they get past him?
She realized this might very well become a hostage situation. “Stan? The cops are outside. You don’t want any trouble, do you?” She kept her voice low.
Stan swallowed, and the gun wavered.
Clay moved and tackled the man to the trailer floor.
Sabrina wrapped her arms around the children’s shoulders and hurried them to the back bedroom. Away from the possibility of being shot if the gun went off. “Stay here,” she whispered.
A small hand gripped hers. “Don’t leave me,” Maria begged.
Sabrina’s heart slammed against her chest. What to do? Clay might need her help. But Maria had a firm grip, and the terror in her eyes said she wasn’t going to let Sabrina out of her sight.
Sabrina heard the thumps and grunts of the fight going on in the front room. Her eyes jumped from the unmade bed to the end table to the dresser as she fought to figure out what she should do to help Clay. Tony wiggled away from her, and when he did, a small black object dropped to the floor. Her eyes zoomed in on the wallet, and she drew in a deep breath. And coughed. First things first. She knelt. “I’ve got to, for just a minute. I need to help Mr. Clay, okay?”
Tony pulled his sister from Sabrina. “Okay. Go help him.”
Sabrina shot him a grateful look and raced down the short hall to find Clay and Stan locked together, Stan’s fingers wrapped around the rifle, Clay’s grip around Stan’s wrist. Sabrina grabbed the nearest lamp, hefted it and brought it down across the back of Stan’s shoulders.
He gave a harsh cry and went limp. The brief moment was enough for Clay to yank the rifle away. Stan staggered to his feet, lunged for the back door and crashed through it.
Sabrina bolted to the window as Clay scrambled after the man. The officers, caught by surprise, weren’t ready for the wild man who’d burst from the trailer, and soon Stan disappeared into the trees.
Deputies gave chase. Clay stumbled after them but tripped and fell down the steps to land with a thud at the bottom. He turned, his face red, a welt on his cheek, puckered and sore looking. Sabrina met him at the bottom of the back porch steps, which seemed to be in much better condition than the front. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
She whirled. “I’m going to get the kids.”
“I’m going after Stan.” He grunted and hauled himself to his feet.
She heard his pounding footsteps as she hurried back into the trailer to find Tony and Maria clutching one another while an officer knelt in front of them. Officer Donnie Kingston. She’d worked with him before.
Maria spotted Sabrina and broke away from her brother to hurl herself into Sabrina’s arms. Stunned, Sabrina hesitated only a fraction of a second before pulling the little girl’s undernourished body up against her.
Donnie turned. “Come on, Sabrina, this place is toxic. We need to get out of here and let the guys with the suits take over.” She knew he meant the team that would come in to clean up the meth lab. Since they came from out of town, it would take them a while to get there. Sabrina reached for Tony’s hand, but he knelt and snagged the wallet on the floor. Donnie sighed with exasperation. “Come on, kid, it’s dangerous in here. You can’t take that with you. It’s not yours.”
Tony’s jaw jutted. “Is too. Jordan said I’m ’posed to watch over it and make sure nothing happened to it.”
Sabrina coughed. She needed fresh air. She nodded to Donnie, who took a step toward Tony just as the door opened and Clay stepped inside. The welt on his cheek looked as if it hurt. He looked at the foursome. “He got away, but officers are looking for him.” Clay dropped in front of Tony. “Where are your mom and dad?”
Tony shrugged. “Don’t got a dad. My mom’s got a new boyfriend. I think she went with him somewhere.” His lower lip trembled again. “Jordan’s supposed to be taking care of us till she gets back.”
Clay looked at Sabrina. “Where do they live?”
“On the edge of town about two miles from here.”
“You want to try to get in touch with their mom?”
“Sure.” She pulled her phone out. Tony and Maria had been in and out of the system once already.
There was no answer. She hung up and sighed. Then called her boss on her personal line.
Rachel Keys answered. “Hello?”
Sabrina filled her in on the situation and waited for Rachel’s direction. For a moment Rachel was silent. Then she said, “I’ll send someone out to the house. You get the kids to the hospital to get checked out, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay, just text me the address where they’ll be staying. Thanks.” She hung up and turned to the children. “Looks like you guys are going with me for a little while tonight. Is that all right?”
Maria smiled. Tony shrugged. It wasn’t the first time he’d spent the night in a strange place. And at least he knew and trusted her. As much as he trusted anybody.
Clay shifted his attention to Tony. “Will you let me piggyback you out of here and get some ice cream?” Sabrina caught the subtle undercurrent of tension running through his words, but she didn’t think Tony noticed. Without waiting for his consent, Clay dropped to his knees on the filthy floor. “Hop on.”
“What about Jordan? What if he comes back? He told us to sneak out. We were going to run home. How will he find us now?”
Clay glanced at Sabrina. She touched the boy’s head. “He knows how to find me, honey. He’ll call me as soon as he can, I’m sure. I’ll tell him where you are.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. I really am.”
He stepped over to Clay. “Fine.” He wrapped his bony arms around Clay’s neck and crawled onto his back. Clay stood, and Sabrina felt relief sweep through her. The faster they got out, the better.
Within seconds, they were outside the trailer. Sabrina pulled in a breath of fresh air and wondered if she’d ever get the smell of the trailer out of her nose.
Other law enforcement continued their search for Stan Prescott. Sabrina hoped they found him soon. She stared at Clay as he talked to one of the other officers. Did he remember her? He was six years her senior and had graduated high school the year she turned twelve. He’d have no reason to remember her.
Although as soon as he’d heard her name, he’d probably remembered the rumors, the gossip, the snickers that had run rampant about her mother and his uncle. It hadn’t mattered to Steven that her mother had left his uncle at the altar almost thirty years ago, but Sabrina knew some people had long memories. How long was Clay’s?
Feeling Maria’s warm body next to hers just brought home the unfairness of it all. And reminded her why she did what she did, took the chances she took. Sabrina’s heart went out to these innocent children.
She walked to her car
