The Wolves Are Everywhere

by Janie Marie

  “It’s not true,” she cried. It was.

  “No?” He chuckled, a vicious, deep laugh that rattled her bones. “Luc was investigating you first because he’s trying to find out which Wolf your mom contracted. When he found out Kylie Hood had a whole list of behavioral problems in school, I pushed my guy to find out the truth. And he reported your medical records were mysteriously gone. Why’s that?”

  “Because Lorelei didn’t want anyone to know I was being beaten by her daughter,” she shouted.

  He tilted his head. “I’m talking about your records from just before your mom died till your dad died. You know, before all this abuse you claim started. What else are you hiding?”

  “I’m not hiding.” She covered her face. Oh God, what was happening?

  “Guess what Maura told me.” He went on when she stayed silent. “She told me the first time she hit you, you had been coming to beat her because a boy you liked asked her out at lunch time in front of the whole school. She defended herself because from the moment you met her, she had to live in fear that you’d hit her.”

  Kylie whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut tight, but a memory crashed down on her, halting any escape darkness could give her.

  It was her freshman year, just two weeks after her dad had died.

  “Hey, Maura,” Jacob Grayson had said, smiling at her stepsister. He was Kylie’s second favorite crush. “Um, sorry about your stepdad. Are you doing okay?”

  Maura’s wide eyes were glued to the boy in front of her. “I’m okay.”

  “Good.” He rubbed the back of his neck, gesturing to Maura’s dress. “I’ve never seen you in anything other than your red hoodie. You look pretty.”

  Maura swallowed. “I wasn’t allowed to wear dresses.”

  Jacob frowned but smiled soon after. “Well, you look great. You did with the hoodie too—I like it. Listen, I, um, wondered if you’d like to come to the movies with me this Friday?”

  Kylie watched the exchange in complete shock. Maura was a loser; she’d made sure she was since they were seven. So why was Jacob talking to her?

  “I’d love to,” Maura whispered, blushing when Jacob gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Kylie grabbed her head as a sharp pain stabbed her mind. Another memory.

  “You’re not going out with him,” Kylie had said, standing in the doorway to Maura’s room.

  “Get away from me,” Maura said, holding her phone to her chest. “You can’t hurt me anymore.”

  Kylie caught sight of her own reflection in the mirror. The evilest smile had stretched across her lips, a demon’s smile. “I know you had something to do with Daddy dying. I’ll make sure you pay.” She held up one of her dad’s belts, just like she’d seen him do to Maura.

  Maura screamed, ducking down and pulling out the aluminum softball bat from under her bed. “Stay back. Mama! Mama, help! She’s doing it again.”

  Kylie heard Lorelei’s shout, and she raised the belt. Maura was faster, hitting her in the ribs. It knocked the air out of her lungs, and she fell to the ground, gasping.

  “Oh, no.” Maura dropped the bat. “Kylie, I didn’t mean it.”

  “I hate you,” Kylie rasped, trying to grab the bat, but Maura snatched it up.

  “You won’t hurt me anymore.” Maura ran when Lorelei got to the room.

  Ryder dragged her from the memory with another cruel smile. “You became the victim, knowing every day you were the one who created your monster. I’m proud of her now. She went about shit the wrong way, but she didn’t give up. Well, until Trevor ruined her. Her poor mom didn’t know how to help her, except for trying to find a strong boy to take care of her. Someone who would always protect her little girl.”

  He shook his head as a bitter laugh left him. “Don’t get me wrong, your stepmom is nuts, and a whore, but it makes you think about what Lorelei might have known. How horrible would it be to be a mother and not protect your child? To bring a monster in and trust him over your own daughter. Maybe Lorelei was abused too. After all, her first husband had already touched Maura, told that little girl she was the prettiest of them all.”

  Kylie covered her mouth as bile rose in her throat.

  “Now you feel sick?” He crossed his arms, leering down at her. “Does it have to be real daddy to get to you?”

  She didn’t answer, and could hardly see him through her tears.

