“I haven’t arrested you. Yet.”

He slammed the door and went back around. He needed to call Marlene to put her mind at ease but he wanted to find out what the hell had happened first. Rusty was holding out—not that it was any shock.

They drove up the road and about a mile up, he saw the car nosefirst in a deep ravine.

“Goddamn,” he muttered. “Is Matt still inside?”

Anger flashed on her face again and she shook her head. “Mind telling me where he is?”

“He took off.”

Sean pulled up beside the wrecked car and rested his hand over the steering wheel as he looked over at Rusty. “Any reason why?”

“Because I threatened to call you,” she blurted.

His eyes narrowed. “Call me?”

“Yeah, okay? It was a bluff. Pretty stupid. You wouldn’t piss on me if I was on fire.”

Sean reached over and touched the blood drying at the corner of her mouth. Then he lowered his hand and pulled the collar of her shirt back just an inch to reveal the already discolored places on her neck.

Rusty stared back at him, her gaze challenging.

Sean picked up his phone and punched in Frank’s number.

“Frank. I’ve found Rusty. I’ll bring her home after I’ve straightened things out. No, don’t come. I’ll take care of it. You and Marlene just worry about Sophie.”

He hung up before Frank could press further and then he stared back at Rusty.

“We can do this one of two ways. You can tell me exactly what happened, or I can take you back to the station and you can tell me there. Your choice. But you are going to give me an exact accounting or I’m going to find Matt Winfree and get his side.”

Rusty closed her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. You won’t believe me. Nobody will believe me.”

“Try me.”

She turned her face toward the window and stared out. More bruises shadowed the slim column of her neck up to her ear. He was getting more pissed off by the minute. Then she looked down and her shoulders shook as if she was valiantly trying to hold on to her control.

“I didn’t mean to make them worry,” she said in a cracked voice. “It wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a ride home. Matt Winfree is cute and popular and I thought he was interested in me. He asked if I’d give him a ride home. So I said yeah. I mean, what girl wouldn’t? After we left the school, he asked if he could drive. He thought the car was cool and wanted to get behind the wheel. I know I should have said no, but I wanted him to like me.”

The pained vulnerability in her voice gripped Sean by the throat. Christ, she was just a kid. It was hard to remember that sometimes, but she was still just a seventeen-year-old kid who’d had a hell of a hard life.

“So I pulled over and told him he could drive to his house and that was all. I knew Marlene would worry if I wasn’t home, but I figured she wouldn’t mind five minutes.”

She went silent and locked her gaze on some distant object out her window.

“Go on,” Sean urged.

She dragged her hand through her hair and he saw two nails, broken to the quick, tiny lines of blood at the tips. He had a very bad feeling about this.

“He drove past his house. I asked him what the hell and he laughed and said he wanted to show me something. I was pissed because I’d already told him just to drive to his house. He came out here, with me yelling at him the entire way. He tried ...”

She leaned her forehead on the glass and hunched her shoulders inward as if to hide herself completely from Sean.

“What did he try?” Sean asked quietly.

Rusty whirled around, tears swimming in her eyes, but they blazed with fury. “He wanted sex, okay? He wanted me to put out. Apparently it’s the hot gossip at school that any boy can get into my pants, and so he wanted his turn.”

Sean’s jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached. “Did he rape you?”

She gave a dry laugh. “He tried. He tried, okay? I told him I’d tell you, and he laughed. Said you’d never believe me over him, that everyone knew what kind of girl I am. I fought him off and he drove my car into the ditch. Then he took off. Probably called a friend on his cell phone to come get him. I don’t know. I don’t care.”

“He’s wrong.”

She lifted pain-filled eyes to his. “What?”

“I believe you.”

Relief was crushing in her eyes. Tears slipped down her cheeks and then she raised her hands to her face as sobs billowed out. He reached over to lay his hand against her hair.

“He won’t get away with this, Rusty.”

She jerked her head up again. “No. You can’t tell anyone. No one will believe me. No one. Do you understand? My life will be ruined. I won’t be able to go back to school.”

The sad thing was she was right about a lot of people not believing her. But that didn’t mean that Sean and the rest of the Kellys couldn’t make the little bastard’s life miserable.

“I won’t press charges,” she said vehemently. “I won’t. I’ll say nothing ever happened. You can’t make me.”

Sean slid his hand underneath her chin and nudged it upward. “Trust me, Rusty. I know you and I don’t see eye to eye. I know you hate me. But trust me. I’ll take care of this.”

The hope in her eyes damn near undid him. It was gone in a flash, and her expression went dim again.

“Now tell me where you’re hurt. Do you need to go to the hospital?”

She flushed and shook her head. “He hit me a few times. Tore my clothes.”

He touched the side of her neck where the bruises had already formed. “What happened here?”

She twisted away and pulled her torn shirt up to cover it. “It’s nothing. He held me by my neck while he ripped my shirt.”

Sean itched to get his hands around Matt’s neck.

“Tell me what you want to do then. I’ll take you to the hospital if you want to go.”

“I just want Marlene,” she said in a small voice.

“Then I’ll take you home. Okay? I’ll call ahead to make sure she’s there.”

“Won’t she be at the hospital with Sophie?”

“I think right now you need her more,” Sean said gently.

Rusty breathed a sigh of relief and then she looked at him. “Thanks. You’re not so bad, you know? For a cop.”

Sean shook his head. “We’re not the bad guys, Rusty.” He glanced over at her car. “Do you need anything out of there before we go?”

