Promise Renewed (27 page)

“No matter what happens, don’t you dare hurt the children,” Gina hissed.

“Where the hell did you get the gun?” Elton said with a confidence that, under the circumstances, Gina thought stupid. He moved toward the dark-haired girl.

“Stop!” the child warned. “I’ll shoot.”

Seeing the look in her eyes, Elton obeyed. “Carrie, sweetheart, give me the gun. We’ll talk about it.”

“I don’t think so,” Maddy said calmly. She turned to the child. “Are you Carrie?”

The girl nodded, but kept her eyes and the gun on Elton. Her hands were only a little unsteady.

“I’m here to help you. Elton will never hurt you again. I promise.”

“My name is Jonathan Fazio, not Elton.”

“You’re a lying bastard, Elton Griffin.”

“How did you know my name?” Elton swung on her.

“Don’t recognize me? I’ll never forget you.”

“What?”

“Maddy Carlson. I remember clearly the day you raped me.”

The look of surprise on his face did Gina’s heart good. He’d gotten away with his crimes for years. It was time to stop him. Forever

“Your bitch sister hit me over the head with a baseball bat,” he whined.

I should have killed him then, Gina thought.

“Too bad she didn’t hit you harder.”

He started toward Maddy, hatred in his eyes.

“Stop,” Carrie warned. “I’ll shoot if I have to.”

“So will I,” Officer Carpenter warned, his warning aimed at Elton.

For a second, the child’s gaze went to the cop. “Did you come to arrest him?”

“We came to take you girls into protective custody,” Maddy explained gently.

“Not until he goes to jail,” Carrie said, a determined look on her face.

“How old are you, Carrie?” Maddy asked.

“Fourteen. My sister just turned thirteen. He hurts her more than me.”

“Where did you get the gun?”

“Mom bought it.”

“When? She didn’t tell me,” Elton sputtered.

“We told her what you were doing,” Carrie said. “She bought the gun because she was going to make you go away.”

Elton’s face hardened. “She wouldn’t.”

“She picked up the gun yesterday. She was going to confront you tonight. We told her we would be okay—told her we’d stay outside until she got home from work. Only it started raining and you made us come inside.” She glared at him. “Then you started in again.” Her hand tightened on the gun. “I should kill you. Then you’d never hurt anyone ever again.”

“You don’t have to,” Maddy said quietly. “Give me the gun. We’ll make sure Elton goes to jail.”

Gina wanted to get closer, but it might frighten the girl. As hard as it was, she stayed put.

Maddy managed to edge a few inches toward Carrie. “Is Elton your father or your stepfather?” she asked.

Carrie huffed, “Stepfather.” Tears filled her eyes. “Our dad died. He would never hurt us.”

“Elton hurt me
and
my sister,” Maddy explained. “I promise he’ll never touch you again.”

“Are you sure?” For the first time, the gun wobbled.

Maddy crept closer. Gina knew her sister wanted to get her hands on the gun.

Careful,
she thought.

Suddenly, Elton lunged toward them.

“Stop!” Gina screamed. Her gun was in her hand though she didn’t remember taking it from the holster. “You’re under arrest.”

Elton ignored the warning as he reached for the gun in Carrie’s hand. At the same time, Maddy grabbed the girl and pushed her to the floor.

A loud explosion rocked the room.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Darin slammed on his brakes, slid to a stop inches behind Gina’s car. He was out of the truck and on the porch in seconds.

But not soon enough.

A gunshot rang out.

The door was unlocked. His heart jumping out of his chest, he ran inside until he found them. Was he too late?

A police officer held a gun on a man who had to be Elton Griffin.

Darin’s gaze found Gina. She was sitting on the floor, her sister beside her. They had their arms around two young girls, murmuring to them in soft voices. A gun lay on the floor next to them.

Gina looked to be all right. He saw no blood. His sense of relief was so great his legs almost buckled.

What if he had lost her?

He knew right then he couldn’t live without her.

“Are you okay?” He knelt beside her and looked into her eyes, where he saw grief and sorrow, relief and anger.

“Why are you here?”

“I wanted to be here in case you needed me.” He looked around. She’d done just fine without him.

She stood, walked over to Elton, pulled out her cuffs. “I’ve waited ten years to do this.”

