The Long Road Home [The Final McCassey Brothers Book] (31 page)

When Georgia reached the garage, she knew she was one third of the way to Rebel's house. Detouring into the parking lot, she stopped for a minute to pet Outlaw, Rebel's large German Shepherd. After being licked and pounced on, she patted his head and was on her way again.

Two more miles to go.

Thankfully, now that it was the beginning of April, the temperatures no longer dipped down into the twenties. Although, being in a sleeveless shirt, it sure felt like it was that cold.

As she walked along the quiet street, Georgia began to realize just how lucky she really was. There weren't many people who could've survived what her father had put her through. But she'd made it. That part of her life was over, and she'd begun a new one here in Hagerstown, with a new family.

She still thought about her mother every day; wondered how long she'd lived with her lung cancer before surrendering to the disease. Carolina Morgan had been a good woman, and she would've been happy that Georgia had found her family; people who loved and wanted her around.

At least she thought they'd loved her.

The past ten days, Georgia had been feeling sorry for herself, thinking that none of the McCassey's cared. No one had called Wade or banged on his door to let him know she was missing. She'd thought that they were glad to be rid of her; glad Blackie had thrown her out.

But finding Judd's note had restored her hope.

Now, she felt like she couldn't get to Rebel's house fast enough. She wanted to explain herself; tell her brothers that the fight she'd had with Blackie had been a misunderstanding. That the reason she'd been sneaking around was because she had been trying to do something nice for her big brother. She would've explained that ten days ago, but Blackie hadn't given her a chance.

Hopefully, Judd and Rebel would.

Hopefully, they'd believe her.

Hopefully, they'd understand when she told them what had happened down on Franklin Street. She knew they'd be furious, but she needed to tell the truth. Georgia didn't want any secrets between her and her siblings. Secrets were bad, and led to the kind of disaster that had happened at Blackie's house.

Plus, telling the truth would make Wade look good, since he'd been the one to save her.

And Wade needed to look good in their eyes.

Georgia really didn't have any experience with men, but she'd been telling the truth when she'd returned Wade's declaration of love. She wasn't anywhere near ready to get married ... wasn't even sure she'd ever be able to have an intimate relationship with a man. But she was ready to date. Maybe Wade would be okay with that and maybe he wouldn't. But she wanted him to be a big part of her life, and if they started slow, well, who knew what could happen.

It would be hard to explain to her brothers how she and Wade felt about each other ... partly because their feelings were new, and partly because she and Wade hadn't really talked about them with each other yet. But, that was all part of the truth, and she needed to tell it.

Blackie, if he was even around, was probably the only one who would want to kill Wade. However, he might change his mind once he heard that Wade had saved her.

Yes, Georgia decided, she was definitely a lucky girl.

By the time she reached the beginning of Rebel's long driveway, a cold, steady drizzle was falling and Georgia was kicking herself for leaving Wade's in a sleeveless shirt. She was so cold her teeth were actually chattering.

She picked up her pace, then gasped and stopped short when a tall, lanky figure stepped out of the shadows, blocking her path. “I knew I'd find you eventually,” a familiar man's voice said.

Who was that? She couldn't place the voice.

The man approached her, his shoes making sloshing noises as he walked along Rebel's muddy driveway. “You thought you could just get what you wanted, then sick your boyfriend on me so you didn't have to give what you promised in return, didn't you?"

Fueled by panic, Georgia's heart began to race, slamming violently into her chest. Recognition hit her head on as she realized the man standing in front of her was the drug dealer that had given her the heroin. “How did you find me?"

"Your boyfriend made it real easy, honey."

Her boyfriend? Was he talking about Wade?

"He was nice enough to mention the other night that you're a McCassey,” the man told her. “I may not have had much to say while he was pounding on me, but that doesn't mean I wasn't listening. I didn't have to ask any questions about where to find you; everyone in town knows you McCassey's."

He
was
talking about Wade.

She didn't remember him telling the drug dealer her name, but knew it was a very real possibility. Georgia was pretty out of it that night, and although she remembered being nearly paralyzed with fear at almost being raped, the little details of exactly what went on in the house on Franklin Street were fuzzy, at best.

