afraid so I ran and left her with him.”

“Good,” I told her, drowning in the relief that she had the good sense to run.

“No, no, it’s not,” she argued weakly, sounding confused. “It’s not good at all.” Shaking her head, she pressed her fingers to her temples and exhaled a ragged breath. “He came upstairs to make sure I was asleep and he was being nice.” She looked up at me, wide-eyed and terrified. “I don’t understand what’s happening here.”

“Where are the boys?”

“In their rooms.” She dropped her head in her hands and sobbed. “I panicked. I should have brought them in my room with me, but I–I couldn’t think straight.”

Jesus Christ.“Okay.” Trying to keep my voice calm, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “I’ll call the Gards. He’s not allowed to be here. They’ll arrest him—”

“Wh-what? Johnny, no, no, no—” Shaking her head, Shannon lunged for my phone. “If you call them, they’ll take us away right now,” she choked out, panicking. “I’ll be sent away.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I won’t see you again.”

“No, you won’t,” I tried to explain. “Nobody’s going to take you anywhere—”

“You don’t understand,” she sobbed. “You don’t know how it works, but I do.”

I stood there, feeling at a complete fucking loss. What the hell was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just walk away from this. “Shannon,” I tried again, “I won’t let anyone take you. My parents said that they’ll—”

“You don’t get it,” she wailed, cutting me off. “If the Gards come, they’ll call Patricia and the social workers.” A huge sob racked through her frail body. “We’ll be removed from the house, and you won’t be able to stop that. No one will.”

“You can’t live like this, baby,” I choked out, feeling the anger rattle through me. “It has to stop.”

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