Chapter 24

Zoe

I trudged up the stairs, struggling to lift my feet each step of the way. Who knew four windows held so much glass? Every time we thought we were done, we'd find more, all the way back to inside the fireplace on the far wall. In shoes, lamp shades, candleholders.... I knew we'd be finding it for years to come.

The upside was watching Zack help Dad and Uncle Kyle board the windows. Dani caught me ogling his muscles a couple of times and laughed, as did Aunt Sam. Of course, I caught them eying their own husbands, so they really had no room for laughter.

Sadly, I had to rest, leaning on the banister, then arching to stretch my back, before making that final step into the upstairs hallway. A door opened and Scott peeked his head out, waving to me excitedly in the patch of light from his room.

"Come here. Come here," he whispered.

His enthusiasm was contagious, and my body moved much more quickly along the hallway than I would have thought possible.

"What is it?"

He grabbed my elbow, did an exaggerated look up and down the hall, and yanked me into his room.

"I did it!"

My heart soared, but I tried to keep it in check. "What?"

He moved me over to the computer screen. It took me a few seconds, but the words "password accepted" never looked so sweet in my life. "I got in!"

"Oh, my God! You little genius." I swallowed him in a hug, and he lifted me off the ground, which I didn't know he was capable of. I bent to look at the screen again. "So you can erase the photos?"

"Yep."

"But... you won't look at them, will you?"

"Ooh. No!"

I smiled. "Good."

"And I'll erase all of your information off there, too. Everything."

"What about the computer program that puts them online?"

He clicked a few buttons. The screen that was up became small and moved to the top and a new screen full of coding appeared. "See here?" He pointed to a section. "It accesses his photos, and nothing will be there to access."

I grabbed him again. "Oh, my gosh! I can't believe you did it."

"Hey," he protested.

"No, I mean..." I waved at the monitors. "None of this stuff makes any sense to me. You're super smart."

He shrugged. "We're all gifted differently. I'm good with computers. You're good... with other stuff."

I tilted my head. "We'll explore what you mean by that some other time."

"Oh. And I'm gonna put all of the pictures into a zip file and send it to Dad's office computer, in case he back-hacks me, and in case the police need evidence. Which," he moved into his rolling chair, "I better get doing before he realizes he's been hacked."

"Okay. I'll go tell Dad and he can call the cops."

Scott nodded, but I wasn't even sure if he heard me. He was already absorbed in what he was doing. Such a nerd. I never thought I'd be grateful for that.

Dad was blown away by what I'd kept hidden. He sat stunned through most of my narration. Having a chore to do to remedy it, though, spurred him on.

"Okay. I'll call. You look exhausted though. It's been a rather crazy day. Go rest, and I'll let you know when the police need to talk to you."

"Okay. Thanks, Dad." I got to my feet and moved toward the back staircase.

"Honey?"

I turned around.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded. "It gets easier every day, and this, this is a huge relief."

"I think I should get you... someone to talk to about this. You know what I mean?"

"A psychiatrist. I know. And I think that would be a really good idea."

He came over and held me. "This is one thing I never wanted you to face." His voice rose in pitch at the end.

"I know, Daddy."

"You're being so strong" He pulled back. "I'm proud of you."

I shrugged. "It's not exactly something to be proud of."

"The way you're handling this is absolutely something to be proud of. And Scooter. I wonder if I should be concerned he knows how to do this."

I laughed. "Probably."

"All right. Go rest for a bit. I'll call immediately."

As I lumbered upstairs, I thought about our conversation. Dad took it better than I'd expected. He'd have a meltdown later, when it finally sunk in, that's how he was. Deal with the situation at hand, then think about the emotional aspect after. Still, he held it together remarkably well, though the pain he tried to hide was unmistakable.

I should have told him from the start. Well, a few days after Myles came home, at least.

I entered my bedroom and didn't even bother turning on the lights. I fell face-first into my bed.

This nightmare would be over. I'd gotten through telling Dad, Scott was taking care of everything else... I really owed that kid some trips to the ice cream store. I turned over on my side to get into a more comfortable position and caught a flash of light. I frowned. My tired brain wasn't able to figure out the source at first. When it did, I flew out of bed, totally rejuvenated by the thought of his kiss. Damn, the boy was good.

