AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m just working on my bike. I’ve been clean for a while now.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better about you living next to her?” he hissed. “I know what this neighborhood is. You tell your friend Gelbero that we have eyes everywhere.”
“I’m sure you do,” I grinned.
“I consider her under my personal protection, and if anyone lays a finger on her, I will make sure he suffers. Do I make myself clear?”
Movement in Skylar’s living room caught my attention. She was standing at the window, watching the entire thing. But that wasn’t why this guy was trying to intimidate me. I could read people well enough to know when someone was putting on a good show, and that wasn’t what this was about. He genuinely liked her and feared for her safety.
“You have my word that I will never allow anything to happen to her or her kid,” I swore.
A flicker of unease flitted through his eyes. He was trying to read me, trying to understand why a man like myself would make a promise like that. Maybe it was the wrong move—making such a bold statement—but I didn’t like the idea of this officer leaving and constantly worrying about Skylar and her kid. Maybe I was becoming too soft, or maybe I just liked this guy too fucking much. He was one of the good ones, a man who would do anything for someone he cared about. It reminded me of the man I used to be.
But that was a long time ago before I met Rafe and decided to sell my soul to the devil. The greater good took over and destroyed that piece of me that could feel sympathy for a single person. Maybe that part of me was starting to reach the surface again.
“I’m watching you,” he said before turning away.
He got in his car and drove off, his eyes never leaving mine until he passed my house. Even then, I was positive he was watching me in the rearview mirror. I looked back at the window just as the curtain shifted back into place. Fuck, I’d just signed myself up for protection duty.
A smile touched the corner of my mouth. Somehow, it didn’t bother me.
Darkness surrounded me,suffocating me in this small space. With only enough space for a bed, there was hardly room to work out my frustrations. Pushups only went so far. The overwhelming need to run made my skin crawl, but I had at least another three weeks down here. Three weeks of staring into the darkness at night or counting the bricks on the walls during the day. There wasn’t even a window to let in the natural light.
I rolled to my side, trying to find a comfortable position. Even locked in a cell alone, it was still hard to believe no one would attack me in my sleep. Countless nights of watching my back made it harder to keep my eyes open as the hours dragged on.
“Jack.”
I was lost between reality and my dreams, all leading back to one thing—my sister.
“Jack, you have to come back to me.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. Her voice morphed into a blurry vision of the girl that was once happy. With her hair tied in pigtails at her shoulders and a smile on her face, I could almost believe I was there with her, before she was attacked. That beautiful smile was replaced with fear and sadness. She lost something that day that I could never help her recover. That monster stole her innocence for his sick and twisted desires.
“Jack, when are you coming home? I miss you.”
“I miss you too, Hannah.”
I held out my hand to her, hoping she would grab it. I was so close. I could almost feel her fingers wrapped around mine when she was snatched away from me. Screaming, she fought hard, desperate to get away from her attacker as she kicked and punched, but it was never enough.
“Hannah!” I screamed, fighting to get to her. But I was immobilized, unable to get any closer, no matter how much I ran through the fog. “I’m coming!”
Her body was thrown to the ground, melting into the earth right before my eyes. She clawed at the dirt, trying to force her way to the surface as more dirt fell over her head. I ran harder, pushing through the thick fog to get to her, but I was too late. Her screams died down to muffled whimpers until she went silent.
I finally broke free, rushing to her side. My fingers dug through the earthuntil I saw her face still etched in terror, even in death. “Hannah,” I whispered, running my hand down her cheek. “Come back to me.”
“You didn’t save her,” a voice laughed from behind me.
I spun around, seething when I saw the very man who violated my sister, lording over her grave in glee. “You killed her.”
“No, I just took what I wanted. You killed her. You left her alone and scared. She’s dead because you weren’t there to save her.”
I jumped to my feet, running straight at the man, but as I swung, he disappeared in the fog of the night. I spun around, searching for him, but I was all alone. The grave where my sister rested was nothing but a pile of dirt.
The only sounds around me were her distant cries for help.
I jolted upright in bed, breathing hard as if I was still running through the fog. Sweat dripped down my face, soaking the collar of my shirt. I tossed off the covers, practically falling out of bed in my urgency to find some heroin. I tore open my dresser, throwing every last piece of clothing onto the floor. When I saw it was empty, I moved to the next drawer, only to find the same thing. There was nothing in there.
I knew it was pointless. I’d flushed the last of my stash the night Johnny showed up. There was nothing here, but in my desperation, my mind begged me to find something to take the edge off.