  Still, she saw the tilt of his head as he watched her. “Someone stopped your dad from touching you, didn’t they? Someone protected you.” He went quiet before he said, “Mama.”

  Kylie shivered, her head moving side to side as she fought against his accusation.

  “Did Scarlet Hood catch your daddy before he got to you?” he asked, his tone almost concerned, but Kylie knew better. “Is that why she hired a hitman? To protect her daughter? She didn’t go through with it, though. She chose him over you, didn’t she? I bet that’s why you want to be picked all the time.”

  He tsked. “Love does crazy shit to people. Kinda like a mother who lets her sick daughter take out her pain on her old tormentor.”

  Kylie glared at him even though he wore an equally scornful look. “My dad would never do that to me, and he didn’t hurt Maura.”

  He scoffed. “How long are you going to lie to yourself? I admit, Maura did wrong—she hurt you—but she was a scrawny little thing when the stronger blonde hit her for breathing the same air she was. She told me you liked to taunt her about how you’d get Daddy if she said anything. You’re sick in the head.”

  Kylie dropped her head, sobbing because she could almost imagine the sneer she’d worn. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. She just got all the attention. It was always Maura this or Maura that when they moved in. She took my dad from me!”

  “Oh, I bet,” he said, his words dripping with disdain. “Maura was a sweet girl, not a heartless bitch like you. Your daddy kept her hidden to keep that pretty girl all to himself. You were fine with it as long as she became a loser. And how did she cope when her mom believed you and her husband over her? She hid under a fucking red hoodie.”

  Kylie cried, covering her mouth.

  “She couldn’t hide from him. Could she?”

  “Please stop.”

  Of course, he didn’t. “You know what’s even better? Maura couldn’t stand how much Lorelei loved you.”

  Kylie jerked up, fire screaming through her veins. “That’s a lie.”

  “Is it?” He chuckled. “Why would Maura say her mom always made sure you had a perfect diet to keep your body strong? Oatmeal, lots of protein. It’s a lot healthier than the sweet shit Kevin’s cook whipped up, isn’t it? She even swapped out your pain meds for prescription strength. Made sure you had some special ointment? Made sure you stayed out as late as possible to avoid Maura? Gave you every chance to run, but you stayed.”

  Kylie’s mouth fell open. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.

  “I haven’t talked to Lorelei,” he said, rubbing his lips as though in thought. “She kinda slipped away when she saw me coming—but Maura could only cry about how much you were protected. Funny how Lorelei made sure you hid your pretty hair and taped your tits. Maybe Daddy did like blondes, and maybe she knew it was better to hide all that attention you used to get. She even locked your room for you.”

  He hesitated, shaking his head. “Kevin’s not a sick fuck who likes to touch little girls, but you can never be too sure. That’s the thing about sexual predators—no one ever suspects the worst of them, and they manipulate the fuck out of their victims. When Lorelei got Trevor, and I’m sure she’d heard the stories about the Grimms, she thought she hit the jackpot. Twisted way to protect your daughters, but it worked for one of you to hook up with a Grimm.”

  “She wasn’t protecting me,” Kylie whispered, clutching her chest.

  “Just like Janie wasn’t protecting you when she pretended to cheat on me? When she saw you going through the same shit she did? Open your damn eyes.” His words felt like daggers t
hrown at her heart. “They’re abused girls doing what they know to protect others.”

  Ready to see yourself yet? The hooded girl still didn’t lift her head, but Kylie could see her clearly. She could see tips of blond hair while an evil smirk in the shadow of her hood teased her lips.

  Ryder kept staring down at her as she cried. “Than will find Lorelei. He’s going to bring her in for her involvement in your abuse—Maura will face it too, but I’ve ordered him to place Lorelei in a mental health facility instead to await murder charges. I’m not sure if she had your dad killed or if she did it herself. Hell, she could be innocent, but she kept your abuse hidden, so she’ll answer for that.

  “Maura keeps saying her mom never hurt you—that you were kept safe, so I don’t know what that means. She even said she didn’t know why you were still hurt. She started talking weird, saying no one is supposed to see. What does she mean?”

