Page 80 of This Time I'm Keeping You
“I don’t give a fuck,” Nick snarled.“He had to know I would after I heard that address.”
“You all control him,” Billy said with a sigh.
“Will do,” Sam said.
The address Denton had given was about forty minutes out of town.A rural area with plenty of farmland.
They followed the three police cars down a narrow road and then pulled to the side and stopped.
“You!”Benowitz pointed at him as he got out.“Stay here while we find your girl.If you follow or get in our way, I’ll cuff you or shoot you.”
“He’s a scary motherfucker,” Sam muttered.
“I’ll stay out of your way, but I’m following,” Nick growled back at the man.
They eyeballed each other, and then Benowitz sighed.“Don’t impede what we need to do.”He then stomped away.
“You lot stay here,” Sam said.“I’ll go with Nick.”
“Why should you go?”Gracie demanded.
“Because I said,” Sam snapped.
Nick ignored them and started following the now heavily armed police officers down the road.One by one, they all moved into the trees that lined either side of the road and disappeared.
“It’s like an episode fromNaked and Afraid, but we have our clothes on,” Em whispered from behind him.This was followed by a loud hiss for her to shut up.
He crept slowly behind Billy, who he’d kept eyes on.There was barely a rustle now as they moved.Even his siblings had managed to stay silent.
When Billy raised a hand, he dropped to a crouch.His cousin then gave him a look and pointed a finger at him, mouthing one word.“Stay.”
He then watched the police move to the house.Nick’s heart was beating so hard, it hurt.Is Poppy inside?Had Denton told us the truth?After the years Malcolm Davy had been tormenting his girl, had it come to this?Was she?—
No, he wasn’t going there.Poppy would walk out of that house safe.
He watched Benowitz move to the front door and try the handle.It was locked.Police circled the house in a crouch.Nick looked for windows but couldn’t see in, as the curtains were drawn.
“Let them do their job,” Sam whispered in his ear.
It went against everything inside him to stay crouched where he was.Nick kept his eyes on the house as two cops stood on either side of the front door.One raised a hand, and when two fingers were up, Benowitz stepped up to kick the front door open.
“Police!”he roared.
Nick heard shouts of “Drop your weapon!”Nick shrugged off Sam and got to his feet as Benowitz and three officers charged into the house.
“Wait, Nick!If you go in, you could get her killed,” Sam said.
Nick’s fists clenched as he watched that door.“I can’t see what’s going on.She has to be all right.”The words came out with a low growl.
“She will be.”
It felt like hours, but Nick knew it was only minutes before he saw them dragging a cuffed man from the house.He’d seen the picture of Malcolm Davy and knew it was him.
“I’m killing him!”Nick started running.The cops saw him coming.
“She’s alive but hurt,” one of them called to him.“Go inside.”
Davy raised his head, and Nick saw the insanity that he’d hidden for years.Changing direction, he sprinted into the house and took the stairs up to find Benowitz crouching before Poppy, who was seated on the bed.
