Then
He had a nice house. When Kitty arrived at Officer Damian’s place, he held the door open for her so she could go in. Inside a woman stood by the stove. She smiled at Kitty when she saw her.
“Welcome,” she said.
Kitty looked at Damian, puzzled. “Who is she?”
“That’s my wife,” he said. “Her name is Linda.”
Kitty looked disappointed. “I didn’t know you had a wife.”
He smiled and touched her cheek gently. “But now you do.”
“Do you want anything?” Linda said. “A soda? Gatorade?”
Kitty nodded. “Blue Gatorade, please. That’s my favorite.”
“Then that is what you’ll get.”
Officer Damian’s wife poured Kitty a glass of blue Gatorade before retreating to the living room. Kitty took a seat at the kitchen counter, her eyes scanning the room. It was a nice house, and she felt comfortable there, but it was still hard for her to believe that Damian had been hiding a wife from her all this time. Why had he kept her a secret?
Damian reached out and took her hand, his thumb rubbing circles over the back. “You don’t have to be jealous. I only have eyes for you, Kitty.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
He leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear. “Absolutely. You’re the one who’s captured my heart. You are the prettiest girl in the world. At least to me.”
Kitty felt her cheeks flush as Damian pressed a soft kiss to her neck. She couldn’t deny the attraction between them and the way his touch sent shivers down her spine.
“Also, there are things that my wife can’t help me with. I have needs that she can’t fulfill. That’s where you come in.”
Kitty stared at him. His piercing eyes felt like they saw straight through her. She wasn’t sure she understood what he was saying.
“When is my mom coming?” she asked, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden.
He kissed the top of her hand. “Come on, Kitty. Don’t tell me you don’t love me anymore?”
She tilted her head. Love? What did he mean? Kitty knew that she loved her mom, and sometimes her stepdad; occasionally when he wasn’t drunk, she liked him. But did she love Officer Damian the same way?
“When am I going home?” she asked.
Damian smiled and shook his head. “You’re staying here tonight. I just spoke to your mom, and she said it was okay.”
Her eyes lit up. “Like a sleepover? Does that mean I don’t have to go to school tomorrow? But I didn’t bring any of my stuff.”
“It’s okay,” Damian said. “We have stuff.”
She sipped her Gatorade. “Oh, okay. Cool.” She stared at the front door.
Damian saw this and walked to it, then locked it. The sound of the door clicking made her gasp.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Don’t be scared. I’m a police officer, remember? Gotta protect my family against criminals. Can’t have no robbers and burglars and such come in here and hurt my loved ones, okay?”
“I’m family?” she asked, puzzled.
He nodded. “Yes, Kitty. You are now. You live here with me. You’re part of this family. Our family.”
“But I already have a family,” she said, suddenly feeling panic set in at the thought of not going home to her mother. “I… I have a mom. I miss my mom. I want to go home now, please.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Your family didn’t want you anymore. That’s why they sent you here. They want you to come live with me. You belong to me now, you hear me?”
Belong to him? What did that mean? Why was he sounding so angry all of a sudden? He never sounded like that before.
Kitty tried hard not to, but she couldn’t help herself. She began to sob. Tears ran down her cheeks, and her torso was jerking.
“No, no, no crying,” he said, lifting his finger in the air. “There will be no crying in this family, do you hear me?”
That just made her cry even harder. She didn’t know what else to do. She felt so helpless. Soon Officer Damian lost his temper, and he slapped her across the face. Kitty gasped and stopped crying immediately. She stared at him with eyes wide, her cheek burning from the slap.
“Now you shut up, do you hear me?” he said, panting.
Kitty looked into his eyes. They had changed. They didn’t look at her the same way, like he thought she was pretty. No, they were angry and harsh and cold as stone. Kind of like Cole when he got very drunk. He could get mean like that. Well, not completely like this. This was more. She knew she needed to get out of there. She took her Gatorade and spilled it on purpose on the wooden floors.
“What the heck? Oh my God, you’re clumsy!” he growled.
He went to get a towel. When he turned his back at her, she sprang for the front door. She grabbed the lock and flipped it, then opened the door and leaped outside. But as she did, an arm grabbed her around the neck and pulled her back. Officer Damian then took out a stun gun and tased her. It felt like a stunning jolt, like putting a finger to a light socket or on the fence when feeding the horses at the farm down the street, only this didn’t stop. It continued. Shocks of electricity shot through her small body till the pain made her pass out.
TWENTY-NINEBILLIE ANN