  Lorelei raising a gun flickered in her mind.

  “I don’t know. She hit me all the time,” Kylie whispered, wondering what the heck she was seeing.

  Ryder was quiet, watching her. “Hm. Janie’s therapist is coming to evaluate Maura. I’ve done this without informing Kevin, and you’ll keep your trap shut while Than carries out his investigations. I’m betting you won’t find out your mom’s killer was her own hitman. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn your awesome dad made sure no one found out he’d been touching little girls, especially the little girl of the woman he was fucking.”

  “It can’t be true.” She gasped, trying to hide—trying to find a dark corner in her mind.

  “Think real hard, Kylie. What did you see the day Maura told Lorelei what happened to her?”

  She saw the hooded girl pointing behind her, but she refused to turn. “Nothing.”

  “Wow.” His hateful tone made her knees shake. “How about I tell you something she confessed? You stood in the doorway as she lay pinned on her bed beneath your dad. He had his dick sticking through his pants, pushing it back and forth between her thighs.”

  Kylie covered her ears as her dad’s voice sounded: “Be a good girl, Maura. That’s my pretty girl. The prettiest of them all.”

  Ryder’s harsh words shattered her dad’s. “He used the same words Lorelei had confided her first husband used. Maura—seven fucking years old—cried for him to stop, and he started to put his dick in her.”

  Kylie whimpered, suddenly seeing Maura’s frightened eyes in her mind. No, it didn’t happen—nothing like that happened. Her dad was a good man.

  “You made enough noise to startle him,” Ryder said, “and that time, he let her go. She thought you’d saved her. Foolish of her to hope you’d do that, considering it wasn’t the first time you’d watched him with her.”

  “No,” she whined. “Stop.”

  Ryder didn’t hesitate to continue. “You’d been lying your little ass off since the first time he’d touched her. Just like when you lied after you saw her on his bed, getting raped. Ringing any bells yet?” His voice boomed, pressing down on her as she tried to hold herself together. “Maura used that story against you for a reason, Kylie. She saw you watching, and she saw you leave her there. Why do you think she slit her wrists in your doorway?”

  She gasped as an icy hand wrapped around her heart. “What are you gonna do?”

  “I’m helping the real victim—the one nobody believed.” He glanced at her fingers digging into her skin before looking back at her face. “I doubt I can help much considering the amount of horror Maura’s lived through—but at least I’m not walking away. I failed Janie when she pushed me away, but maybe I’ll save a part of her if I get justice for Maura. And don’t worry, Maura knows she’s gonna answer for what she’s done to you—even if she’s denying abusing you. It’ll be investigated because being abused doesn’t make it okay to abuse others. She’ll face the consequences—just like you will.”

  “What are you going to do?” she croaked.

  He stared at her. “You’re going to make a statement about what you saw your dad do to her—and what you did to her. You’ll report what she’s done too, and you’re going to support them as they get help.”

  Like hell she was. All her sadness and fear evaporated. “Nothing close to that happened.”

  His jaw clenched, deepening the curves of his face so he looked even more like a deadly god. “You know damn well it did. You’re doing this. If you don’t, you’ll face charges for obstructing justice, and you’ll forever live with the guilt of what you let happen to your stepsister. No one—no one—will give a fuck that Maura beat the shit out of you. What goes around comes around is what they’ll say. Because there’s nothing worse than a child predator except for the people who protect them.”

  “He was my dad,” she screamed. “I didn’t know what he was doing. Just because she says that, doesn’t mean it happened. There’s no proof. No evidence.”

  Ryder actually laughed. “That’s all you can argue—her proof? You were her fucking proof!”

  “I didn’t see anything,” she shouted, her voice raw.

  He laughed again. “You’re the most ridiculous person I’ve ever met. And I’ve dealt with plenty of assholes who told Janie the same thing you are now—no proof, so it didn’t happen. Wake the fuck up. You were a godsend for Maura, someone who could back her up, and you didn’t.”

  “Because I saw nothing.”

  “No,” he said calmly, “you didn’t understand at first, but only because you don’t know the type of horror Maura does, the kind Janie and millions of other girls do. You were protected, and you’re not even thankful.”

