Page 58 of Dark Obsession

Layla turned into Logan’s arms as sobs tore through her.

“How did the cops get there so fast?”Logan tightened his arms.

“Conner or I sat outside her home every night.”Daniel caressed Keira’s cheek with his thumb.“For some reason, she wouldn’t let me protect her or even let me anywhere near her, so I had to watch her any way I could.I put up cameras outside her house.I put in sensors on all the doorways that would buzz me if someone entered her house.I had the police on alert, so they drove past the store and her house several times a day.”

“And the night she was attacked?”

“I was coming home from a job, but I was like an hour away.I wanted someone as close to her as possible.Conner said he’d watch her house until I got there.He saw her go into the house.I called him to make sure it was she who set off the sensors.”

“But if you had sensors on all the doors, how did he get in?”

Daniel sighed.“He was sneaking in through the attic.”

“I didn’t know that house had an attic,” Layla said as she glanced at Logan.She was shocked.She’d lived there for a year and hadn’t known.

Logan frowned in confusion.“I didn’t either.Where is the hatch or door to it?”

“It’s a little hatch inside the guest bedroom closet.If you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t see it.”

Layla’s eyes stayed locked on her sister.“How did she get away from him?”

“She had a knife on her and used that until her screams got to Conner and he came through the door.”

“He did this much damage in just a few minutes?”

“She fought hard.She got him, too.Conner said by the amount of blood at the scene, she got him pretty good.”

Layla nodded.“Good, I hope he rots in hell.”

“We all do.”

Layla narrowed her eyes at Daniel.“You love my sister, don’t you?”

“Hell, yes, I love her,” he didn’t hesitate to answer.“I still feel responsible for part of this.If I had made her, oh God, I don’t know, I would have helped her more.Just something.”

Logan said, “If the bastard wanted her that bad, you know there are ways he could have gotten to her.”

“How much does she know?”Layla asked as she brushed a few strands of hair off her sister’s forehead.

“Nothing.She can’t remember anything yet.Dr.Paulson sounded certain she would get it back, he just didn’t know when.”Daniel sat back down.“Why the hell didn’t she trust me?”

Logan sent a look to Layla before she turned to Daniel.“Daniel, what I’m going to tell you is going to make the situation more difficult for you, but I want you to know what you’re up against because of her childhood.”She took a deep breath.

“You already said you two were put into separate foster homes.”

Layla nodded, walked around the bed, and headed toward the windows, moving away from Keira, indicating that Daniel should follow.She continued in a whisper so as not to disturb her sister.

“Yes.So, not only were we orphaned, but they also separated us.I ended up in a pretty decent home.I had less than a year, so I just kept quiet and stayed to myself.Keira’s first home ...the...”Layla paused and took a breath.“The man molested her over the few weeks she was there.She ran before he was able to rape her.The problem was she told her caseworker, and she didn’t believe her.She thought Keira was acting out.She’d known these people for years and had never had any bad reports about him.

“Keira ran and was on the streets for a day before the cops found her and took her back to the social worker’s office.She threw such a fit when her caseworker wanted to take her back.She threatened to run again.The caseworker put her in another home.This one was better, it was a nice old couple.They pulled her from their house when it was decided they were too old to take care of a troubled teenager.The third house was okay.She got bullied but was never physically hurt.When I turned eighteen, I tried to get guardianship over her, but they refused because I wasn’t established in a job and didn’t have a home for her.So, we waited until she was eighteen.It helped that we could keep in touch, and we saw each other a few times a week.When she was old enough, we moved away, she went to college on a scholarship, and I started working at a women’s shop in the same area.”

Layla took a deep breath to steady herself.

“We lived in a small apartment off campus.I worked full-time, and she worked part-time around her class schedule.I remember waking up at three in the morning and seeing her studying for a test or working on a paper.She worked so hard so we could have a better life.One night, she went to a party with a few friends.I remember being excited for her.She never let herself have any fun, so I pushed her to go.A few hours into the party, she decided to leave and went to find her coat from the stack in a bedroom.She was grabbed from behind.Before she knew it, an older boy had her flat on the floor and was tearing at her jeans and keeping a hand over her mouth so no one could hear her screams.”

“Son of a bitch.”

She could tell Daniel was ready to lose it but wanted him to know everything.

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