"What do you want?” she asked, stalling for time as she tried to figure out a way to save herself.

"What the hell do you think I want, bitch? You owe me! I held up my end of the bargain; gave you what you wanted. Now you're going to give me what you promised."

He took one step toward her, and she took two steps back.

"Go ahead and run,” he dared her, “you won't get far."

He was right. She was still out of shape. Even if she did run, it wouldn't be long before he caught up with her.

Standing in the darkness shivering, Georgia realized that she didn't have much of a choice. She wasn't about to let him touch her, so her only other option was to run. If she made it far enough down Rebel's driveway and was able to scream, maybe she'd be lucky enough that someone would hear her. If not...

"Well, what's it going to be?” he asked, the impatience in his voice causing it to rise as he said each word. “Are you going to give me what I came for willingly, or not? I don't have all night. I've got a little surprise planned for your boyfriend when I'm through with you, and I'd like to get on with it."

Oh no, Wade! Because of my stupidity, he's in danger now, too. There has to be a way out of this.
“Look, I can pay you—"

Casually, as if he had all the time in the world, he let loose with the most eerie, evil laugh she'd ever heard. “Money isn't what I came here for, and you know it! I've seen what you have to offer, and I want what you promised. One way or another,” he warned, “I'm going to get it."

It wasn't until he took another step toward her and she heard the click of a gun being cocked, that she remembered she had one of her own.

She didn't know how she could've forgotten the .357 Wade had given her. The damn thing was not only heavy, it had been painfully pressing against the small of her back for the last hour.

Knowing that the darkness, combined with the distraction of the now heavier falling rain, gave her good cover, Georgia thought that if she moved slowly, she could probably get to the gun without being noticed.

Unfortunately, as she was about to reach for the weapon, she was forced to act fast when the man suddenly lunged at her. Able to jump sideways, she narrowly avoided him as he slipped on the mud and fell to the ground. Taking advantage of what was probably going to be her only chance to escape, Georgia began running down the driveway.

She did her best to remove the gun from her waistband as she ran, then shrieked as she lost her footing and fell. Georgia dug her hands into the mud to stop herself from sliding, quickly wiped them on her shirt, and reached behind her for the gun, relieved it was still there.

With cold, nearly numb fingers, she fumbled with the weapon, trying to get it cocked as the slapping sound of the man's feet hitting puddles of water got closer. “Come on, come on, come on!” she said through clenched teeth, as if scolding herself would get the job done faster.

Finally, just as the approaching footsteps were almost upon her, she raised the gun from her sitting position and fired in the general direction of the noise. The deafening boom caused her ears to ring as the kick knocked her flat on her back.

As the cold mud seeped through her already soaked clothes, Georgia shivered and peeled herself off the ground, attempting to get to her feet.

Just as she regained her footing and began to run toward the house, the drug dealer tackled her from behind, sending both of them crashing face first down into the mud.

They slid to a stop, and surprisingly, Georgia recovered first. She wiggled out from underneath the man's weight, then rose to her hands and knees and attempted to crawl away. But he reached out and caught her, dragging her to him. Effortlessly, he flipped her onto her back and tore at her shirt, ripping it down the middle and exposing her chest to the elements. “Now that's what I'm talking about,” he said, using his cold, muddy hands to painfully squeeze her breasts through her bra.

This is it, she thought, kicking up mud as she struggled against him. This is where I pay the price for my mistakes.

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Simultaneously, Blackie, Judd, and Rebel hung up their separate phone extensions and met back in Rebel's living room.

"Blackie—” Judd tried to say to his seething, red-faced older brother. He knew the man well; knew that at that moment, Blackie was probably feeling murderous and itching to hit something.

"Shut up, Judd,” Blackie warned unsteadily, pacing back and forth. “Just shut up. I'm tryin’ real hard not to put my fist through Rebel's wall, and I ain't in the mood for anything you got to say."

That was too damn bad. Blackie was going to listen to what he had to say even if Judd had to shout at him with a megaphone. “It wasn't your fault, Blackie."

