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“You wanna die, Ellie?” Sierra asks, her voice filled with sinister vibes.
She cocks the gun and points it directly at my chest. She’s only about ten feet from us and her hand appears to be steady, so any thought of her missing her target is dashed. Fear slithers across my skin and hopelessness freezes my bones. What in the hell am I going to do?
“It’s okay, Maisy,” I say with as much calm as I can muster. By the quiver in my voice, it isn’t much. “Go to Sierra.”
Maybe I can buy some time for Judge to come back. He’ll know what to do. All I know is that I can’t allow Sierra to kill me. I’d die for my daughter in a heartbeat, but I can’t save her if I’m dead.
Oh, God, please come back home, Judge.
Maisy’s tearful gaze turns to me. Her bottom lip wobbles and the fear in her eyes is crushing. Being hopeless in the face of your child in danger is the worst feeling a parent can have. How can I tell her it’s okay to go to a woman who has a gun trained on her mother?
“Everything is going to be fine,” I tell her and pray with every fiber of my being that it will be. “Walk slowly to Sierra, okay?”
“I-I’m scared, Mom,” she says, her voice cracking.
I want to yank her into my arms, shelter her and protect her, but I don’t dare move. The sweet young woman who came to our house and played games with Maisy is not the same woman who is standing mere feet from us holding a gun.
“It’s going to be okay. Just do as she says.”
Maisy licks the tears from her lips and nods. Turning her head back to Sierra, she takes tentative steps forward. My heart lurches with every step she takes until she’s standing in front of Sierra. The expression on Sierra’s face softens, the ominous look pulling down her brows changing to something that sends chills down my spine. She’s looking at her with love and affection.
Maisy whimpers and flinches when Sierra lifts her other hand and smooths it down the side of Maisy’s head.
“Such a pretty little girl. You look so much like your daddy,” she says softly, reverently. She grabs her hand and pulls her forward. “Come stand beside me.”
Once she has Maisy tucked to her side, her gun still raised, her eyes move back to me, and the look of loathing has returned.
“What’s going on, Sierra?” I ask, desperate to have her talking and her attention off Maisy.
“I’m fixing what was broken,” she states grimly.
“What?” I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
The smile that crosses her face is pure evil and so big that it must hurt the bruises on her cheeks, but she’s doesn’t so much as wince.
“You’ll see. But we have to wait first.”
“W-wait for what?”
“For Judge to get back, of course. After all, he’s the one I’m doing this for.”
My stomach flips in alarm, and my eyes slip to Maisy to see her face scrunched as she silently cries. She’s trying so hard to be brave. Most children would be sobbing uncontrollably right now.
Before I can ask what Sierra is talking about, she jerks the gun to the side. “Go sit on the couch. I don’t expect he’ll be gone long. Once he finds Caleb’s body on the floor, he’ll realize what’s going on and come rushing back. We need to be ready for him.”
I don’t move but instead lock my muscles in place as more fear creeps in. “What are you going to do with Maisy? Please don’t hurt her.” My voice cracks.
“You no longer need to worry about Maisy. She’s going to be my daughter now. Mine and Judge’s.” Her eyes turn to slits. “Now get your ass over to the couch before I decide to kill you before he gets here.”
As scared as I am, relief filters in knowing she means no harm to Maisy. If something happens to me, I know that Judge, come hell or high water, will ensure our daughter is safe.
Only with that knowledge do I walk on shaky legs to the couch, the gun tracking my movements.
Chapter Twenty-Six
JUDGE
I POUND UP THE STEPS to Caleb’s house, JW and Trouble hot on my trail. I didn’t want to bring Trouble because his arm is still fucked-up from the snake bite, but he insisted.
