Page 28 of No More Secrets

Shit, shit, shit.

Shiloh grabs the tin and feels around for the lid. Her palm lands on a used syringe, and she jerks back before cautiously picking it up. As quietly as she can, she puts the tin in the car and tries to flip Irving over.

He groans louder, pushing up on his arms until he flops onto his back.

“Shhhh.” Shiloh waves her hands to get him to quiet down.

His eyelids lift to half-mast. “Daisy Ray?” He shouts his daughter’s name.

“Quiet.” She looks around, terrified that Bob and Barton will hear them. She tries to haul him up, breathing in his stink and hating that she’s getting the smell of him on her. “Get up. You’ll freeze to death out here.”

“But I like the stars.”

“I know.” She grunts, getting him to his feet.

Irving tumbles into the back seat. Shiloh finds his blanket on the ground. She shakes it out and drops it over him.

He grasps her hand before she moves away. Her heart rate jackknifes. But he smiles dreamily. “You’ve always been good to me, Daisy.”

Irving’s delusional. If his daughter was good to him, if she cared for him, he wouldn’t be homeless.

If her mom cared about her, she would have kicked Ellis out months ago. She would have believed her when Shiloh told her Ellis was touching her, which hurts more than the emotional trauma Ellis put her through. She feels unseen and unwanted. Worthless to her own mother.

“Good night, sweetheart.”

She pulls her hand free of his dry and brittle palm. “Night, Irving.”

Glancing around, she holds her breath. Someone snores. Someone else coughs. But all seems undisturbed.

She tiptoes to her car and as quietly as possible opens the rear passenger door. It creaks once before she dives inside and comes face-to-face with Ricky’s gummy grin.

A startled scream expands her throat.

“Wonderin’ if you’d be returning, sweets. This is my car now.”

“But... no.” Her breath gushes with fear. “No, it’s not.” Where the hell else can she go?

“It’s mine.” Ricky lunges across the seat and smacks Shiloh’s cheek. The contact is sharp, stunning Shiloh speechless.

“Mine, mine, mine,” Ricky yells.

Shiloh covers her cheek, shocked the woman hit her. “It was you. You broke my windows.” Not Bob and Barton, the two scumbags always leering at her.

Ricky sneers. “You don’t belong here.”

If Shiloh were smart, she’d make a run for it. But she’s fed up with people taking advantage of her, and she snaps. “You bitch. Get out of my car.” She grabs Ricky’s ankles and drags the woman across the seat.

Ricky kicks madly, knocking Shiloh’s chin. Her head snaps back. She sees stars.

“Thief! Thief!” Ricky shrieks. Her screams pierce the quiet night.

Hands snake around Shiloh’s chest and pull her from the car. Barton’s face appears in front of her. “Hey, there, sugar. We were hoping you’d come back.”

She blinks up at him, her vision blurring.

He starts dragging her away.

White-hot terror slices into her. “Let me go!” She squirms in his arms but can’t get her footing.