Page 16 of Nick

“I hurt him.”

I walked into the bathroom where Sammy was helping Jenna shower. She was on her knees cleaning the blood up, and she raised her head and looked at me. Tears ran down her cheeks.

“I believe she was raped. There was blood between her thighs, and her panties were gone. She said her boyfriend hurt her, so she hurt him.”

“He’s dead.”

“Who is he?”

“Henry Blake.”

“Henry? But he’s her friend. He does everything for her. He drives her to church. Has he been molesting her all this time?”

“I don’t know.” I left so Sammy could get Jenna out of the shower. I called the police and told them that Henry raped Jenna, and I killed him. I figured I would get fifteen years, but I couldn’t let them put Jenna away.

When she was born, we could tell something was wrong with her. Our mom was forty-nine when Jenna was born. My father and mother were in shock. I was in high school, and Sammy was in college. When Jenna was five-years-old, my parents were on their way home from church and slid on some ice, and their car went off the bridge.

Neither survived. Sammy moved home to take care of Jenna. I was in the Seals at the time. I stayed in until Jenna got older and started disappearing for hours. I wonder if she was going to Henry’s house when she disappeared those times.

All of that was six years ago. I told Sammy not to tell Jenna where I was. I hadn’t seen either of them since I left the house that night with the police. Seeing Opal brought all of these thoughts back to me. I worried about my sisters all the time when I first came in.

Then I had a letter from Sammy, and she said they sold my parents’ home and moved to the country. She thought it would be better for Jenna. I still had the letter tucked into my stuff. It had their new address written on it. I had twenty years before I could get out, and I was okay with that.

The fifteen years I thought I would get turned out to be twenty-six years because Henry’s head was bashed in so many times, it couldn’t have been an accident. Sammy took Jenna to the doctor the next day, and she had been raped. The doctor said he must have brutally raped her. She was torn, and there were bite marks all over down there.

8

Nick

“Where is the woman hiding right now?”

“She’s in jail. They are guarding her until we get there.” Owen shook his head, “I can’t believe the police can’t find one man determined to kill his neighbor.”

“Where are we taking her?” I asked Kash.

“We have a home in Dallas. We’ll go there. I’m hoping he shows up, and we can kill him. He must know they have her in jail guarding her, so he’s watching her every move. We’ll go inside and take her out the back door. If he follows us, even better; we’ll kill him.”

“I wonder how long they were married before he showed his true colors?”

I looked out the vehicle's windshield, remembering my marriage with Suzanne. She was so beautiful. Apparently, I have a thing for beautiful women. I fell instantly in love with her. I lived part-time in Italy because my mom was still alive back then.

I started noticing Suzanne’s ups and downs when I returned from a job with Hunter. She was pregnant with Julia. I talked her into staying with her parents while I was away. I watched her closely when I got back. I even asked her if she had been drinking.

Her mom called me at home one day and asked if I could meet her for lunch secretly. I had a feeling this would not be good. We sat down and ordered when she looked at me, “Did Suzanne ever tell you about her problem during her teenage years and in her early twenties?”

“No, she has never said anything about her having a problem.” By now, I knew something was wrong with Suzanne. I thought she was sneaking around drinking. I talked to Matt about it, and he said it sounded like she was doing drugs. I was scared to death for the baby. I decided to stop working with my buddies until after the baby was born. Then I would hire a nanny to watch her.

I looked at her mother. “Is she an alcoholic?”

“No, she was a drug addict. We put her in rehab three times before she quit doing drugs. I noticed her behavior when she stayed with us…” She dabbed her eyes. I knew this was hard on her. “I asked her if she was back on drugs, and she said she only took it twice. She will harm the baby. I had to tell you. I had no choice.”

I was surprised, but not as surprised as I should have been. I now knew she was doing drugs, not drinking. That would explain her erratic behavior of staying up at night and then sleeping all day. I went home and woke her up.

“What is the matter with you! I need my rest; I have a child inside of me.”

“You can stop with the lies. I know you are doing drugs. What kind of drugs are you doing?”

“I’m not doing drugs! Are you crazy? Why would you say such a ridiculous thing to me? Get out of here and let me sleep.”

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