Between the Cracks and Burning Doors: Book 2 of The Extraction List Series

by Meland, Renee N.

  I stepped toward her but she backed away. Keeping her eyes on me, she went further into the kitchen. “You’re just like everybody else. Just pay for what you want, then leave. Just like them.”

  I kept stepping toward her. “Please, you can come with us. I don’t want to leave you but I can’t stay here anymore. I’ll end up in jail or dead and so will you. You have to come with us.”

  Suddenly her eyes widened. A soft giggle parted her lips. She picked up the phone that was hanging on the back wall. “It’s perfect, you know.”

  My stomach turned. “Who are you dialing?”

  She smiled. “I can stay here. You’re going to leave anyway. I can stay here. It’s the only way, the perfect way.”

  Suddenly, I knew. “Maureen, you can’t.” I lunged toward the phone.

  “Try all you want. Even if you break it, the minute you leave I’ll just walk to the police station.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Why not? It’s over. You can’t stay here and I can’t leave. At least this way, I can save my girls.”

  “Stop it. They’ll just arrest them too. You can’t trust Keegan.”

  She threw the phone against the wall. “Don’t you dare talk to me about trust. You’re as bad as he is or worse.” She lunged toward me and slammed me into the kitchen table. Even after I wrapped my arms around her, I felt her fists slamming into my chest. “At least I always knew what he was. But you? You got me, Cain, you fooled me good.”

  She stopped. Her punches became taps and her sobs came in waves. I sunk to the floor with her in my arms. “They’ve all been mean. But you…it was supposed to be different. All of it was supposed to be different.”

  I squeezed her tight. My muscles ached and I realized I was holding her for the last time. There was nothing I could say to get her to leave what she loved.

  She looked up at me and brushed my cheek with her hand. When I felt her lips reach mine, I almost gave in. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I almost gave the whole thing up. I almost left the children I had saved to their own devices. I almost let them go back on the streets to be picked up by the police I had been shielding them from. I almost let Dom face his parishioners alone after all he had done for me.

  But I didn’t.

  Instead, I kissed her and then released her. She held my hand as she walked with me toward the door.

  I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. Because if I had, I may have ran back inside and locked the door behind us forever.

  We waited until midnight to start loading supplies into the van. The original plan had been to load the van during the day, but even with Nick as a lookout, there were just too many people around to make very many trips safely.

  The van was fairly large, big enough to carry a very small car, but with as many children and supplies as we had, the children had to sit on each other’s laps, taking turns sitting on the hard, bumpy metal floor. Some of them complained about it hurting their butts, but Nick told them to “zip it.”

  He had become a little version of me. I wasn’t sure if I felt proud or ashamed.

  Jordyn, Dom, and I locked the children in the van and went back inside for one last look around. When we shut the front door behind us and locked it for the last time, tears streamed from his eyes.

  I hugged him, as did Jordyn. “I’m so sorry, Dominic.”

  He squeezed us back. “God has a plan for everyone. Apparently, his plan for me doesn’t involve this place anymore.” We released each other and just stood there, understanding that the next few hours would change our lives forever.

  We were still on the porch when I saw her emerge from her car along with the rest of her girls. They slowly made their way toward us, and I grinned and had to stifle myself to keep from screaming when I realized that Maureen had given me a gift. She had decided to sacrifice what she loved more than anything in the world so that I didn’t have to choose. I could have her—we could have each other—without sacrificing the children’s freedom. Her eyes glistened in the beam of the streetlight, and a slight smile formed on her lips, as if she was afraid to think for even a moment that it was possible that we were going to be okay. It was the cautious smile of someone who knew that our new start could be taken away in an instant.

  She was right.

  I don’t know if Maureen even heard the truck coming up behind her and the others. Black rifles protruded from the windows like long, spindly fingers, ready to strangle the last breath from all of them. The fingers pointed straight at Maureen.

  It was a firing squad.

