Page 29 of Blood
“When the fuck did you do that?”
Shelby shrugs, frowning when I glare at her lack of answer.
“Umm, I don’t know. I mean, I was scared. I waited in the bathroom, but I wanted to know what was happening, so I snuck in here to get my phone. I went straight back to the bathroom,”she rushes to tell me, her thumb pointing back to where she had been.
“And then you called the police,” I finish for her.
“No.” She shakes her head. “I text Sam to check that she was okay, but she didn’t answer. I would have called, but I didn’t want to give away her hiding spot,” she rambles.
“And then you called?” I ask.
“And then I called.” She nods. “I’m sorry,” Shelby whispers, confused at my annoyance.
“It’s okay.” I sigh, pulling her back into my chest.
And it is. She was just trying to help. But now I don’t know how long I have to stage a scene, which means I have no time. Someone suspecting I moved things around is one thing, but getting caught is another.
The work I did earlier will have to do.
I use the excuse of comforting Shelby to hug Sam close too. The three of us stand there for a few more seconds before I hear movement downstairs.
I don’t move. Instead, I up the reassurance, making it obvious that I’m here to comfort the girls. After all, I did just save us all from intruders.
“You’re both okay.”
The local sheriff and several officers from Cromwell’s Police Department enter with guns drawn. Seeing us huddled in the middle of the room, they lower their weapons.
“What’s going on, son?” Sheriff McCallister asks, his voice shaking. “We got a call about a home invasion, but downstairs is, is . . .” He struggles for words.
“A fucking massacre,” one of the officers whispers.
I don’t know if it’s his words, the realization of what could have happened, or emotions from what we did in my bedroom, but Sam breaks at his words. Gut-wrenching sobs shake her body.
I pull her so that her face is buried in my chest and kiss the top of her head. Shelby rubs her back before stepping away.
“Where are you going?” Before she can answer, I crouch and order them both, “Arms around my neck and hold on tight.”
Neither lady does as they were told until I wrap an arm around each of them at the top of their thighs and lift them by their legs.
Shelby gives a short scream and flails for a second, then latches on to my neck. Sam grips the back of my shirt and hides her wet face in my neck.
“I’m going to need a medic,” I tell the sheriff.
Sam makes a distressed sound that’s muffled by my skin.
“My feet need the glass removed,” I explain to the cops, but my words are for my girl.
“I need to take you in,” McCallister starts.
“For what?” I raise a brow. “For defending myself and two young women?”
The older man takes his hat off and runs a hand through the graying hair. “They were unarmed, Kaleb. We already looked.”
“They were the weapons,” I snap. “They didn’t break in here to make themselves dinner. They both attacked, and one tried to get upstairs to these.” I motion to the women in my arms.
Shelby’s eyes widen, and her mouth falls open. All the color leaves her face.
I almost feel bad.
