***
Fifteen minutes later, Riddick set the girl on her front doorstep and took a moment to catch his breath before ringing the doorbell. Sirens wailed in the distance as two sets of feet scrambled for the front door from within. The door flew open. Parents. The mother burst into tears and dropped to her knees, arms wide.
“Colleen! You’re alive! We were worried sick!”
A red-faced glare smothered the father’s surprise and relief when he lay eyes on Riddick. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing with my daughter?”
Colleen fell into her mother’s arms. The father looked down and, at the same time as Riddick, noticed the blood trail running down Colleen’s legs. The father made fists but Riddick ran off before the man finished crossing the threshold.
How could he be so stupid? Of course the daughter had to have been missing a while. A strange man showing up on their doorstep with a ravaged daughter they’d been worried sick about... Riddick would’ve reacted the same in the father’s place if Colleen had been Waters. Damn it, he should’ve left her for the cops.
Still sticking to the shadows, Riddick snuck his way to Waters’ house, even though cops would more than likely be there. Sure enough, three cruisers were parked in front. He took mental note of the crescent moon’s position, then climbed an oak tree and started playing the waiting game. Chances were they wouldn’t leave until the next shift arrived, not while he was a wanted murderer. But he had to see Waters. She had to know how to salvage his situation.