Take Us to Her

The storm hit them like a wall.

Ronan carried Emma's small hand inside his own while Mason took the lead with a flashlight and Victor followed with a raincoat thrown open to shield her from the wind. June ran out behind them with a blanket and wrapped it around Emma's shoulders before they reached the porch steps.

'Police and ambulance are coming,' June shouted over the rain. 'Road's flooding near the bend. They said ten minutes if they can get through.'

Ronan nodded once.

Ten minutes could be a lifetime in the wrong house.

They did not run blindly. Ronan had no interest in becoming another problem for the woman inside that rental. He knew the difference between protection and chaos. He knew how violence dressed itself up as rescue if men let anger lead.

So he let Emma point, and he kept his voice low.

'You stay behind me when we get there,' he told her. 'No matter what you hear.'

'I have to go to Mommy.'

'You will,' Ronan said. 'After I make sure the room is safe.'

The road to the creek house dipped through black trees and standing water. Lightning broke open the sky in white sheets. Emma slipped once in the mud, and Victor caught her by the blanket before she fell.

She apologized instantly.

That hurt Ronan more than the storm.

'No apologies for surviving,' he said.

Emma stared at him, confused by the idea.

The yellow rental appeared through the rain, small and low, with one porch light flickering and a truck parked crooked near the ditch. The front door was half open. A chair lay on its side on the porch.

Ronan lifted one hand.

Mason stopped. Victor stopped. Emma stopped between them, shivering under the blanket.

From inside the house came a crash, then a man's voice, sharp and slurred.

Ronan's face changed.