“Pastor Douglas,” Caden repeated slowly.
Kevin continued. “We’re here to let you know that there are programs available to help…”
Caden held up his hand, stopping him. “Not interested.”
“These are good people,” Richard insisted. “Least you can do is listen.”
“Already told you I’m not interested.” With that he stormed away with a cynical smile twisting his mouth.
My heart was in my stomach. I had a terrible feeling that in looking to protect Shay, I might have done the exact opposite and put her at risk.
A loud knocking sound startled me and woke me in the middle of the night. Rolling over, I glanced at the bedside clock and saw that it was barely three. A shot of adrenaline had me bolt upright in bed. My immediate thought was that Shooter had found me. Then reason took over. If it was Shooter, then it was highly unlikely he’d knock. His style was to ambush and attack. Whoever it was, it sounded urgent. Maybe something was wrong with Drew or the children.
Hurrying now, I turned on the lights and headed into the living room. Thankfully, the door had a peephole and a porch light that illuminated the area. Drew had added a bright one as a safety measure that shone across half the yard. If it was Drew at the door, I wanted proof, although I couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t phone first instead.
A man stood on the other side, wobbling back and forth on his feet as if struggling to find his balance. At first I didn’t recognize him and assumed he was one of Richard or Chuck’s friends.
Then I did.
It was Caden.
My brother.
My heart nearly burst inside my chest. I had wondered how I’d feel if I ever saw him again. Early on in my recovery I’d made the decision to avoid anything to do with my brother. As painful as it was to cut him free, I had to do what was best for my own emotional well-being.
I didn’t know how he’d managed to find me. My heart clenched at the sight of him and I struggled with what to do. As much as I wanted to turn my back and ignore him, I found I couldn’t. I didn’t know what he wanted, but I was stronger now and unwilling to be drawn into his drama. Then, I reasoned, if he had come to me, he must be desperate.
I undid the lock and opened the door. Caden pointed at me, then staggered a few steps. “Aren’t you going invite your baby brother inside?” he demanded.
“No. Go away, Caden, you’re drunk.” I took an involuntary step back. Even in the cold of the night, he reeked of alcohol. It’d been over four years since I’d last seen him and I almost hadn’t recognized my own brother. The years hadn’t been good to him, which led me to believe he was still hooked on drugs. “Caden, oh Caden, what’s happened to you?” I whispered, my heart breaking at the sight of him.
“I need my big sister. Won’t you help me, Shay? All I need is a few dollars to see me through.”
“Caden, I can’t…”
“Look at you in this fancy apartment, living the good life while your baby brother is sleeping on the street.”
He staggered forward and tried to grab hold of my shoulders. I managed to catch him by the shoulders so he didn’t stumble.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said, slurring the words. “Needed your help but you didn’t want to see me, did you?”
“Caden, please, you have to understand, I’m not the same person I was four years ago. I’ve changed. I—”
“Bet you didn’t think I’d find you, did you?” he said, cutting me off. “Thought you could hide from me. Well, I’m smarter than you think. Smarter than you realize.”
I blinked, not knowing what to say or even if I should comment.
“I saw you, you know, that night you were out with that rescue team. Saw you with him.”
“Him?”
“That pastor friend of yours. He came…him and that other do-gooder, thinking they could help me. I recognized him and then followed him. I saw the two of you.” His laugh was maniacal. “You got something going with that preacher, don’t you? Imagine what Shooter would think if he knew. He’d laugh his fool head off. I did.”
I bristled, disliking his tone. I wondered if Caden knew what Shooter had done to me in an effort to find him. Probably not. “It’s time for you to leave,” I said as forcefully as I could and attempted once more to close the door.
“I ain’t leaving until you give me some money. Don’t tell me you don’t have it, living in this fancy place.”
I could see it wasn’t going to be easy to persuade him to walk away. I toyed with the idea of giving him a twenty and just as quickly changed my mind. If I started giving him money now it would be only the beginning. Soon he’d be coming to me for funds for his drinking and drugs and his needs would be endless. I couldn’t give in, no matter what.
“I can’t, Caden. I’m sorry, but I can’t give you any money.”
He blinked and scowled as if he didn’t believe me. His arms flung out as if he had trouble maintaining his balance.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, I started to close the door. Caden was too quick for me and put his foot in the way, stopping me. “Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t going to leave until you gave me what I came for? I can stand here all night if need be, but I’m not leaving until you do what’s right for your family.”
I shook my head, using every bit of determination I possessed to turn my back on my brother.
“Please. You’re my sister,” he pleaded, changing tactics. “You need to help me; it’s your duty. It’s what Mom would have wanted you to do.”
As hard as it was not to give in, no way would I let my brother manipulate me. “No, Caden, what Mom would want is for you to be clean and sober, and the last thing she’d want is for me to enable you to continue on this path of self-destruction.”
“Okay, fine,” he said, cursing at me, calling me terrible names. I regretted opening the door now and tried again to close it. Despite being drunk, Caden was surprisingly strong. As hard as I pushed, I was unable to get the door to budge.
I wasn’t going to allow him to verbally abuse me. “It’s time for you to go, Caden. Leave me alone and don’t come here again.”
He growled at me like a rabid beast.
I saw a police cruiser stop on the side of the street. The light Drew had installed must have illuminated the area, which was easily viewed from the street. “The police are here—”
“Cops. You bitch…” Again with the foul language, all directed at me. My brother used every foul word I had ever heard.
“Leave.” I shoved with all my might, hoping to close the front door. Caden yanked me forward and then, gasping with surprise and shock, I stumbled out into the cold. That was when my brother took a wild swing at me. Thankfully, I was able to step back in time to avoid getting hit. The action caused my brother to lose his balance and stagger sideways. It was a major accomplishment that he managed to remain upright, although he stumbled several feet before he could stop himself.
I groaned inwardly when I noticed two police officers getting out of their cruiser and running across the lawn.
As soon as Caden saw the police, he cursed me again and took off in a desperate run. One of the officers raced in pursuit while the second approached me.
“Are you okay?” the female officer asked.
“I…think so,” I said.
“We saw what happened. Do you want to press assault charges?”
“No. He’s drunk or worse.” I wanted to explain that I hadn’t seen him in years but I didn’t get a chance. When Caden realized he wasn’t going to be able to outrun the officer, he turned to face the man and reached for a knife. As soon as the female officer saw the weapon, she left me to assist her partner.
I couldn’t see what happened next, but I heard the officer call into her mike, “Officer down, officer down.”
The policeman who had gone after Caden was on the ground, grabbing hold of his side, and the female officer had her gun drawn on Caden. I realized then that my brother had stabbed the first officer.
My first thought was to try to help, to do what I could to talk to my brother, calm him down. Instinctively I realized any effort I made would simply add to the chaos. The only thing I could do was stay out of the way.