  I was heading toward her when I found myself on the ground. I looked up and saw that Dominic had thrown himself on top of me. I pushed my hands against him, struggled to free myself but he used his weight to pin me to the porch. I glanced to my left and realized that Jordyn was also using all of her strength to help Dominic.

  All I could do was listen.

  The screaming echoed through the air: some had the timbre of fear, and others were filled with maniacal glee. As I heard each girl’s body hit the ground, the voices quieted one by one.

  The last thing I had seen before I hit the ground was Keegan’s face.

  Once we heard the van speed away, Dom finally released me. Nevertheless, when I got up, a part of me wanted to plummet back to the porch, back to the before, when I didn’t know the damage Keegan had caused. Once I got up, there was only the after: eight women lying still on the ground below us.

  I ran straight to Maureen.

  She was curled up in a fetal position on one side. When I got to her, she looked up at me with wide, terrified eyes. She coughed out words; when she spoke, she choked on the blood in her mouth. “So much for starting over, huh?”

  I stroked her cheek. “Don’t talk; we’re going to get you help.” I said the words even though I knew it was too late. She had been hit in the abdomen twice, and her wounds pulsed with every heartbeat.

  “The others?”

  I took a moment and glanced up. Each of her girls still lay motionless, masses of colors and fabric and flesh in the grass. None of them moved. “They’re fine. Everybody’s okay.”

  She tried to smile. “You’re lying.”

  My chin trembled as I tried to hide the fact that she was right. Tears slid down her cheeks as her eyes turned from my face, off into some middle distance that I couldn’t see.

  She whispered something. I leaned closer.

  “One door,” she said, “burn it down.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The sirens wailed in the distance. I was still staring at Maureen’s face when Jordyn and Dominic pulled me to my feet. “We have to go right now. Come on,” Dom yelled as he dragged me toward the van where the children still waited for us.

  “No, I’m not leaving her!” I wrestled away from him and turned back toward Maureen. Jordyn stepped in front of me.

  “Cain, I’m so sorry, but you know we need to go. There’s nothing you can do for her now. If we stay, those kids will get locked up for sure.” I took a deep breath. Jordyn just stared at me. I leaned down and cradled Maureen’s neck in my hand, and lifted her face toward me one last time.

  We had just turned the corner when the sirens pulled up. The children were crying in the back of the van. Nick got up, despite the wide turning road, and tugged on my shirtsleeve. “Dude, you gotta say something to them. They’re freakin’ out.” All I could do was shake my head.

  I heard the click of a seatbelt next to me as Jordyn climbed between the seats, stepping over children and boxes and sitting right in the middle of the floor, legs crossed. “Pretty scary, right?” She looked around at the children. They all nodded. “You know what? I was pretty scared too.”

  They all grew quiet, and a couple snuggled up next to her. She let one crawl under each arm. “But I’ll tell you what; we’re on our way to somewhere else, where we won’t have to worry about any of this shi—stuff anymore. Sound good?”

  The children all nodded, pacified for the moment. I nodded grateful
ly at her and leaned against the side of the van, staring out at the passing cars. Dom reached over and put a hand on my shoulder but I shook him away. There was no room in my heart for anything but loss, and the only thing I was interested in was staring out into the nighttime.

  I could barely keep my eyes open by the time we reached Jordyn’s parents’ property. I expected her to go in to see them, but she shook her head vigorously and pulled me closer so she could whisper in my ear. “See, I don’t exactly tell them when I stop by. It’s complicated.” I looked at her. “Just drop it okay?”

  I didn’t have the energy to argue.

  Once the children were asleep, Dom, Jordyn, and I sat outside just in case anyone came along. My eyes were heavy with sleep, but none would come. I just sat there, picturing Maureen’s face, and replaying her last words in my head. I didn’t know what she meant, but it weighed heavy on me that she died knowing everything she loved had been destroyed. Someone who had suffered as much as her, she was supposed to be able to die peacefully, like everything she knew was safe, and that she had made her mark on the world. She’d certainly made her mark on me.