Scott must have texted him, and he wanted to talk to me. I looked out the window. He had his hood up and was not looking at my window. I flashed the return signal anyway and tore down the stairs. He'd find out I was coming soon enough.

* * *

Zack

Helping out at the McCords' was actually fun. I felt part of their big wonderful family, and I liked that. I mean, Mom and I were cool together, too. But I did like all the noise and the laughter, the teasing and the kindness that went with it. And I loved watching Zoe apart from me. It heightened my desire, to be in the same room with her, and not be able to touch her. We made some super-hot eye contact. Blazing.

In fact, I still thought about her as I took off my shirt and got ready to fall into bed. I leaned on Dad's desk and looked across at her window, knowing she might be right behind those curtains. A yellow ball appeared out of nowhere.

Huh?

I bent over more, squinting and trying to better understand what I was seeing. As I moved forward, I realized the dot of light on her window was attached to a beam, which I followed to the ground. Somebody stood in a hoodie, shining a flashlight into Zoe's room. My heart dropped and was stung by a flash of betrayal—she had some other guy calling her out with our signal? The answering signal illuminated the grass in front of the shadowy figure.

No. Zoe wouldn't do that. Then who—Oh, my God!

I charged through the hall and down the stairs. He'd been watching her house. For how long? He knew our signal. And Zoe was meeting him.

* * *

Zoe

He didn't appear right away. I took a few tentative steps forward, unsure of where he would be.

"Zack?"

Nothing. Was he playing some kind of game? I took a few more steps away from the house.

"Zack. Quit playing. I have something to tell you."

Listening, I kept moving toward his house. Someone grabbed my shoulders, propelling me forward with the force of their momentum. I stumbled, but they thrust me in front of them, keeping me on my feet, then slamming me against the back corner of Zack's house. The air was forced out of my lungs and I choked. They jerked me away from the wall, spun me around, and rammed me back against the siding. I struggled to breathe, but nothing was coming in. I stared into eyes black with rage.

"You stupid bitch!"

Ben held me against the house with one arm and reached under his zippered jacket with the other, sliding out a manila envelope.

"Did you think I wouldn't have copies?" He yanked me against his body. "Huh?"

He threw me back, with incredible power, freeing me for a second, but he was on me before my head even cleared. However, the impact actually helped me to breathe somehow, and I got enough air to scream.

"No! St—"

He slapped a hand over my mouth, leaning in so close I was hit by the spittle from his words.

"Tomorrow these will be pasted all over the school. But you are also gonna get immediate punishment. I told you I'm not a very nice person when I get mad."

His hand slid under the short floral skirt I still had on from school, all the way up to my hip, where he grabbed the side of my panties.

"How convenient."

I screamed and fought against him, then—I honestly don't know what happened or where he came from, but suddenly the weight lifted from me and loud noises erupted on the lawn. I closed my eyes, squeezing tears out, gasping for air. My lungs ached. I put an arm across my stomach and stumbled away from the wall, trying to figure out what was going on.

Two figures were rolling around and grappling, cussing and grunting coming out of their mouths in turn. Someone rose up and landed a punch, then was flipped over. The new positioning brought them into the edges of light from our patio off the kitchen. Zack was on bottom, and his face was bloodied.

"Oh, my God! STOP!"

I rushed forward but had to jump when their positions switched again. Zack muscled Ben over and started wailing on him. It was horrible. Blood and spit were flying out of Ben's mouth. Zack bunched his jacket in his left hand to keep him in position and was landing punch after punch with his right. Ben's head would bounce off the ground with each blow and return for another. At first, his feet were kicking, and he was bucking... then he went still.

"Zack. Zack. Stop!"

I tried to drag him off, but I couldn't get close enough and avoid his flying elbow. The sound of flesh and bone meeting flesh and bone was sick.

"What the hell's going on?"

My dad coming out on the porch may have been what saved Ben, because Zack was in such a frenzy, I don't think he would have stopped.

Dad jumped the few steps to the patio. "Zack!"

