Part 30 (1/2)
His face scrunches. ”What? No, I didn't.” The cop standing next to the paramedics looks at Aimes with suspicion. Aimes raises his hands in the air. ”I didn't kill jack f.u.c.kin' s.h.i.+t.”
”Who the f.u.c.k did?” I ask, looking around for anyone else who may have done it.
”f.u.c.k all, who knows. The man is dead, but it wasn't me and I'd appreciate if you'd keep your voice down.”
Aimes and I turn to look at Casey, who's being held tightly against Emma.
”Dee Dee?” I hear Em question without walking toward me. I see her eyes are hopeful that her sister made her way out.
I shake my head quickly while Casey's face is buried in her waist. ”Dee Dee didn't make it.”
Em's eyes swim in tears for the grief of losing her sister, but once she looks down at Casey, her smile comes freely. She runs her hand through Casey's hair, then rests it on her small shoulders.
Her strong stance, clear head, and take-control behavior are a lie. Shock about what's happened has kept her moving and she doesn't even realize it. She'll fall apart later, when it's quiet and we're alone. And I'll be there to help her through it when that happens.
Aimes walks closer to me with a smirk. He reaches out and hits my shoulder. ”You got everything you need here?”
”Yeah, I do,” I reply, pulling him in for a side-arm hug and slapping his back with force.
”I gotta head back. Take your time. Situation is under control, especially with f.u.c.k-nut and his dumba.s.s down.” He points to Hoss and Dog still lying dead in front of us. ”Got a lot of paperwork and questions to answer, I'm sure, but should go easy.”
Once Aimes takes off, I study Em and Casey. Em's now crouched down in front of her. Her hands roam Casey's face, limbs, and even her small, bare feet. She's checking to be sure she's unharmed.
”Em?” I call out before walking toward her.
When her eyes come to mine, she stands and holds Casey's hand at her side. They both look up to me as I walk to them, getting close. As I stare down at Casey, I find her looking lost and confused. It's going to take time and care to get her to the place she should be. I hadn't had time to process this until now.
Her instinct to survive a life of loneliness and despair, as well as her courage to face her fears and trust others, cements the fact that once she recovers from all she's seen, she's going to be a force to be reckoned with. And she doesn't even know it yet.
f.u.c.k, I hope she's attracted to dweebs.
”G.o.d, it's really over,” Em breathes, grabbing me with the arm not holding Casey and pulling me as close to her body as she can.
My arms wrap around her and Casey both in response to her nearly true statement.
Chapter Thirty-Nine.
”What are you doin' with him?” I ask Bill Reams, a local and trusted cop who's friends with my dad, as both our eyes look to James Fuller, who was being read his Miranda rights by an officer wearing a thick, black vest.
”He's been a suspect for a long time. He's been paid off and we've known it. He was helping Creed.”
Motherf.u.c.k.
”Where's Viktor?”
”Up in smoke, I a.s.sume. He's gone. Don't suspect he's been here for a few hours, but we're looking into it. She okay?” He nods to Casey standing beside Emma as she's being checked out by emergency services.
”She will be.”
”Kids are more resilient than us old people give 'em credit for,” he comments.
”The other women who were in there? Viktor's girls, where are they?”
Bill's face looks sad, not a good indication. ”How many do you suspect he had?”
”Not exactly sure, but I'd guess five or six.” It varied so much, I can't say for sure.
Shaking his head, another bad indication, he voices what he knows. ”We're at four. Officer Jennings just found Dee Dee in the back.”
I nod my acknowledgement. ”I saw her on my way out.”
”Dee Dee's the one who set the girls free. They're scared and aren't talking much, but those who are have all confirmed it was Dee Dee who helped them find a way out.”
”She was a good person once,” I return.
”There's another girl by the name of Anna,” he starts. ”She's askin' about Casey.”
”Where is she?” My eyes scan the area quickly, searching through the chaos and wreckage.
Bill answers before I can find her. ”She's already gone. We've got her somewhere safe. Your buddy Aimes brought her out a bit ago. He found her waiting quietly in a room inside. Calm as the day is long, too. She wasn't scared at all.”
”She has no reason to be,” I clip, using my tone as warning that Anna won't be harmed or blamed for any of this mess.
”You're right. She doesn't have reason to be scared anymore, Max. She said she's willing to work with the guys downtown to find Viktor. That's an odd dynamic and one I'm sure will follow her wherever she goes, I'm thinkin'.”
Bill turns in the direction my aim is and his eyes settle on Casey, now standing away a few feet from Emma. She's looking at us and her hand lifts in a brief wave. Her smile is small, but there. She's completely and understandably overwhelmed.
”There's a lot to clean up before we can celebrate,” I tell him honestly. ”You had men on the inside,” I accuse, mentally thumbing through the list of possibilities.
”Local PD didn't. This s.h.i.+t went big the moment your little Emilyn Richards came screaming into the station, ranting about her niece being kidnapped or whatever it was she said back then. She thought we weren't listening, and James sure as f.u.c.k wasn't. But the rest of us were.”
”Did your guy inside make it out?”
Confirming, he advises, ”They most certainly did.”
They.
Bill smiles, this time with genuine sarcasm. He won't give me more information and it's no use asking.
”I've got s.h.i.+t to do. Call your dad, will ya? He's been blowing up my boys' phones for over an hour. All this s.h.i.+t is already plastered on the news. No heroes at Creed, though. The department is gonna take some hara.s.sment from the community for this one. At least it's done and over with now.”
”It is,” I say out loud, but think to myself it certainly is not f.u.c.king done. There are so many pieces to this which need to be filtered through, I'm unsure where to start. Casey is safe, though, as are Emma and Anna.
”People can go back to dinner in front of their TVs and enjoy our quiet town like they used to,” he adds before walking away and leaving me alone.