The sad part about this particular situation is that Stephanie’s dad had passed not long before she’d been attacked, adding insult to injury. She’d been struggling with the loss of a man who by all accounts had done everything in his power to shield and protect his little girl.
No sooner than he’d been put in the ground than this asshole had struck. It was almost as if the sick bastard had been waiting for just such an opportunity. From what I’d learned Kevin, the father, had been a hands on dad. He took his kid to and from school everyday and kept an eagle eye on her and her mom.
He was another one that had understood what the world was really like and knew the need to go that extra mile to protect the ones he loved. A drunk going the wrong way had put an end to a decent man who’d been out getting balloons for his kid’s birthday party. Two weeks later she was taken on her way home from school.
The mother was wracked with guilt because she couldn’t pick up the slack from where her husband had left off. But with the man of the house gone she’d had to go back out to work and her hours didn’t allow her to be home until at least an hour after Stephanie came home in the evenings.
It should’ve been safe enough to walk the few blocks home from the schoolyard, but somewhere between there and here the monster had struck, and their lives were changed forever. Her little eyes scanned the room like a cornered rat and I could feel the fear coming off her in waves. It was approaching full dark now, the time when her fear became paramount. It would take a few minutes for her to quell the fear the way we’d taught her to.
Soon she’d climb down off the bed and take my hand and I’ll lead her out to the living room where the others were waiting. After the hellos were exchanged we’d walk her around the house to show her where everything was secure, then I’d point out to her where each team was going to be. I’ll check her walkie talkie to make sure it was working as well as the panic button we’d gotten her.
When she was assured that all was in order we’d take our places around the perimeter of the house and settle in for the night. Tonight was no different than the ones that came before and we went through our paces, each man patient and attentive to the little girl that we’d sworn to protect.
When she was breathing easy and laughing shyly at our silly attempts to make her smile we knew it was time for her to call it a night. Donna said her goodnights and walked her daughter into the bedroom they now shared and we turned to leave the confines of the house as the little nightlight came on.
“Stryder, any word on the brother yet?”
“Nope, fucker’s in the wind.”
“That’s cool he won’t get close anyhow.” The perp’s brother was rumored to be picking up where his brother left off, since the law had decided it was easier to keep the fuck safe behind bars than it was out here in the open. After we’d gotten involved, life for Dwayne hadn’t exactly been going too good.
“What about that other thing I told you to do, where are we on that?”
“It’s being taken care of as we speak; chill Blade everything’s being handled.” There was a slight pause as he looked back at the house.
“You think she’ll be able to sleep tonight?”
Sometimes I forget how young some of my guys were. They tended to be such hard asses that it was easy, and it wasn’t often that you got to see the soft side of any one of them. But to a man, each and every one of these cases we’ve worked so far, they’ve given a hundred and ten percent. I’ve seen more heart in these ex cons and delinquents than in all the do gooder politicians who’re always running around spouting air out their ass.
“She’ll be fine Stryde, our girl is tough.” I could hear the soft timbre of the others as they patrolled the perimeters of the house. Not that we expected anyone to actually show up here. Dwayne was in the pen for his own protection and we had our guys in the surrounding counties on the lookout for his brother Sid.
Chapter 8
My phone rang and I grabbed it on the second ring. “It’s me.”
“Yeah Blade, just wanted to let you know I’ve partially barbecued old Sid.”
“You did what? Deke…”
“Hey I was torching the woods behind their house like you said, not my fault his ass was hiding out back there. Besides I said partially, there’s still some of him left...hey shut the fuck up I’m on the phone here.”
I could hear what sounded like a pig squealing in the background. “Is that him screaming in the background?” Fucker sounded like something out of Deliverance.