I ran around to his side, blubbering. It was all so shocking. Zack looked at Ben, released his jacket, and scrambled to his feet, moving away from the motionless body on the ground.

"You're hurt."

I ran to him. He was huffing out air, staring at Ben. A wide streak of blood ran from his nose, and it was in his mouth, between his teeth. He moaned and stumbled back a bit more, putting his hand on his abs.

"Zack...." I slid my hand around him, and he slowly lifted an arm, clumsily plopping it around my shoulder. He staggered again, putting more weight on me.

Dad took a step forward, staring at Ben. "Is this the guy? Is this him?" He looked at Zack. He didn't look like my dad. His eyes were scarily dark. Zack bobbed his head, still not able to talk.

Ben stirred and struggled onto one elbow. Dad planted a boot on his chest, forcing him back to the ground.

"Stay. Down."

Uncle Kyle rushed out the door wearing nothing but a T-shirt and boxer briefs. "What...?" He kept coming forward, taking in the players. Then he repeated my dad's words, looking at me. "Is this the guy? Is this the punk who... did that to you?"

Daddy lifted his head. "You knew?"

"I told him not to tell you, Daddy." He turned to look at me. "I wanted the chance to tell you myself."

Aunt Sam stuck her head out the door. "Everybody all right?" she asked tentatively.

"When you're done," Kyle said to Dad, lifting his chin, "I want my shot." He pulled out a wrought iron patio chair and sat, leaning forward, with his arms on his thighs, presumably to watch the show.

Police sirens blasted through the neighborhood, ensuring everyone in the family would be awake soon. Sam stepped out and put her arm around Kyle. Police officers hopped out of their cars and, noting the people standing around in the back yard in the middle of the night, headed our way. And it was possible they could make out my dad with his foot pinning Ben to the ground. They drew their weapons and moved toward us. Zack stepped in front of me, raising his hands in the air.

"Sir. Put your hands up," they said to Dad.

He slowly lifted his arms, removed his foot, but gave Ben a little kick in the ribs before turning around. One of the cops tugged on Zack's arm.

"No," I said softly.

Zack looked back. "It's okay." But I could tell he was scared.

Another cruiser pulled alongside the first. "Sir," the other cop said. "Step this way." Dad moved toward him. Kyle stood, watching Ben.

"Sir!" the one who talked earlier to Dad said to Kyle. "Remain where you are."

Kyle stopped, looking at the officer.

"Put your hands in the air."

He immediately did as he was told.

He directed his next order to Aunt Sam. "Ma'am. Please lift your hands where we can see them."

She rolled her eyes and—if arms could be raised sarcastically, she raised them sarcastically.

I almost had to laugh. She was fearless and sassy as hell.

The second pair of police officers arrived, holding flashlights and pistols. One stopped to shine the light on Zack and Dad, the other moved over to Ben's feet. He had his hands partially in the air.

"Get up," the cop said bluntly.

Ben rose slowly. Uncle Kyle stared at him as if he was still considering jumping his ass.

The officer jerked his head in the direction of our house. "Against the wall."

A third car arrived. It wasn't like it was a gang throw down or something, so it was overkill, but that's how things worked in our suburban neighborhood. The firefighters should be arriving next. Any excuse to get out of the firehouse.

Ben moved over by my dad, with a couple of feet between them. Dad and Zack scowled at him. The officer put a hand on Ben's shoulder, holstered his weapon, then produced cuffs while his partner and one of the first cops who responded kept their weapons trained on everybody.

The officer kicked at Ben's shoes. "Wider."

As the new arrivals approached, an officer stepped over to Zack and yanked his arm down to cuff him. Zack looked a little freaked out.

I made a squeaking noise.

"It's okay, son," Dad said to Zack. "I'll take care of this."

Zack nodded.

Ben was swung around. "Get on your knees." Gripping his arm, the officer assisted him to the ground. "This one's gonna need medical attention."

As if on cue, an ambulance pulled in. The firefighters would be so pissed to arrive last.

Ben raised his gaze to me, staring at me with pure hate. "This is your fault."

"Shut up!" his police officer shouted, making him jump. "You open your mouth again, you're not gonna like how I respond." He looked at me, then to the cop nearest me, who glanced my way. It was cold, and I was shivering.

