AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m glad it’s neat and pristine because I’m afraid a tangle of sheets from passionate lovemaking would infuriate Joshua further.
That tiny moment of gratitude is obliterated when Joshua sets a black backpack on the bed. I hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying it, but I don’t want to know what’s inside.
He doesn’t leave me to wonder. Motioning with the gun, he says, “Sit on the bed.”
I move to the other side and gingerly sit on the end, perched on the edge so I can run if the opportunity presents itself.
Joshua doesn’t point the gun at me but rather holds it aimed at the ground by his side. He stares at me, as if he’s not quite sure what to do. I want to say something to encourage him to leave, but I don’t know what I’m dealing with. He just beat Callum into unconsciousness and has me at gunpoint, and it doesn’t bode well he’s got a backpack on the bed. I’m afraid I might set him off, so I wait for him to say something while my heart feels like it’s going to explode from my chest.
“Look at you,” he finally says, shaking his head in disdain. His tone is acidic. “Moved right on, didn’t you? Or was it that you never really left the relationship with Callum? I’m thinking that’s it since you never looked at me the way you look at him. From the start, I knew you weren’t over him.”
His perception of the truth is distorted because there was a time when I was in love with Joshua. I most definitely put Callum behind me when we started dating and I gave Joshua my entire heart. He seems to forget he trampled all over it after he became abusive, but there’s no way I’ll argue with him right now.
I attempt to conciliate. “Joshua… I understand how you feel, but you have to know this is the wrong way to go about resolving things. You’re on the verge of getting into some serious trouble, but if you leave now—”
A bark of laughter erupts and he waves the gun for effect. “On the verge? I’m already in trouble, Juni. You think Callum—if he’s still alive, that is—is going to overlook this? No, I came here with a goal in mind, and it wasn’t that I was going to walk out of here and go back to my normal life.”
“Why not?” I rasp, terrified to learn the reasoning behind his warped thoughts.
Joshua doesn’t answer me but instead reaches for the backpack. Setting the gun on the bed beside it, he uses both hands to unzip the top. From inside, he pulls out rope and tosses it over near me. I didn’t think my pulse could get any faster, but I am dizzy at the sight of the white cord.
But then my heart nearly seizes when he reaches back into the pack and pulls out a garrote. It’s nothing more than two wooden handles with braided wire strung between them. It’s the same weapon he strangled the cat with.
A surge of adrenaline hits me hard and my body reacts before my brain even considers if it’s a good idea. I bolt from the edge of the bed straight for the door.
Joshua’s faster though and he lurches to the side to intercept me. Catching me around the waist, he violently slings me back across the room where I crash to the floor. The thick carpet eases some of the burden of the fall, but my shoulder hits the corner of the bed frame and I cry out in pain.
“Stupid bitch,” Joshua murmurs and turns to his backpack. I push my hair off my face to see him pulling out a knife. He sets it on the mattress next to the garrote.
“What are you going to do to me?” I ask fearfully.
Joshua turns to look at me, a wry smile on his face. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe I’m just going to scare the shit out of you, maybe I’ll use all this stuff. Hell, maybe I’ll just shoot you and be done with it. I’m figuring this out as I go.”
“Jesus Christ, Joshua.” I push up from the floor and slowly rise to my feet. “You’ll go to prison for the rest of your life. How can you throw your life away over this?”
“I’m not going to prison,” he says confidently. “They’ll have to catch me first and I’ll be long gone by the time they find you and Callum. But if they do find me, no way I’m getting taken by the police. I’ll end it myself.”
“You selfish, arrogant bastard,” I seethe, not caring if he shoots me. “You don’t care who you’ll destroy in the process for a little revenge, do you?”
“Nope. Not really,” he replies flatly. “Well beyond caring.”
And I believe him.
CHAPTER 29
Callum
Pain is what pulls me into consciousness. My head throbs with piercing intensity, a relentless drumbeat that echoes through my skull and forces me awake. I open my eyes and find myself staring at the base of the metal cabinets in my garage. It comes rushing back—Joshua with a gun and Juniper—
Fuck! Juniper.
I attempt to push up from the ground but the world tilts and spins, a dizzying whirl of shadows and dim light. My hand lands in something wet and when I hold it up, visible in the light cast off from the sidewalk streetlamps, I see glistening red. I don’t need to touch my scalp where Joshua hit me twice to know the blood is mine.
Once again, I try to stand, ignoring the sharp lance of pain that shoots through my head, threatening to anchor me back down. I disregard the swell of nausea and push to my knees. I have to assume my wounds aren’t as devastating as they could’ve been and it’s not lost on me that this entire story—of how Juniper came back to me—started with my mom lying on a stone-cold patio with a severe head injury. She wasn’t pistol-whipped, but she was a victim of the Willards, just as Juniper was and now just as I am.
The only difference is, I’m going to make at least one of those fuckers pay for it.
I stagger to my feet, leaning heavily against the car for support. My rubbery legs feel barely able to hold my weight. The world dips and sways, and I close my eyes for a moment, willing the dizziness to pass. Breathing in deeply, I focus on the door leading into the house. It seems impossibly far and every step I take is a battle against the swirling darkness that threatens to engulf me. My ears are ringing but the sound is muffled, as if I’m underwater. I can’t hear anything else—are Joshua and Juniper even here?
