Page 144 of The Confidant
He’d taken her in there?
Bash’s face flashed with the same alarm I felt at Scarlett’s mention of the secret room where the most cult-like rituals took place. But after hesitating for only a second longer, my brother ran into the church to find Xander.
Sirens sounded in the distance, and soon the streets were lined with police cars, a firetruck, and an ambulance.
Several first responders arrived on the church property. When I pointed toward the church doors, five police officers ran inside with their guns ready.
The lights to the parsonage switched on shortly after that, and Scarlett’s dog, Archie, bolted out the door to see what the commotion was about, followed by her dad who was dressed in a gray bathrobe.
“What the heck is going on here?” he called when he saw Scarlett and me in the middle of the chaos.
Even though I wasn’t sure exactly what had happened in the church, when the clouds parted and the light of the full moon allowed me a closer look at Scarlett’s clothes, I noticed they were torn and turned askew.
As if Xander had tried ripping them off of her.
My eyes flashed with red, and I felt like barfing. Because while Scarlett said she’d gotten away before Xander could harm her, it looked like it had only been just barely.
When Pastor Caldwell was only a few feet away and able to take in his daughter’s appearance, I said, “It looks like your buddy Xander tried to rape your daughter.”
And when Scarlett’s sobs got louder at hearing my words, I knew that what I’d assumed was true.
50
HUNTER
“CanHunter ride back home with us?” Scarlett asked her mom when it was time to leave the police station.
After the police found Xander and Bash in the Holy of Holies, they’d arrested Xander and taken everyone else connected to the incident—Scarlett, Pastor Caldwell, Scarlett’s stepmom Megan, Bash, and me—to the closest police station to be questioned on our versions of what had happened tonight.
It had taken a few hours for the police to release us—everyone but Xander who had been officially taken into their custody.
We’d all been questioned separately, so I still wasn’t sure what exactly had happened in the church since Scarlett had been pretty quiet, crying off and on as we’d sat in the waiting area.
I didn’t expect her to tell me everything tonight because I knew she was still in shock and understandably emotional about everything that happened.
But I hoped she’d be okay.
“Of course Hunter can ride with us,” Scarlett’s mom said, looking at me in a way that said she’d do anything to make Scarlett feel safe and comfortable right now. “We’ll do anything you want.”
Scarlett nodded. “Thanks.”
We walked out of the police station together. I wasn’t sure how much physical space Scarlett would need after going through what she had tonight, but when we climbed into the back of the cab and buckled in, she scooted right up against my side and had me put my arms around her, like she wanted to burrow away from everything that had happened in the church.
When we got back to the building that her mom and my parents lived in, Scarlett asked if I could stay and watch a movie with her until she fell asleep. Since I would literally do anything—anything at all—to make her feel safe, I followed Scarlett into her mom’s apartment and sat next to her asYou’ve Got Mailplayed on the big TV in the living room.
But instead of paying attention to the movie, Scarlett started telling me about what had happened in the church. About the locked doors, the secret rooms, the weird costume Xander wore, and the creepy stained-glass window.
“I didn’t think I’d get out of there,” she said. “It was so scary.”
“How did you get away?” I asked. “If all the doors were locked, how did you escape?”
Because if there had been some sort of holy intervention or miracle that saved her, I might need to rethink my current agnostic state and start believing there actually was a Higher Power that intervened in our lives.
But instead of giving credit to anything like that, she said, “I forgot that I had it in my bag, since I basically put it in there and forgot all about it after my birthday, but…” She sighed and looked up at me with her big brown eyes. “When I was pulling out my phone to try and call 9-1-1 again, I saw the pepper spray my dad gave me and was able to spray it in Xander’s eyes. While he was on the ground and trying to wipe the pepper spray away with his clothes, the key fell out of his pocket and I used it to unlock the first door.”
“I'm so glad you noticed it.”
She nodded. “Me too. I think it literally saved my life. I don’t know if Xander would have ever let me out of there.”
