What Hurts the Most: An engrossing, heart-stopping thriller (7th Street Crew Book 1)

by Willow Rose

  “Why have you come here?” Mary asks.

  There are more steps coming from upstairs and a door is opened. A man comes out and stands behind Mary. Ally guesses it’s her father. It’s the same man from the picture that AK just smashed. The one that is scattered all over the floor.

  “What’s going on?” he asks. “Who is this? What are you doing in my house?” he yells.

  Mary turns to look at him. “It’s her,” she says. “It’s Anne-Katelyn.”

  The man calms down. His shoulders fall back into place. “Oh.”

  Ally is surprised. She had never heard AK’s real name before. She is stunned that Mary knows it. Mary’s dad reaches out his arms.

  “Katie,” he says.

  “Don’t,” AK suddenly yells. “Don’t call me that. You have no right to call me that. And don’t come any closer!”

  Then she says something that makes Ally’s blood freeze.

  “I have a gun!”

  “Katie,” Mary says. “I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  “Yes! Yes, I do,” AK yells, then pulls out the gun and points it at them. “I want to hurt all of you.”

  Ally gasps and pulls back. She has never seen a real gun before. She can tell by AK’s voice that she is desperate. It scares her. It terrifies her to her core. She doesn’t know what AK is capable of. Could she kill someone?

  This is not going to end well.

  “AK…maybe we should…” She tries to speak to her, but AK doesn’t listen. It’s like she is in this trance of anger that she can’t escape. Ally can’t reach her.

  The gun is shaking in AK’s hand. She is sniffling behind her mask.

  “We never meant to hurt you, Katie,” the dad says.

  “We only did what was best,” Mary says.

  Ally tries hard to figure out what the heck is going on. She has no idea what they’re talking about, how they know each other. She feels like crying. She wants to get out of there so badly. She looks towards the entrance door and wonders if AK would shoot her if she tried to escape.

  Probably.

  Ally doesn’t dare to try. She stands completely still and hopes AK will calm down and come to her senses.

  “Katie. We…” The dad tries to say something, but he doesn’t get any further before AK interrupts him.

  “You know what hurts the most?” she yells with bitterness to her voice. “That I was so close. I was so damn close.”

  “What is going on out here?”

  A woman Ally recognizes from the picture as the mother comes out of the door and approaches the others.

  “Who is yelling? You’re waking the baby.”

  When the gun goes off, the bullet moves so fast that Ally only sees the mother freeze in the air before the blood spurts out of her stomach. While Mary screams, the woman tumbles down the stairs, one step at a time.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  September 2015

  “My father’s house is on fire!”

  I storm out of the car. A fire truck has just pulled up and they’re trying to get the fire under control. I spot Danny among them and run up to him. He grabs my shoulders and looks into my eyes.

  “Is there anyone in there, Mary?”

  “I…I don’t know,” I say. They’re usually home at this time. I think. Can’t you send anyone inside to check?”

  He shakes his head. “It’s way too dangerous right now. The fire has gotten to the roof, and it’s going to crash in a matter of seconds.”

  I am desperate now. As we speak, a car drives up, and a woman jumps out. She screams. I turn and look at her. It’s Laura. She is cupping her mouth and screaming. I run to her.

  “Laura, where is my dad? Laura!”

  She doesn’t even look at me. She points at the fire and simply screams in shock.

  “Laura!” I yell. “Is my dad in there?”

  She looks at me and nods. My heart stops.

  “H-h-he was taking a n-n-nap,” she stutters. “I went to Publix for just half an hour.”

  I turn to look at Danny, then I scream at the top of my lungs while running to him.

  “My dad is in there! My dad is in the house!”

  As I yell, I am drowned out by a loud crash when the roof collapses. I fall to my knees and scream.

  “NOOOOO!”