"You can move over to the patio, honey," he said kindly.

I went to Aunt Sam, and she gathered me into her chest. They didn't seem to mind her hands were no longer in the air. The guy near Ben, who must have been the ranking officer, or a real bad ass or something, looked at the cop now holding onto a cuffed Zack. "Him first."

"Come on, son." He was led away, looking back at me and trying to be brave.

Mrs. Issaacs stepped out from the front of their house. "Where are you taking him? That's my son." A new cop—a fourth cruiser must have arrived without me noticing—stepped over to talk to her.

They started to take my dad, and he looked back at Sam. "Tell Dani everything will be all right and I'll call her as soon as possible."

I glanced in the kitchen window. Dani had Myles, who appeared to be asleep, on her shoulder, and was corralling Scott and Tabby up the stairs, but Scott was jumping, trying to peer out the window. A pang of sympathy bit me as she watched her husband get led away, unable to even speak to him. And I never got to talk to her, so she was totally clueless about what was going on.

Since the police were otherwise occupied, Kyle slid over to Sam and me, keeping his hands up and glancing at the cops now and then. "You okay, honey?" he said to me.

I swallowed and nodded, blinking back tears. His being nice would make me lose it. The three of us stepped out onto the grass and moved around so we could observe better. Kyle put his hand out to stop us and Sam and I turned our heads. An officer was approaching us. "Sir, I'd like for you to step over here, please, and answer a few questions." Kyle took our hands, giving us a squeeze and a smile. "I'll be right back."

They talked, occasionally looking at me, and I knew my turn was coming soon. I moved out of Aunt Sam's arms and crept forward. She followed. The ambulance's doors were open, illuminating a large area. A paramedic was sticking cotton things in Zack's nose. I bet that felt good. He looked over, caught my eye, and smiled. My heart lightened. Ben was again on his knees, being watched closely, and an officer was talking to my dad against a cruiser. Mrs. Issaacs and her police officer walked over to us.

She looked from me to Sam. "What's going on?"

I stepped forward. "Mrs. Issaacs, I'm so sorry." I started crying.

She gently put a hand on my shoulder. "Zoe. I'm sure whatever was going on here wasn't your fault."

Sam patted my back, too. "Of course not. Although I have no idea what's going on, to be truthful," she added.

"That boy," I indicated Ben, "tricked me into coming outside and... attacked me. Zack came out—I don't know how he knew I needed him but, thank God." I got a little worked up.

"Oh, honey," Mrs. Issaacs said. "Take a few breaths."

I complied. "They got into a fight, and the police came."

The police officer drew out a tablet. "Would you be ready to give a statement, miss?"

I looked at Aunt Sam. She looked at the officer. "Should she wait for her father?"

"Who's her father?"

Sam nodded in his direction. "The one over there, talking to the officer by the car."

"In cuffs?"

"Yes."

"Well, it would go a lot faster if I took her statement now. She can maybe read it over with her dad before she signs it."

Sam hesitated. "Okay."

I gave my statement. Kyle joined us at one point. They finished with Zack and put him in a car before giving medical attention to Ben. Mrs. Issaacs left so she could meet him at the station. We inched forward, but weren't allowed close enough to overhear much. I watched as they opened a door for my dad.

He looked at me. "It'll be okay, Zo. I'll be back soon."

I nodded.

Apparently, Ben was needing a lot of work. They ended up putting him in the ambulance, and one of the police cars followed it as they left the neighborhood, thankfully with no sirens.

Aunt Sam hugged me to her hip. "Come on, babe. Let's go in so I can help Dani get the kids to bed and you can get some shut eye."

"Can I go to the station?"

She looked at Kyle.

"Uhh... let's see what Dani has to say about it."

Dani didn't want anyone else from her family taken away, so I stayed. For her.

After the kids went back to sleep, we all tried to rest. I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I kept checking for texts from Dad or Zack. I must have drifted off.

Somewhere around dawn, I was awoken by someone sitting on the bed by me.

"Zack!" I flew up, flinging my arms around him.

"Sh-sh-sh. Everyone's asleep."

I started crying. I was so overwhelmed by having him back, and everything that happened.