“My purse. And my school stuff.”

“Okay, sit tight while I go get it. I’ll need to call a wrecker to come get the car.”

“Frank and Marlene are going to be so upset,” she said. “They just got me that car and I promised to take care of it.”

Sean paused and then leaned back into the car to look over at Rusty. “They’ll be happy you’re okay. They don’t give a damn about that car.”

As he walked toward the wrecked car, he pulled out his cell phone. “Marlene? This is Sean. Yeah, Rusty’s okay. Look I know you’re probably on your way to the hospital but ... Rusty really needs you right now. I’m going to take her home if you can meet me there.”

CHAPTER 16

SEAN parked his patrol car outside Matt Winfree’s home and sat for a moment trying to get his anger under control. Dealing with teenage punks of Matt’s ilk wasn’t anything new, but this time really set him off. It was no secret there was no love lost between him and Rusty. She’d been obstinate, obnoxious and rebellious from the first moment she’d learned that Sean was a cop. Half the time he wanted to shake her senseless. The other half, he preferred to just avoid her. But she didn’t deserve this shit with Matt. For all her faults, he knew beyond her tough-girl exterior lay a very frightened, insecure girl who just wanted what other teenagers took for granted. Someone to love her and give a damn.

He got out and walked toward the front door. Matt’s father, Tom, opened it when he was halfway up the walk.

“Sean,” he greeted. “What can I do for you?”

Sean stopped a foot in front of the bottom step. “I need to talk to Matt, Tom.”

Tom frowned and his brow drew together. “Is there a problem? He just got in from school. He’s up doing his homework.”

“You need to get him. I need to have a private word with him.”

“I’ll get him, but I’ll hear whatever it is you have to say.”

Sean shrugged. “If you insist.”

He stood outside, hands shoved into his pockets while he waited. A few minutes later, Tom returned with Matt and they stepped outside onto the porch. Matt glanced nervously between Sean and his father and then his lips curled and he went on the offensive.

“No matter what that little bitch said, I didn’t do anything.”

“Watch your mouth,” Tom barked. “You’ll show some respect.”

Sean leveled a stare at Matt and enjoyed watching him squirm. “Well now, I hadn’t said anything at all. Interesting that you get on the defensive right away now, isn’t it?”

Tom’s eyes narrowed and he fell silent as he stared at his son. Then he turned to Sean. “What’s going on here, Sean? Just spit it out. What is it you think Matt has done?”

“I don’t think anything,” Sean said softly. He looked past Tom to Matt and then took a step forward. “You’re damn lucky I don’t haul you down to lockup.”

Matt smirked, though his eyes betrayed his panic.

“Rusty isn’t pressing charges, though I tried to talk her into it. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to stuff you into a cell. But let me tell you this. If you so much as breathe her name—even once—I’ll make your life miserable. You got me? You don’t talk about her. You don’t brag to your buddies that you got next to her. If I hear a single word that you’ve done anything to make her miserable at school, I’ll come down on you so hard you won’t be able to take a piss without me breathing down your neck and then you can kiss your football scholarship to UT good-bye.”

Matt paled and Tom’s perplexed expression turned angry. “Matt, what the hell is he talking about? What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Matt spat out. “The little bitch is a prick tease.”

“I saw the bruises on her neck. I saw the tears in her shirt. You wrecked her new car—which, by the way, you are going to make restitution for. You’re getting off scot-free, which pisses me the hell off. But it ends right here and now. If you don’t think I’m serious, you just try me. I can ruin your life, and moreover, I’d take great pleasure in doing so if you do anything to give Rusty a hard time.”

Tom closed his eyes and shook his head. All the color had drained from his cheeks, and Sean felt sorry for him. Tom was a good man. He was a longtime school board member and a huge supporter of the high school. He didn’t think for a minute that Tom would condone his son’s behavior.

“He’ll do whatever it takes to make amends,” Tom said hoarsely. “You have my word on it.”

Matt’s face reddened and swelled up with anger, but his father’s look prevented him from speaking his mind.

“I want him to stay away from Rusty and keep his mouth shut.”

Tom nodded. “He will.”

Sean turned and started toward his car when Matt’s outburst reached him.

“She’s nothing! Just some little tramp. Why do you give a shit about her?”

Sean stopped and then slowly turned back around. He pinned Matt with the full force of his glare until he saw fear glimmer back in Matt’s eyes.

“That’s where you’re wrong, you little prick. Take my advice. Forget you ever heard Rusty’s name. She’s very much a part of the Kelly family now, and if you know anything about them, then you know they don’t suffer any insult to their family. She now has six older brothers who’d love nothing more than to kick your little arrogant ass all over Stewart County.”

“Matt, for God’s sake, shut up,” Tom snarled. “You’re in enough trouble as it is.”

Sean tipped his hat in Tom’s direction and then continued to his car.

Satisfied that he’d given Matt Winfree plenty of incentive to keep his mouth shut and to leave Rusty alone, he drove toward the Kelly house.

A few minutes later, he pulled to a stop beside Marlene’s car and sighed. This sucked all the way around. Especially for Rusty. But he could at least allay her fears of the incident making the rounds at school.

He knocked and waited. Marlene opened the door, her eyes fiery. Oh, he’d seen that look plenty of times. She was such an easygoing, loving woman, but God help the fool who messed with one of her chicks.

“How is she?” he asked quietly.

Marlene sighed. “Upset but trying not to let me know how much. She’s playing it off, of course, but it scared her to death. Tell me you beat the shit out of that little asshole.”