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“You know?”

“Mallory, I’m the police captain. I know they asked if you needed a rape-kit done and you agreed.”

A choked sob leaves her. I try to sit up to comfort her, but she pushes me back down. “No, stay. It’s easier this way,” she softly says.

I return to my position, waiting for her to open up again. It’s a long way home to sit in this tense silence.

“My father used to do that to my mother,” I disclose. I don’t know why, it just comes out. It’s not like I can relate to her trauma, but the pained sounds of my mother haunt me, knowing that’s what happened to my Mallory.

“What?” she gasps. “You were just a child, you shouldn’t have witnessed that.”

“Yeah, he didn’t care.”

“I’m so sorry, Nox.”

The silence hangs between us. I don’t know what to say, or do. Suddenly a torrent pours out of her. She brings up the things that set her off tonight: showering, the sandwich, and how he gave her a bruise that matched the one she gave him. She tells me he assaulted her, used her, beat her, and tried to break her. Then he threw her in a dog cage and left her alone in the cold darkness. Oh, I want to raise him from the dead just so I can kill him this time. I’m sure this is still barely scratching the surface of what happened to her, but she’s opened up, and that’s all I can ask for.

“Can I ask you something?” I query.

She tenses, and I feel like a dick.

“Sure…” she hesitates.

“Do you know who the woman was? Umm… the one that was down there with you.”

She releases the breath she was holding and shakes her head. “No, he just showed up with her. She wasalready half dead when he brought her to the cellar. H-He said he hit her with his car beforehand.”

“Okay. I’m sorry for asking, we just can’t get an ID on her.”

“It’s okay, I’d like to help if I can.”

“I’ll let you know.”

“Okay.”

I poke my head up from her lap to see where we are. “Turn up here,” I say, pointing out the window toward an upcoming dirt road turn off.

“What? Nox, we have to get you home. Doctor’s orders. You need to rest.”

“Can you just do it? Pretty, pretty, please?” I put on my best puppy dog eyes, sticking my bottom lip out in an outrageous pout.

“Don’t,” she laughs. “You need to sleep.”

“It’s just a small detour, I promise.”

“Fine,” she huffs.

I direct her down the gravel road, rocks tinkling beneath the undercarriage while we sit in a tense silence. Through the wilderness, the road leads us to a place I found while searching the woods. The spot is elevated and overlooks the forest. No light pollution, or view of civilization at all.

“Turn the truck around and back up to the fence,” I direct. “Please,” I add on softly.

She does, and before she even puts the truck inpark,I’m hobbling out of the passenger side, making my way to the back to drop the tailgate. I try to jump up, but I can’t make it with the new injuries.

“Need some help, stud?” Mallory’s humour-lacedvoice comes from in front of me. Looking up, she’s standing in the box of the truck, watching me struggle.

“How did you get up there?” I exclaim.

“Climbed up on the tire?”