you’d put out once in awhile! But no— you act like your legs are fucking glued shut! Why the hell shouldn’t I get some somewhere else if you’re not gonna give it to me?” Annnnd that was the voice of Randy. He was definitely there and he sounded good and drunk. Mei-Li massaged her temples where a really good tension headache was trying to take hold. So he and Angry Mom were reenacting their old, toxic dance all over again. Under the shouting, Mei-Li thought she could hear crying. Probably Kristin or her little sister, Megan, upset by the fight. This had to stop before it went any further but Mei-Li knew perfectly well she couldn’t break it up all by herself—it wasn’t safe. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in Claudia’s number. “Hey, boss lady—remember how you said you’d back me up if I needed it?” Claudia gave a long suffering sigh. “Seriously Mei-mei? It’s almost nine at night and I was just settling down to catch up on Gray’s Scandal . I have two juicy episodes all saved up and I was about to pour myself a big glass of red wine.” “Well, there’s plenty of juicy scandal going on down here at Kristin Hill’s house if it makes you feel any better,” Mei-Li said dryly. “Randy Dungston is back with a vengeance and he and Angry Mom are airing their dirty laundry loud enough for everyone in Tampa Heights to hear it.” Claudia was immediately all business. “Okay, I’m on my way and I’ll call a squad car too. He’s breaking the court order to keep him away from the girls so we can have him hauled away at least for the night.” “They might take awhile to get there—this is Friday night, not exactly one of their down times,” Mei-Li pointed out. “They’ll get there, I’ll make sure of it,” Claudia said grimly. “In the meantime, you just stay in the car with the windows rolled up and the doors locked. Do not go into that house alone. Okay?” “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Mei-Li said dryly. “I’ll sit tight and wait for you.” “Good. Be there in twenty. Fifteen if traffic cooperates.” “Got it.” Mei-Li hung up and turned her attention back to the scene going on in the little house across the street. The angry voices had risen from shouts to screams and then she heard the sound of glass breaking. “Stupid cunt,” Randy was shouting. “Don’t be yelling at me! Like you ain’t never fucked around. I know what you were doing when I was in County. I know you were fucking around—spreading your legs for anything with a dick!” “No, I swear, Randy…” Angry Mom’s voice was somewhere between a shriek and a wail. “I never…I never…” “Lying bitch!” More breaking glass and more shrieking had Mei-Li on the edge of her seat. She knew it wasn’t safe to go inside and confront the angry drunk by herself but she also didn’t want to just sit here and listen to Randy beat the crap out of Angry Mom while Kristin and her sister witnessed the whole messy scene. Then she heard something worse. “Not my mommy! You leave my mommy alone!” The piercing, high pitched voice was unmistakably Kristin’s. Mei-Li could see her small shadow in the lit front windows rushing at a much bigger form which had to be Randy. “Get back you little bitch!” Randy grunted as the big shadow grabbed the smaller one. “Or, I swear to God I’ll slice you up while your fucking ‘mommy’ watches.” That was it—Mei-Li knew it was dangerous but she couldn’t wait any longer. She couldn’t sit in her safe, locked car and wait for the police while an innocent little girl was maimed and possibly killed. No matter what happened, she had to go in. She was out of her car and across the street almost before the thoughts finished flashing through her mind. The door was open and she ran into the house without knocking or calling, holding the pepper spray straight out in front of her like a gun. What she saw when she got to the cramped and