Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Hella steps toward me, and I stumble back. He stops, hurt flashing across his face before it hardens again. “So you were gonna let him murder you?”
“You don't understand.” My voice cracks. “He had pictures, Hella. Of her at school. At the park.” Panic rises again, squeezing my chest. “I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk her.”
“And now?” His question hangs between us, heavy with implications.
I look at my daughter, still clinging to him like he's her anchor in a storm. She hasn't said a word, but her grip on his leg speaks volumes. “Now?” I let out a shaky breath. “Now I don't know what to do.”
“I do.” Hella's voice brooks no argument. “You're not leaving the compound.”
“What?” Heat flares in my chest, defiance pushing through the fear. “You can't—”
“The fuck I can't.” He cuts me off, then softens his tone when the girl flinches. “Look at her, Melissa. Really look. She's traumatized, won't talk, and for some reason, she trusts me. You running off now? That'll fuck her up even more.”
All fight drains out of me when she presses her face against Hella's leg, seeking comfort from a man she just met instead. It stings, but I can't blame her. I'm a stranger too.
“Fine.” I swallow hard, forcing down the urge to run. To hide. To protect them both by disappearing. “He has connections, Hella. Powerful ones. What if—”
“He's dead.” Hella's voice is flat, final. “Ain't nobody coming for either of you now.”
I want to believe him. God, how I want to believe him. But five years of looking over my shoulder, of jumping at shadows, of seeing Eddy's smirk in every crowd, it's not something I can switch off.
“Hey.” Hella's voice gentles, and he reaches out slowly. When I don't pull away, his hand cups my cheek, thumb brushing away tears I didn't know I'd let slip. “I got you both. You hear me? Both of you.”
“I'm sorry,” I whisper, though I'm not sure who I'm apologizing to. “I thought I was protecting her. I thought—” My voice breaks.
“Yeah, well.” Hella's voice is gruff as his hand finds mine. “Sometimes the right thing and the smart thing ain't the same.”
I look up at him, seeing the tension in his jaw, the barely contained rage in his eyes. He's pissed at me, at Eddy, at the fucked-up situation, but he's still here. Still standing between us and the world like a shield.
“Thank you,” I manage. “For finding her. For—” The words catch in my throat as she takes a tiny step toward me, still keeping one hand on Hella's leg like a lifeline.
“Don't thank me yet.” His voice drops lower, meant for me alone. “We got a lot to figure out. But right now?” He glances down at the girl, that softness resurfacing. “Right now, she needs to feel safe. Everything else can wait.”
I nod, understanding what he's not saying. The questions, the anger, the explanations will come later. For now, there's this. My daughter, alive, safe, away from Eddy.
For the first time in five years, I can breathe without feeling like I'm drowning.
Maybe that's enough for now.
Three weeks.
Three weeks of watching my daughter cling to another man like he's her lifeline while I exist on the periphery of her world. As if she knows I betrayed her in the worst way possible.
I press my back against the wall outside Hella's bedroom, the hardwood floor cold beneath my ass. It’s two in the morning. I should be fucking exhausted, but sleep won't come. Not when she's beyond that door, so close I could touch her.
The first few days were torture. She wouldn't look at me. Wouldn't acknowledge I existed beyond the occasional glance that hit harder than any punch I've taken. She'd bury herself in Hella's side whenever I got too close, her whole body going rigid, fingers clutching at Hella's shirt like I was the monster who'd kept her in that bunker.
Maybe I am.
I drop my head back against the wall, closing my eyes.
Down the hall, Beast's voice rumbles through the walls, probably on the phone handling club business. The compound never really sleeps, but these hours between midnight and dawn feel different. Heavier. Like the air itself knows all the shit we're not saying.
The doorknob turns.
My eyes snap open.
I scramble to my feet, heart hammering as Hella steps out, closing the door softly behind him. He's shirtless, wearing a pair of low-slung sweatpants that shouldn’t look as hot as they do.
“She's asleep.” His voice is barely a whisper, rough from exhaustion. “You gonna stand guard all night again?”
I hug myself, suddenly aware of how thin my tank top is, how vulnerable I feel in these early morning hours. “Can't sleep knowing she's in there.”
“Could sleep next to her.”
“She doesn't want me there.”
“She doesn't know you yet.” He leans against the doorframe, studying me with those sharp blue eyes that see too much. “Give her time.”