  Joey grabs me in his arms and tries to pull me away from the fire. The firefighters are yelling at each other and at people to stay back. They’re yelling at me and Joey to get out of there. I can hardly hear them anymore. It’s all a blur. The smoke, the people, the screams. I can’t take it anymore. Joey is pulling me, but I can’t let him. I can’t just go away. I refuse to give up.

  I pull myself free of him, then storm towards a window on the side of the house that hasn’t popped yet. I see nothing but smoke on the other side, but I also know this is my father’s study, his favorite room to work in and nap in his chair.

  “No! Mary, no!” Joey yells.

  “It’s too late!” Danny yells.

  While everyone is screaming behind me, I jump. Like Superman, I jump through the glass window. Glass is everywhere. I cut myself on my hands and face before I land on the floor inside. Fire is licking up the walls in the room and I stay low to not inhale too much smoke.

  “Daaaad?” I scream, while beams are falling on all sides of me. I realize I can’t breathe and start to cough heavily, when suddenly I hear something. The adrenalin is rushing through my veins as I spot my dad. He’s on the floor, so close to the window, lying flat on his stomach, his arm stretched out like he is reaching for the window, for the outside.

  You almost made it, didn’t you?

  He is stuck underneath a fallen beam. It’s still on fire, so I can’t touch it. Instead, I kick it with all I have, while pieces of the roof are still falling around my ears. I get him free, then grab his arm and pull him up on my back. As I approach the window, I scream.

  “Heeeelp!”

  I see something. Through the smoke, I see movement. I carry my dad closer, hoping and praying we won’t be hit by anything falling, when I spot Danny jumping through the window, wearing all his gear. He spots us when he lands, then runs to us. He’s got a couple of big wet blankets that he throws on top of us, then he grabs my dad and lifts him up, while I run forward, my arms covering my head, holding the blanket over my back. I manage to get myself back out the window, cutting my leg and ripping my dress. When I am outside, I throw myself on the ground. Exhausted, out of breath, coughing, and scared to death.

  Joey runs up to me and helps me get to my feet. I watch as the firefighters help Danny carry my father out of the window and towards the paramedics. They’re all over him. I try to get close.

  “Is he alive?” I ask.

  No one answers. I try hard not to cry.

  Please, dear God. Please, don’t take him too.

  “We’ve got a pulse,” I hear someone say, then fall to my knees and let it all go.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  September 2015

  I go with the ambulance to the hospital in Cape Canaveral. Joey drives Salter there and they meet me in the waiting room. Salter runs into my arms and holds me tight.

  “That was really dangerous, Mommy,” he says.

  “You gave us quite a scare,” Joey says and hugs me as well. We hold each other like we used to, back when we were still a family. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

  “I am sorry,” I say, crying and holding my loved ones close. Gone is all the hurt; gone is all the pain. It doesn’t matter anymore. These are the people I love and I am so grateful to still be alive and to have them in my life. So happy I can still hold them in my arms.

  “I am so sorry,” I say through tears. “I just couldn’t leave him in there to die. I just couldn’t.”

  We let go of each other and sit down to wait. Salter keeps ahold of my hand. Joey has a hard time holding back his tears.

  “Have they checked you?” he asks, biting his lip. “You could have suffered
from smoke inhalation injury or something. They need to check you.”

  I nod. “I know,” I say and cough.

  “Is Grandpa going to be alright?” Salter asks with concern.

  I pull him closer and kiss the top of his head. “We don’t know yet, sweetheart. We don’t know. But I do have hope.”

  A doctor enters the room and I get up. “Any news about my father?” I ask, but he shakes his head.

  “We’re doing all we can to save him, but we need to take a look at you as well. Right now. Smoke inhalation is a serious thing.”

  I follow the doctor and they put me in a bed. They do a chest X-ray to determine if there is lung injury. They attach a probe to my finger to determine the degree of oxygen in my blood. They run a series of blood tests and finally they hook me up with an oxygen tank. I am hoarse and I do find it hard to breathe on my own, so I am happy to be in good hands. But several hours later, I still don’t know how my dad is doing. I am terrified of losing him.

