“Serenity …” he begins to say, but his phone rings again. “Yeah,” he answers.
I pluck his fingers off my arm one by one and then remove my helmet. Never have I been so certain about what my next move should be than right now.
Rage releases me. “Stay put,” he orders before placing his finger in his ear so he can hear the person on the phone. He turns away from me. “Yeah, we’re good to go,” he says.
While he’s distracted, I quickly begin to run through the trees, dodging the low hanging branches. I have no idea how I’m going to get in, but I need to make sure that any children inside are safe. Rage was calm as he talked to CPS, but I could sense his concern for someone inside. It’s probably his kid.
I look behind me, and Rage is standing on the edge of the tree line waving me toward him. “Get back here!” he mouths.
“I got this,” I mouth back.
His jaw sets in a hard line, and his hands rest on his hips. I turn back to my task, sidestepping all the junk in the yard.
When I get to the steps, the stench of smoke and trash hits me in the face.
“Get up, you dumb bitch. Stop playing with me,” a man says from inside.
I stand beside the screen door and peek through. He’s standing over the woman who is draped across the couch. He smacks her in the face in an attempt to wake her up.
She’s passed out, but he doesn’t seem concerned. I jump into action, knocking on the metal frame.
The man looks over his shoulder at me before coming to answer it. I smile wide when he opens the door.
“Hi!” I say excitedly. “I’m here to babysit.”
His brows pull together.
“She asked me to come over and babysit for a while so you two could have some alone time,” I tell him.
He looks back at the sleeping woman and then past me out into the yard, looking for my car.
“Oh, my boyfriend dropped me off,” I tell him. “He’ll be back to get me when I’m finished.”
The man rubs his belly. “Thank god you’re here. That kid has been screaming for days.”
My heart falls fast.
He holds the door open for me and I rush past him, ignoring the woman who I think might be overdosing on the couch. I head down the narrow hall, knowing the kid he’s talking about has to be back here somewhere. The trailer isn’t very big. I start opening doors but don’t find anyone until I hit the room at the end.
I can’t even wrap my mind around the conditions of this place as I stare at the crib. The child is quiet. I can’t tell if they are asleep or something much worse. He said they’d been crying for days.
Slowly, I approach the crib and find a precious little girl lying in her own filth. The entire mattress is soiled. I steel my heartas I reach in and place my hand on her back.Oh my god, she’s burning up!But at least she’s alive.
I carefully scoop her into my arms and hurry to the door in the hallway that leads behind the trailer. I open it, finding no stairs. Without hesitation I jump, but I’m not very graceful, and I fall to the ground. I roll onto my back as I tumble, keeping the child safely pressed against my chest.
She wakes up and begins to whimper. Her tiny voice sounds hoarse and weak.
I push to my feet and hurry away with her, careful not to trip. When I round the corner and Rage sees me, his face pales. He begins running toward me.
“She’s burning up!” I yell.
Instantly, he turns around and whistles. Carson and Cole both step from the trees.
“We need to get her to the hospital. Get the truck ready!” he hollers to them while still heading toward me.
He takes her from my arms as soon as we meet in the middle of the field.
I run beside him, struggling to keep up.