He pulled away, pushing the hair from my face. "Hey. Don't cry. Everything's fine."

"Are you all right?" I scrutinized him, stroking his face gently.

"Yes, I'm fine." He did look pretty good. "What about you?"

"I'm okay." I hugged him again, so relieved he was home. "Is Dad home?"

"Yes. He wouldn't leave until they released me. He said it was okay if I came in here, 'this one time.'" He imitated my dad's voice and I had to laugh.

"Can you come in with me?" I held up the covers.

"Uhh... we better not press our luck. I'll lie on top."

"Okay."

He stretched out beside me and played with my hair as he filled me in on the details. He yawned. "Better not fall asleep." Yawn. "Your dad will kill me."

I was beginning to get sleepy myself. "Yeah. That's true."

"Your dad was amazing. He went with a policeman to the hospital to take Maria Alvarez's statement and offer proof that what we were saying was true. He also provided them with the zip file Scottie created."

"Hmm." I was drifting off again, then I thought of something. "How did you know I was in trouble?" When he didn't answer, I whispered his name.

He stirred. "What?"

"When you came and yanked Ben off me, how did you know I was in trouble?"

"Mmm... I was looking across at your window, and I noticed him using our signal to lure you outside."

It was quiet.

I rolled over to face him. "Zack?"

He fought his eyes open. "Yeah?"

"I can't believe we're together."

He reached over and brushed his hand over my face. "It's always been you, Zoe. Always."

We kissed and thought more about all we had been through, and how lucky we were that it brought us together, stronger than ever.

* * *

Danielle

"Well, no wonder the poor girl wouldn't eat." I was fairly nauseous myself. "I can't believe she didn't share that with us."

Tucker put his feet on the coffee table, which was usually a no-no, but with the week we'd been through, it seemed hardly important. "According to Kyle, she was afraid I would throw a gasket. Which you know, I'd never do. She thought I'd run out and hunt that son-of-a-bitch down and put him through various kinds of tortures, like castrating, burning alive, dismemberment..."

"But you'd never do that."

"Huh? Right."

I laughed.

"Don't laugh. I'm not entirely sure those options aren't out of the question."

I thought about asking him what exactly would happen to the kid, but he looked so tired.

"Why don't we head up for bed."

He stood and offered me his hand. "That sounds heavenly." He stretched his back.

Noticing the boarded window on the landing, I asked, "Did they charge him for shooting out our front windows?"

"The weasel denies doing that," Tucker lowered his voice as we approached the top of the stairs, "and I don't know whether I believe him or not."

We reached Zoe's door, which was half open. Tucker took the knob and opened the door a bit farther. Zack was asleep on top of Zoe's quilt. Zoe was under her sheets, but her head was on Zack's chest, his arm around her. Since the sun was now fully up, I could make out some bruising and swelling on one side of Zack's face. But, from what I'd understood about the altercation, he'd gotten off pretty easy. Tucker drew the door toward us and softly closed it.

We continued to our bedroom, his arm around my shoulder.

"You're not freaking out," I whispered.

He looked at me for a second. "Oh, you mean about Zoe and Zack?" I nodded. "Nah. That kid's all right."

"Wow. And it only took throwing himself in front of bullets to protect your daughter and rescuing her from an assault to win you over."

"And pulverizing the guy."

"Oh, yeah. That, too."

Tucker fell asleep pretty quickly, but it took me a while to sort through all the information he'd given me. I thought about what amounted to Zoe's attempted date rape. That phrase, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't know," popped into my head. Not in Zoe's case.

I turned over and fluffed my pillow. The image of Zack and Zoe in her bed came back to me. Ahh. Young love. So pure. So innocent. Beautiful, really. The fact he was the handsome devil who lived next door for half of her life made me reconsider my earlier thoughts about the devil you know.

I yawned. It was quite a day. In the soft morning light, the disconcerting noises of the last—fifteen hours or so—still rang through my head—gunshots, angry shouts, and police sirens. I could only imagine what the shattering glass must have sounded like.

