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inexplicably drew me in.
    The words Brad had shouted behind the closed
door replayed in my head. “At least be a man and finish the job.”
The connotation in that sentence was frightening, and my mind
wandered. Which of his delinquent sons had he been admonishing? The
purplish bruise across Ead’s cheek seemed to confirm the sound of
the strike.
    Even with that humiliation, Ead was leering
at me, walking too close. If you so much as breathe on me, I
will scream rape, I glared. The woody scent of his cheap
cologne filled the hallway. He was wearing cowboy boots, the tinny
sound of the metal tips scraping the floor, and his empty gun
holster rattled as he moved. I almost laughed. Everyone in town
knew the story of how he’d nearly shot the governor’s foot off
during a visit and had his firearm taken away indefinitely. That
had all been a little too public for Daddy to sweep under the rug.
Six months later, Ead’s gun holster was still empty. What an
idiot.
    Don’t talk to me, I repeated in my
head. Don’t talk to me . Of course he stopped right in front
of me with a chuckle, obviously waiting for me to look up. I
resisted only until realizing he wouldn’t go away unless his vile
presence was acknowledged.
    “Tommy Featherstone’s little sister,” his
thin, drawling voice sneered. “You’re looking…uptight as always.”
He stuck his arm against the wall in an inappropriate lean toward
me. Everything he said dripped blatantly with sexual narcissism.
“What were you and my little brother doing out in the middle of the
street together?”
    I gritted my teeth, determined not to speak.
I’d never said a word to him and hoped I’d never have to, which was
quite the lofty ideal for someone whose mouth frequently went
renegade. The truth is, if I was creeped out by Brad, I was terrified of Ead. If I could have chosen one dude not to
ever meet in a dark alley, it would have been him.
    Quickly as he’d approached me, he walked away
guffawing to himself, disappearing into another microscopic office.
I let out my breath, surprised the confrontation was over so
easily. It wasn’t a coincidence; Roy was headed toward me.
    “It’s all over, Sara,” he announced. “You can
go home.”
    I’d never been more relieved in my life, but
was hardly surprised. I shoved Ead out of my mind and my thoughts
wandered back to Emmett. “So what’s going to happen to him?” I
asked for the second time.
    “Emmett? He’ll be fine.”
    “Is he going to the hospital?”
    “Sara,” Roy said with a frown. “Do yourself a
favor and forget about all of this. His father will take care of
him now.”
    That’s what I was afraid of. “So you’ll get
him to the hospital?” I repeated.
    Roy took my jacket out of my arms and wrapped
it affectionately around my shoulders. I shrugged off the simple
gesture of apology. Roy had betrayed me, and I wasn’t feeling very
forgiving.
    “Do you need a ride home?” he asked.
    “No,” I snapped. That would be the worst idea
ever.
    I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and
dialed the only person I knew who would pick me up at two o’clock
in the morning from the police station and not tell my parents. Ten
minutes later a little blue PT Cruiser pulled up and a girl with
dark bouncy ringlets waved to me from the driver’s seat.
    Sometimes you had to put your trust in the
nutty granddaughters of the bible-thumping old ladies of the
world.
    “Hey Jamie,” I said, climbing into the
passenger side.
     
     
     
    ****
     
     
     
    Three O’Clock
     
     
    Soft music played on the radio as we pulled
out of the police station parking lot. The stress of the last few
hours had peaked and was now poised to leave my body. Soon I would
be home where I longed to be, where there would be silence, sweet
silence. As the subtle smell of pineapple air-freshener and the
warmth and gentle rocking of the car almost lulled me to sleep, I
remained blissfully unaware of our departure from the road. In
fact, I was