  Finally, a doctor comes to my bedside. He tells me I have suffered a minor smoke inhalation injury and that there may still be shortness of breath with minimal exertion in the coming days.

  “It may take time for your lungs to fully heal, and some people may have scarring and shortness of breath for the rest of their lives. It's important to avoid triggering factors, such as cigarette smoke. You’ll need to have follow up visits with your own doctor, but other than that, I’ll recommend you’ll be discharged tomorrow morning. Seek medical help if your symptoms worsen,” he says.

  I pull off the oxygen mask to speak. I still have shortness of breath, and speaking makes me tired.

  “How is he?” I ask, not caring one bit about what he is telling me about myself. “Is he alive?”

  “Your father is alive, yes. He is still in critical condition. It’s too early to say.”

  “But he’s still alive?” I say.

  “Yes.”

  The doctor leaves and I lean back in my bed. Minutes later, Salter and Joey peek in.

  “How’s the patient?” Joey asks.

  I can tell that Salter is scared.

  “I’m fine,” I say, sounding more cheerful than I feel. I didn’t like the look on the doctor’s face when he told me about my father. It wasn’t hopeful.

  I ask Salter to come closer, then have him sit on the edge of my bed. I look into his eyes. “Mommy will be fine, alright? The doctor just told me so.”

  “Why do you have all that, then?” he asks and points at the oxygen mask that I have pulled down to be able to speak.

  “Ah, this old thing? It’s just to help me breathe better, they say. I don’t really need it. They’re just being very overprotective around here.”

  I end the sentence with a deep cough and have to pull the mask back on to breathe. I take in a few deep breaths, then pull it off again. Salter looks at me, worried. I try to smile.

  “There’s someone else here to see you,” Joey says, and opens the door.

  In comes first Danny carrying a fistful of balloons. Then Alex, Sandra, Marcia, and Chloe follow him.

  It melts my heart to see all of them here, and now I start to really cry.

  “Aw, you guys.”

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  January 1984

  “Here’s your daughter. She is a little shy.”

  The lady from the adoption agency kneels next to the young girl. “There’s no need to be scared,” she says to her. “These are your new parents.”

  The young girl looks up at Penelope and Peter. She is seven years of age, the agency has told them. Just like their own daughter.

  “Oh, Peter, she is perfect,” Penelope says, smiling. She is happy. They both are. After years of trying to have a second child, it was the right decision to adopt.

  “We’ve wanted another child for so long,” Penelope says to the lady from the adoption agency.

  The lady smiles. “I’m sure you’ll all be very happy together. I understand there is another child in the family?”

  “Yes, we have another daughter. She is actually the exact same age. I hope they’ll have so much fun together. It’s going to be almost like having twins.”

  “Where is your daughter now?” the lady asks.

  Peter’s smile stiffens.

  “She is not well,” Penelope says. “She had an emergency last night and had to be taken to the hospital. We’ll go there now and see her with her new sister.”

  The lady from the adoption agency looks at Penelope. “Oh, I am so sorry,” she says. “Will she be alright?”

  “We hope so. The doctors simply can’t figure out what is wrong. It is frustrating.”

  “That must be very hard on you both.”

  Peter doesn’t say anything. Penelope nods her head. “It is. It’s always tough when it’s the little ones, you know? You want so badly to make them feel better, but there isn’t anything we can do. That reminds me. We should get going. They’re running more tests this afternoon.”

  Penelope looks at the little girl and reaches out her hand. “Hi there, sweetheart. What beautiful eyes you have. How do you feel about going to the hospital to meet your sister?”

  The girl looks at Penelope, terrified. Penelope knows her story and knows she has to be careful with her. She has to gain her trust.

  “I understand she has moved around a lot?” Peter asks.

