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Nana…
Calls had been made. Terry, Jeremiah, and that pleasant boy, David, were on their way. The wreckage was spread throughout the house. Comforters were shredded. Her leather shoes had been dumped into a filled bathtub. Human excrement in the hall. Tonight was not the first night that they had spread destruction throughout her house. Nana felt as if she had discovered bees in every wall.
Desperate to find the familiar in the chaos, Nan sat in her untouched floral chair, clutching a cup and saucer that had remained unscathed. Why had these men done this? Having to stop every few minutes and rest on the arm of the couch, Mary Lynn was trying to sweep up some of the mess. Her daughter-in-law was refusing to talk and scraped the floor with the broom aggressively.
Her grandmother’s hummels had been stomped to panko crumbs. Every precious thing in Nan’s home had been meticulously destroyed. They’d even slept in her beds. She shuddered. This couldn’t be the work of just one man. The backyard man had looked so kind. Harmless. Like the men her husband had once golfed with. How could that man have done all of this? Her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.
The front door slammed open and Terry, large as a mountain, came crashing into the room. The last of her unbroken cups hit the floor and shattered. He saw Mary first and headed toward her like a bull. His gentleness stripped from him as he gripped her by the arms and lifted her to her toes, “Kennedy.” He growled.
“She isn’t here,” Nana squeaked. “Not yet.”
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“Why?” Terry got the word out and gave Mary a shake.
Primly, Nana smoothed her skirt over her lap. “It’s understandable that we would come here right away, considering what happened to Mary Lynn’s house.” The growl he made resonated in her bones, and she felt fear in his presence for the first time.
He released Mary and pointed toward the door. She cowered, but she didn’t move. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and he scooped up her daughter-in-law like she was a child and marched her out the front door as she yowled about her cats. He could take Mary.
That was fine, but Nan was waiting for the police. That is what you did when someone robbed your house. You called 911, and they came out and solved the crime. It was shocking that they had been waiting for over an hour. She planned to complain.
Terry had her up and out of the chair before she could think. His body was like a wall against her. She reached for the door frame as he carried her through, but there was no way to stop the forward momentum. He placed her in the back seat none too gently, and snapped the safety belt across her, holding her in place as if she was a four-year-old.
“Terry, this behavior is not acceptable.” His face was red with anger, and his pulse was visible on his forehead. He pointed at her, jaws working as if he was chewing the things he wanted to say. He shifted his accusing finger in Mary’s direction.
“Stay.” He growled.
After locking the front door, he stomped back toward the truck. Nan risked a glance over at her daughter-in-law, who looked pale as he pressed down on the gas and the truck leapt forward. He hadn’t even let them gather anything. My God, they’d left Mary’s cats behind. They were in the laundry room with food and water, but how long would they be okay?
He didn’t say a word when he pulled up at the motel, just swiveled in his seat, and pointed again. The nerve. They weren’t children.
Mary twisted her hands together and whispered to her, “Get out, Nan. He’d give his life for Kendie. If we put her in danger, he’ll give ours too, to keep her safe.”
The hair on the back of Nana’s neck rose. “That’s savage. We aren’t putting Kennedy in danger.”
Mary stared at her. “How can you still think that after seeing your home?”