Elton glared. “You always were a bitch.”

“Seems you bring that out in the girls you abuse.”

Darin picked up the gun from the floor, dropped it in an evidence bag and watched Gina cuff the man who had ruined her childhood. She tightened the cuffs a little more than was necessary. Then gave him the Miranda warning.

“You can’t arrest me. I haven’t done a thing. Tell them, girls.” He raised his voice. “Tell them I never hurt you.”

“You hurt
us
,” Gina reminded him. “You raped Maddy. For the first time in your wicked life you’re going to pay.”

He paled, but stood his ground. “You can never prove it.”

Gina took out a sheet of paper. “Warrant. You’ll pay all right. Take a look around, Elton. Look at the lives you did your best to destroy.”

Carrie and her sister stood there with tears streaming down their faces. Maddy had her arms around both, doing her best to comfort them.

A woman ran into the room. The girls’ sobs grew louder as they rushed to her.

“The mother,” Maddy whispered. “She should have protected her girls.”

“What’s going on?” the woman asked.

Gina walked up to her and introduced everyone. “Maddy is with CPS. She’s here to take your girls into custody. I’m an officer with HPD here to arrest Elton Griffin for the rape of my sister and the sexual abuse of myself. Officers Callahan and Carpenter are here to make sure your husband doesn’t cause trouble.”

The woman’s eyes were wild as she hugged her daughters close. “His name is Jonathan Fazio.”

“He lied to you. He’s a pedophile using a false name. He’s under arrest and going to jail.”

“Dear God. Was there trouble?

Her voice was uncertain, soft, low, and worried.

“Could you give us your name?” Darin asked. This was getting crazy. The woman had a look in her eyes that told him she would do anything to keep her girls with her.

“Gail Morton. We haven’t been married long. Something told me not to change my name. Now I know why. I found out this week how Jonathan, or whatever his name is, has been abusing my girls.”

“Why didn’t you take your girls and leave?” Gina asked.

The woman put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe I was so gullible.” She looked up. “This is my house. I knew him well enough to know I couldn’t get him out of it. I bought a gun off the street yesterday. No. I didn’t plan to kill him, just scare him into packing and getting the hell out.”

“You took a big chance. Guns can be dangerous,” Darin reminded her.

“What happened here?”

First Maddy then Gina told her how Carrie could have gotten herself and possibly someone else killed.

Gail forced a laugh. “The gun wasn’t loaded.”

“Yes, it was, Mom. It went off when Jonathan grabbed for it.”

Gail turned a few shades paler. “What have I done?”

She looked at Maddy, then at Gina and the two officers. “Have I lost my daughters?” She hugged them tighter. “Please. Don’t take them away because I’ve been foolish. You don’t know how much I love them.”

The drama was too painful to watch. Darin could see how both Gina and her sister were reliving the pain of their childhood. He wanted to take a club to Elton’s head just as Gina had all those years ago.

He pulled Gina and Maddy into a corner, his voice low so the others couldn’t hear. “Can’t this be straightened out at headquarters?”

“Of course it can,” Gina said. “Can’t it, Maddy?”

Maddy nodded. “I’ll take the mother and the girls with me, Officer Carpenter can take Elton in his patrol car.”

“I’ll meet you there,” Gina promised.

The rain had stopped. A damp haze lingered in the air.

Gail helped her daughters into the backseat. “I’m so sorry, girls. He fooled me. I had no idea he would hurt you. When I found out, I did all the wrong things.”

Then she was sobbing.

“I’m glad I’m not the one driving them in,” Darin said.

Gina shut the door and walked toward her car. “Maddy can handle it.”

“Both of you are tough.”

She looked back at him as she opened her car door. “We had to be.”

He put a hand on her arm. “Can we talk?”

“About?”

“Us.”

“Is there an us? I thought when you walked out of Chief Hamilton’s office you were so angry you never wanted to see me again.”

“We need to talk about it.”

She looked at her watch. “It’s getting late. I have to go in. Elton is my collar, and I intend to be there when they process him.”

“My house, whenever you’ve finished.”

She shook her head. “This has been a traumatic day for both Maddy and myself. We’ve lived with this for years. Now that it’s over we need to lay it to rest.”