  “Yes. As you know from the file we sent you, she lost her parents when she was three, and since then she has been moving around to different foster homes and families, and it has just been a mess for her. I do hope it’ll work out with you. She needs a stable family now.”

  “Oh, we can provide that for her,” Penelope chirps. “Come with us.”

  The girl is still staring at Penelope’s hand with skeptical eyes.

  “And you do know about the last family she was with, don’t you?” the lady asks.

  Penelope nods. “Yes. Awful story. To think that they would have those orgies at their house with the child there; it’s painful.”

  “And you must know that she was abused by several of the members of their satanic cult. That was why we had to remove her.”

  “Well, you won’t see any of that stuff around here,” Penelope says. “We’re good old God-loving church-going folks.”

  Then she laughs. Peter chuckles along. The little girl stares at them still, while she makes her decision.

  “Come on,” Penelope says, and moves her hand closer. Finally, the girl decides to grab it.

  Penelope smiles. “We’ll take good care of you. Don’t you worry.”

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  September 2015

  “We’re still working on the site, but I wanted to tell you in person that we’re ruling it arson.”

  Danny is standing at my bedside, looking seriously at me. “The electrical wiring, the appliances, and all other potential accidental causes of a fire have been ruled out. The burn patterns show the fire was set in a back room of the house with the use of an accelerant—gasoline. I have seen it enough times in my professional life to be sure.”

  “So, you’re telling me someone broke into my father’s house and set it on fire?” I ask.

  “Yes. That’s what we believe.”

  “With him inside of it!” I exclaim, feeling the anger build.

  Joey grabs my hand in his. I pull away. I am angry right now. I am entitled to be. I don’t want comfort or pity. I want whoever did this to pay, to go to jail.

  “Have you informed the police?” I ask.

  “We will. As soon as the investigation is done.”

  “Good.”

  Sandra approaches me, her head slightly tilted, pity in her eyes. “I am so sorry,” she says. “It’s terrible what has happened to you and your father.”

  “Do you have any idea who might have wanted to hurt your father?” Danny asks.

  I look to Joey. Our eyes meet. He knows what I think.

  “No,” I say. “But I do have an idea who wants t
o hurt me.”

  Joey tells them about our visit to the base and the threat from the man in Jamie Barley’s house.

  “You really think they would go this far?” Marcia asks. She seems more present that usual. She doesn’t smell like alcohol, but her eyes tell me she is on something else.

  I shrug and look to Joey again. “I didn’t hear the threat,” he says. “I was in the car, but you were pretty shaken up when you came back. These people are dangerous.”

  “They’re the ones who framed Blake,” I say.

  All eyes turn to look at me.

  “What?” Sandra asks.

  “What are you saying?” Chloe asks, stepping closer to me.

  I take a deep breath of oxygen through the mask to better be able to speak. The sound reminds me of the time when I went scuba diving in the Keys. “I spoke to Olivia Hartman earlier today. You all remember her, right? Double O?”

  They all nod. Alex and Danny look at each other while nodding, and I can tell they still find her hot. “Well, she was seeing Blake. Some of you already know this, but they had an affair. I have a feeling it has been going on for quite some time. She is married to General Hartman, and he apparently found out about them, then decided to get rid of Blake once and for all. Olivia told me that he forced her to put the bloody chisel under the sink and informed the police about it. Somehow, I believe Detective Chris Fisher is in his pocket, because when I went to Blake’s studio, Chris Fisher came in and was looking for a ring. Olivia’s ring. And when I visited her today, she was wearing it. I think Detective Fisher is in the general’s pocket. He helped him frame Blake, told him where to find the body and the chisel, and provided a witness for him. Jamie Barley. It was at her house that I was threatened.”

  I stop to breathe in the mask again. I feel tired, but the anger still keeps me going. I can’t believe the general would try to kill my dad just to scare me.

  “So, Blake is innocent,” Chloe says. “We know that for sure now. He just slept with the wrong woman.”