Then, I listened to Tucker's soft snoring beside me. One of my favorite noises. I thought about all the sounds in the various rooms in our big old farmhouse. Myles' cries, Scott's—our hero's—computer keyboard tapping, Kyle's teasing voice, Sam's sarcasm and hilarity, Zack and Zoe's Seether music and laughter (I was so proud to be the mother to a daughter who knew how to rock out).... I hoped those other noises would stay away for a bit. But I was thankful that—when all was said and done—these were the noises surrounding me on a daily basis.

The End

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SATAN, LINE ONE

The Devilish Divas Series

Book Four

~

Killian

When I was finished, I began to walk back to where my friends were, but I was dismayed to catch Josie approaching a guy midway down the bar. I stopped so abruptly on my non-skid mat I almost toppled over despite it. I walked slowly past them, then hovered within hearing range. I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I was glad I did.

“Hello. Anyone sitting here?” Josie said sweetly.

The cur whirled to face her, a slick smile spreading across his face like a freakin’ oil spill. “Only you, gorgeous.” He was the size of a small mountain. He was in before, a time or two, with his construction worker pals. I could tell by the loose way he moved, and the way he squinted his eyes to focus them, he was good and fluthered. 

Josie threw a quick glance and a smile at the other girls while taking her seat, apparently counting this as a victory. Her eyes shifted to Sam. 

“Go on. Go on,” Sam whispered hoarsely.

“Umm…so…is it a good game you’re watching?”

A news program was on the piped telly, but she hadn’t bothered to look. This amused him. He chuckled, then pushed a strand of her hair back, raking his eyes over her face. My gut rolled and my jaw became as tight as a bear trap.

“Yeah, baby. It’s a good game.”

He no doubt thought he had a Sheila on his hands and was in for an easy screw. I couldn’t see his hands over the bar, but Jo jumped and the positioning of his arms suggested he’d placed a hand on her leg. He licked his lips. 

“You’re so beautiful.” He moved closer, the hand presumably traveling up her leg farther.

I couldn’t see her face, but her voice shook slightly when she said, “You know what? I think I made a mistake. I think I should get out of here.”

“Oh, no. Not when we’re just getting started.” His voice held an edge to I didn’t take to. I moved closer. 

Josie leaned in and her voice was calm and as sharp as steel. “No. Whatever you thought was getting started, it’s through.” 

I tilted my head and nodded. Impressive. I wouldna thought it in her.

She got to her feet and turned to go, but the ass grabbed her arm, jerking her toward him.

“Listen, bitch. Nobody talks to me that way. And I’ll say when we’re through.”

In my peripheral vision I caught Dani and Sam rising. One word erupted from my throat, catching me off guard. I was ragin’. My voice didn’t even sound like me. “Apologize.”

This seemed to flummox the brute, as his ugly puss took on a baffled expression. A bigger bollox never put an arm through his coat. “What?”

My teeth were gnashing together so hard I thought I’d grind them right out of my mouth. “I said, apologize to the lady.”

He released his hold on Josie and rose from his stool, and I swear upon me da’s grave, the man grew larger.  Like one of those animals that evolved and adapted defense mechanisms that made them look bigger and more intimidating, he expanded. He inhaled and his chest got broader, his fists got meatier, and he grew by a foot. “The hell, I will.”

I threw the towel I’d been pretending to use onto the bar. “Look, fella. If I have to play the equalizer and throw you out of here bodily, I’m up for the task.”

He laughed. And to be fair, it was a particularly ridiculous idea, my hundred-eighty plus pounds to his two tons. “What’s it to you, Mick? This your whore?” 

I don’t know how what happened next actually transpired. Maybe I stepped on the shelf that held the bottles, but I woulda thought it wouldn’t o’ held me weight. In any case, I vaulted over the bar and crashed into his rock solid chest. The powerhouse cocktail of surprise, momentum, and adrenaline rocked him. He didn’t have the time to brace himself for my ferocious attack, so he stumbled and we fell to the ground. We scrapped around some and I finally got my arm free enough to belt him a good one in the son-of-a-bitch’s face, which was like boxing a bar of gold. I knew I hadn’t a chance in God’s wide world to take him, but I hoped to inflict a bit of damage before he knocked me teeth out.

~

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Satan, Line One

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