  When we pulled up to the dock, Dom’s brother was already there waiting for us, standing on the deck of his boat and waving at us. A different man with a white beard was driving the boat.

  Dom’s brother looked nothing like him. He stood at the same height, but his arms were slender, like long noodles, and instead of walking straight and proud like Dom he hunched over as he shook my hand. “Name’s Sebastian.”

  “Cain. Thank you for this.” He nodded, looking up to nod at me briefly before his eyes returned to the ground.

  Dom, the children, Jordyn, and I followed him back toward his boat. I was the last in line to board when I stopped. I don’t know what triggered it; maybe it was a smell in the air or the sight of the exhaust escaping from the engine, but suddenly I knew what Maureen wanted me to do. “I have to go back.”

  Everyone stared at me. “Cain, you can’t. They’ll catch you for sure.” Dom looked at me with pain and confusion. He started to climb back off the boat. I held out a hand.

  “It’s okay, Dom. I’ll be back. Come to this spot in a week. I’ll be here.”

  Jordyn leaped over the railing and back onto the dock. Something in her eyes made me wonder if somehow she knew what I was planning to do. “Well, if you’re staying, I’m staying.”

  “Jordyn, they’ll need you to help them get settled.”

  She reached for my hand. “You’re gonna need me more.”

  I stopped arguing with her. Dom left the boat too, but I could tell by his face that it wasn’t to stop me. He stepped toward me and pulled me into a tight embrace. “Be careful. I don’t know what you think you’re going to do but this could be the last time I see you.” He paused. “I don’t want this to be the last time I see you, you understand?”

  I smiled as best I could. “You got it.” He reluctantly released me and turned back toward the boat. I called out to him one last time. “Thank you. For everything. There’s no one I trust with those kids more than you.”

  Once more, he glanced back at me. “Just let God bring you back.”

  He got on the boat, and the children waved at me as the boat puttered away. Jordyn and I stood on the dock until their tiny faces were as big as the grains of sand lining the beach.

  They were safe now.

  We dumped the van outside of town and had to walk in, keeping to our familiar darkened corners and side streets. Police tape lined the church as we came up; little orange cones sat in the place where each girl had fallen.

  I was surprised they even bothered.

  Jordyn looked around. “So, eight people had to die to avenge one deadbeat sonofabitch? That Keegan, he just won’t stop.”

  On the drive back, I told her everything. I told her what I did for Maureen, and what she had done for me. Every last bit. Jordyn was willing to risk her life to come back with me, and I figured I at least owed her an explanation about what she was risking it for.

  We went around to the back and I unlocked the door for Jordyn. “You’ll be safe here.” I handed her a duffel bag of food. “Just stay inside.”

  She took the bag and stared at me. “Are you sure you want to do this? I know you cared about her and I know you told me what they put you through, but once you’re inside, they’ll be on you in a second. You won’t be able to do what you’re planning without—”

  “I’ll see you soon.”

  She turned inside and shut the door behind her.

  Keegan was nowhere in sight. He would be soon enough. His shift hadn’t started yet. There were two men that I didn’t recognize standing in front of the station door. One was leaning against the wall, using a lighter to ignite a cigarette. I came up to him and waited for him to address me. “Can I help you, kid?”

  I took a deep breath. “My name is Cain Foley and I murdered my father.”

  The policeman let his cigarette fall from his lips as he grabbed his handcuffs and slapped them on my wrists. The other officer grabbed me by one arm and pushed me inside.

  As I was herded to the back of the station, I noticed all the faces. A female police officer looked up from her desk with warm eyes. I glanced around at the rest of the officers. Some were talking on their phones, others were filing paperwork.