  “How can I be?” She glared at him, wishing she could set him on fire. “Lorelei let me get abused by her daughter.”

  “You’re such a brat. You let Maura get abused, but that doesn’t even matter to you. You were hitting her first. She just fought back.” He looked ready to walk away, but he looked up at the moon and stilled. “I thought something in you might be worth helping. I sorta glimpse bits of Janie in you—as I guess there should be—but you’re nothing like her. You’re the person who says the girl’s asking for it because she’s pretty, or she wears a dress instead of a hood to hide her face.” He exhaled as he rubbed his jaw. “Did anyone tell you about your middle name?”

  Kylie brushed away her tears, not sure what he was getting at now. She could barely breathe.

  He clarified. “In French, Mal means ‘evil’ or even ‘wrong’. Fille means ‘daughter’ or ‘girl’. I think they fit you. Wrong Girl . . . Evil Daughter.”

  Tears fell to her lap. She knew what her name meant. Her mother had told her.

  “Mommy, I want to go see Daddy.” Little Kylie had looked behind her, where her mother sat reading something. She was in tears.

  “Not now, Kylie.”

  Kylie was tired of being told ‘not now.’ She stood up, stomping her foot. “Now!”

  “I said no.” Her mom snatched up the drawing Kylie was making. “What is this?”

  “I want to see Daddy.”

  Her mother grabbed her, holding the drawing of her dad with a woman, and a girl wearing a red hood. “Who is this?”

  “Daddy and his girlfriend. Now take me to him.”

  “No,” her mother shouted.

  Kylie’s little hand shot out, slapping her mom. “I want my daddy!”

  Her mother covered her cheek, staring at Kylie in horror. “You really are the evil daughter, Malfille. Just like Berith wanted.”

  Ryder chuckled darkly, yanking her from the terrible memory. “Yeah, you’re remembering all sorts of shit. Good. I told you, Blondie—I am truth. No one escapes me. Soon you’ll open whatever door you’ve hidden your dirty truth behind, and Lorelei will fill in the blanks.”

  An actual door appeared in her mind. It was a door she didn’t recognize, but she could hear her mother and father shouting at each other, calling each other by their middle names like they were dirty words: Berith and Katherine.

  “At what
moment did you decide being the victim was more beneficial?” Ryder asked.

  Kylie stayed quiet as the hooded girl in her mind reached for the doorknob.

  “Your twisted mind saw how Maura being the victim worked for her. Well, for the things you desired, at least—attention from Daddy and boys. I told you it never made sense how you went from abused, hidden girl to one who sucks dick and mouths off to someone like me. Shy and innocent, my ass. You weren’t forced to hide, just like I said before. You were hiding your dirty secrets.”

  She shook her head as she mentally grabbed the doorknob, stopping the hooded girl from opening it.

  He spoke in that slow, calculated way of his. “Logan already knows. His brother was the one I had digging shit up on you.”

  “Please.” She cried, grabbing his arm when he made to leave.

  He shook her off. “Please, what?”

  “I’ll help. I’ll do anything you say.”

  He gave her a nasty look. “Don’t bother if it’s just to get Logan to stay with you, dumbass. Everyone will see you for who you are now. I see who you are in the story. Wish I’d put it together sooner.”

  Kylie lowered her head. This had to be a dream, a nightmare. “I’ve been trying to be a better person. I brought him here to help Janie, didn’t I? He already told his brother he chose me, and I still brought him here.”

  Ryder watched her for what felt like an eternity. “What did you want when you told him to come help her?”

  “I don’t know.” She sniffed, trying to remember. “He showed me a drawing of her—the Little Red Riding Hood. He’s broken about what happened to her. He said you were letting him search for her—for himself. I wanted my Logan.”

  “You realized he’s broken, and you wanted a new and improved Logan Grimm.” He nodded, considering her words. “You’re a real piece of work. I’ll give you one chance to get your shit together. You got your damn day where you had him all to yourself, and I bet you didn’t think about Maura once.”