When Will It End

The tumble off the bed amidst flying bullets and debris left Collin with cuts on his chin and both hands and a bad case of fright—but no gunshot wounds. Stevie's elbow throbbed from the hard landing, and she had numerous cuts on her hands, knees, and feet. The full weight of what happened—and what could have happened—hit her a few minutes later on the front lawn. With the wail of sirens growing louder in the distance, neighbors agreed that eight to ten shots had been fired at Stevie's house. No other homes on the street had been targeted.

Buckling under the emotional weight of her traumatic afternoon and evening, Stevie fell into the arms of a woman from the neighborhood she barely knew and sobbed. Cold reality pummeled her. Dougie was dead and Jon was no longer her husband, confidant, and comfort. Shawna had abandoned her, and Collin could easily have been killed in a hail of gunfire. Floundering to stay afloat in a raging current of whys, Stevie was now gripped by a question that threatened to pull her under like a riptide: When would this diabolical assault on her family ever end?