  When they shoved me into a cell, I sat down on the cot in the corner, realizing that I hadn’t been read my rights. Not that I expected it. As the cell door slammed shut, the officer said, “I’m off, but the next shift will be coming down here to talk to you. Officer Keegan and his team will be interrogating you.”

  Perfect.

  I thanked the officer as he left. He looked at me and I could tell he wasn’t used to hearing anything positive from someone in my position. He gave me a confused nod and walked away.

  I sat forward, willing the cell door to open back up and present Keegan to me. The cell was part of an old basement and I listened to the sound of water dripping down the walls. The smell of mildew filled my throat and I felt as if it was clinging to my lungs.

  I didn’t have to wait long for Keegan. When the door slid open, he was there, the bars moving back to reveal his grin. “Cain, so nice to see you. Finally willing to cooperate, huh? Guess there’s no reason to keep your mouth shut now, is there?”

  I loosened my clenched teeth. “I just want this to be over.”

  “So do I.”

  He laughed as he slapped the handcuffs back on me and brought me to the interrogation room. “Since Maureen’s out of business, so to speak, you’re gonna have a lot of company tonight.” Keegan shut the door behind us and forced me into a chair. He and a couple more of his men seemed to make a semi-circle around me, as if they all wanted to watch what was about to happen.

  “You know what, let’s do this differently. I don’t want to have to look at you.” Quickly, he dragged me back off of the chair and flipped me around, so I was straddling the back of my chair with my hands in front of me, still cuffed. One of his men drew his gun and pointed it straight at my head. “Now, don’t you move.”

  Keegan pulled out a knife, almost like mine. The switchblade opened and I wondered if this would be ending sooner than I thought. I was certain of it as he plunged it toward my back.

  Instead of cutting through my flesh, though, he cut through my shirt. Laughter filled the air when he saw the scars my father had left behind. “Wow, your daddy really did a number on you.” I heard the familiar click of a belt being undone, the hiss of the leather sliding out of a pair of trousers. “Let’s see if I can do better.”

  There was a whistle as the leather belt flew through the air and landed against my back. The sting filled my body and I felt the urge to pass out as it landed again with all the strength that Keegan could muster. I gritted my teeth together to keep from screaming.

  Repeatedly, the belt made contact with my back, and each time my father’s face flashed before me, almost as if he was standing there with them,
watching and laughing at me as I tried to keep conscious.

  Just as I thought I would lose the battle, they stopped.

  My world tilted, and I had to force myself to concentrate. One new voice entered the room. “Keegan, we just got a tip about your brother’s body. Anonymous, but seemed to be pretty detailed. Thought it was worth checking out.”

  Keegan sucked in his breath. “Send everyone. Now.”

  “Sure you don’t some of us to stay with you guys?”

  I could hear the smile in his voice. “Naw, we got this.” Keegan paused. “Did you hear that, Cain? I might not need you after all. But we’ll keep you here, just in case.” I heard the sound of fingers against glass. He turned to the direction the other voice came from. “What’s that?”

  “Figured he might need some water. Can’t have him passing out until you’re finished with him.” The men snickered. Footsteps took off in the opposite direction. I could discern the sound of several people getting out of their desks and heading for the door over the swirling of blood in my ears.

  Keegan hovered over me. “You want water?”

  I nodded. He leaned closer. “Here’s your water.” I felt ice-cold water splash again my face.

  I waited for a very specific sound: the sound of glass clinking against the table to my left. When he put the glass down, I would have one opportunity.

  Only one.

  The pain in my back was intense. I could swear I felt the air against my exposed, open flesh every time anyone moved in the room. I wondered how much longer I could stay focused. My body told me to give in to unconsciousness, willing me to just let the pain go.

  Someone spoke. “Hey, those pretty girls are still sitting downstairs. Haven’t been cut open yet.”

  Keegan snickered. “I gotta take a leak. While I’m gone, why don’t you tell Cain here what we’re gonna do with those girls. Especially his favorite.”