"I said, shut up!” Blackie roared, but Judd ignored him.

"No, I'm not going to shut up, goddammit! Wade just said that Georgia left his place almost an hour ago to come over here, which means she should be knocking on the door any minute. Do you want her to see you like this? Do you want the first thing she sees to be the same angry, dangerous man that hit her and threw her out of his house?"

Blackie closed the distance between him and Judd in a few short strides and leaned over into Judd's face. “I ain't the same man I was ten days ago, Judd,” Blackie said with obvious pain. “I ain't never gonna be."

"I wanted to kill you for what you did to Georgia that day,” Judd told Blackie, hoping what he was about to do wasn't going to blow up in his face, “it made me sick to watch you bully her the way you did. But I got over it because even though you can be a bastard, you're my brother and I love you. Georgia's on her way over here, so obviously she thinks the same thing. Why don't you try forgiving yourself?"

"No,” Blackie said, shaking his head. “I can't do that, Judd, I won't. Georgia was clean, and she relapsed because of me. It was my fault that she could've died! Not only that, I stood right out in Rebel's front yard a couple months ago and promised Georgia that I'd never hit her. But I did. If I hadn't been such an asshole, this never woulda happened! How the hell do you think that makes me feel?"

Judd leaned forward as well, stopping only when he was nose to nose with his brother. “I don't give a goddamn shit how it makes you feel, you selfish son of a bitch! This isn't about you, Blackie, it's about Georgia!"

"Bullshit! It is about me! I'm the oldest,” he continued to yell. “I shoulda been the one takin’ care of Georgia, not hurtin’ her. It isn't yours or Rebel's job to keep her safe, and it sure as hell ain't Wade Pickett's!"

Suddenly overcome by a massive wave of anger, Judd put his hands on Blackie's chest and used every bit of strength he could muster to shove his brother backward, causing him to land in a sitting position on the sofa. “So
that's
what's bothering you? Instead of you, Wade was the one who rescued Georgia, and you can't stand it, can you?"

"It's my job—"

"For crying out loud, Blackie, who the hell died and appointed you King McCassey? We're
all
Georgia's family. She isn't your sole responsibility!"

Judd had fully expected Blackie to launch an attack of his own, but surprisingly, although he still seemed to be seething with anger, he remained seated. “Just what the hell are you tryin’ to say, big mouth?"

"I think what he's—” Rebel started to say, but Judd cut him off. He could do his own explaining.

"I'm saying that when we were growing up, the job of protecting Rebel and me fell to you because there was no one else to do it."

"So?"

"Christ, are you really
that
thickheaded? What happened with Georgia and the old man wasn't your fault, Blackie. You can't protect someone you don't even know about."

"You're wrong, Judd."

Judd stopped and stared. “Oh, so you did know about her, and you were just keeping the fact that Dad faked his death and fathered a child by another woman a secret."

Blackie did stand up then. “No! Look, I may not have been able to protect her when she was a kid, but I coulda the other day. Hell, if I'd handled things differently, she wouldn't even have needed to be protected."

Desperately wanting to throw his hands in the air out of frustration, Judd took a deep breath in an effort to control himself. “What the hell is wrong with you, Blackie? You think that Georgia leaving the other day was only your fault? All three of us are to blame. Rebel and I didn't think she was using heroin again, but neither one of us took her side when you accused her. We could've stopped her from leaving, but we didn't."

"Yeah, but you—"

"This time you shut up!” Judd hollered. “I'm not finished yet."

Blackie held his hands in the air, giving Judd the go-ahead to continue.

"How the hell do you think it makes us feel that everything Wade just spent the last forty-five minutes telling us about—Georgia's relapse, being beaten and nearly raped by that drug dealer, how she suffered through withdrawal again—could've been avoided if Reb and me had just opened our mouths and defended her.

"Right about now, that girl probably feels as unloved and abandoned as the three of us did as kids. Hopefully, Wade was right. Hopefully, she really is coming here to talk to us, and didn't use that as an excuse to sneak out of town and disappear for good. And hopefully, she'll forgive the three of us for being so goddamn stupid."