“I understand.” And he did, but when Gina’s car disappeared in the mist, he was bereft. Would he get her back? Had he ever had her in the first place? They’d shared a few incredible kisses. Now that the abusive Elton Griffin was under arrest, perhaps Gina could put her past behind her. Would she want him in her life now? Or would she look further? It wasn’t as if she’d had a normal upbringing. She’d never dated. If she wanted to now, he wouldn’t stop her.

She could easily go back to Dallas, date, fall in love, forget he ever existed. She might look back with gratitude, even fondness on their short-lived relationship...

To hell with that!

****

It took two hours to process Elton. Gina and Maddy held hands as they walked to his cell. Seeing him behind bars was the most satisfying sight Gina had ever seen. Seeing the smile on Maddy’s face was a priceless gift.

“I’ll be out tomorrow,” he promised.

Spit sprayed and frothed around his mouth. He looked rabid, and so angry they took a step back. Even here, safely out of his reach, they felt the power of his hatred.

“You’re where you belong,” Gina said as calmly as she could. “You won’t be out for a very long time, if ever.”

“A lock on your door might have kept me away when you were kids. Not now.”

Standing with his hands braced on the bars he glared at them. “You think you’re safe.” He laughed that crazy giggle they’d learned to hate as kids. “You’ll wish you’d left things alone before I’m through.”

Gina stepped closer. “You won’t hurt little girls again. For that I’m grateful.”

“I
never
hurt little girls. I love them.”

“You’re sick, Elton.”

The sisters turned their backs and walked away.

When they walked into Maddy’s apartment an hour later, they fell into each other’s arms. Sobbed.

“It’s over,” Gina whispered.

Maddy took a strangled breath. “It feels great.”

Gina laughed. “Yes, it does. Now, let’s open that bottle of red you’ve been hoarding.”

Back in the kitchen, they lifted their glasses. “Here’s to freedom,” Gina said.

“Amen.”

They drank in silence for a few minutes.

“Is there any chance he’ll get out?” Maddy asked.

“I don’t see how. You talked to the girls, are they willing to testify?”

“They are.”

“We’ll do the same. I doubt Elton will ever be free again.”

They drank their wine in silence.

“Maddy, do you care for Hank?”

Maddy nodded.

“I mean really care for him. You know, want to be with him all the time, want him to kiss you, touch you.” The way she did with Darin.

“I do. My feelings frighten me. Though I want him to kiss and touch, I find myself turning away.” She looked at Gina. “It’s not what men want. So I’ll probably lose him.”

Gina took Maddy’s hand. “You have to talk to him, tell him about our childhood and what happened to you. If he’s the man for you, he’ll understand and help you through this.”

Maddy looked at her sister closely. “Darin did that for you. I’m glad.”

Gina smiled a crooked smile. “I told him everything and he was wonderful.” She leaned back and shut her eyes. “When he kissed me, I never wanted him to stop.” Still didn’t.

Though he’d walked away, he’d come back, and wanted to talk. It was a good sign.

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.” She stood to rinse her glass and put the empty bottle in the garbage. “But I lied to him about why I was here. Darin has a strong sense of right and wrong. In his eyes, it was wrong to misrepresent myself. He’s angry.”

“You were doing your job. He should understand.”

“Part of him does.”

“What are you going to do?”

“He wants to talk. So we’ll see what happens. But Maddy...” She walked over to her sister, took her by the shoulders. “If you have feelings for Hank, you have to talk to him. If he cares for you, he’ll understand.”

Tears welled in Maddy’s eyes. “It won’t be easy.”

“No, it won’t. Just promise me you’ll do it. Neither of us can give Elton the power to dictate our emotions another minute.”

“You’re right. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Don’t you think it’s time to get rid of ninety percent of those nightlights
and
the baseball bat?”

“Does that include the gun you keep by your bed?” Maddy asked with a smile.

“It does. We’re free, Maddy.”

They hugged again before going to their rooms.

Gina felt as if one door of her life had closed. She hoped and prayed to open another.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The next morning, Darin vowed he would talk to Gina today no matter what came up. He would tell her…” What? That he loved her? Should he put her on the spot like that? Sure, she liked him—had kissed him. But he was the first man she’d ever really kissed. Would it be fair to pressure her into more? Thoughts swirled through his head as he walked into the squad room. Everyone was out on assignments.