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It’s lower the knife or risk hurting Claire, and I’m not going to fucking do that. Anger surges through me as I drop my hand, pointing the blade at the ground. With both hands against my chest, she pushes me backward and away from the real danger.
“What the fuck?” I growl.
“Don’t do this, Lucca. There has been enough death in my life, enough blood on my hands.” I look away from Claire and find the creep has turned around and is now walking toward us. My body vibrates with suppressed rage, with the need to kill, to destroy.
“Is there a problem?” the guy questions.
I maneuver Claire behind me easily and hold myself back. I don’t know why she cares about this guy, but what she said a second ago pierced my heart. I don’t want her to carry the weight of all the bad I have done, so even if I wanted to slit this guy from ear to ear, I wouldn’t.
“Yeah, get the fuck out of here.”
Lucky for the guy, and myself, he mumbles an incoherent word and stalks away. I can feel Claire pressed against my back, and I place the knife back in its holster and turn and pull her into my arms.
“I…. I thought…” She buries her face in my chest, and I rub a soothing hand down her back. “I thought you were going to kill him.”
I lean into her good ear to make certain she can hear me. “I wanted to. I really did, and maybe if you weren’t here, I would’ve, but I couldn’t do it. Not knowing it would hurt you.”
The dark alley makes it hard for me to see, but when she lifts her head, I swear I see tears swimming in her eyes. I don’t want to make her cry anymore. I want her to be happy, smiling. I want to see her like I did the very first day I met her.
“I’ll come with you.”
Her words are so profound that for a moment, I swear they’re made up. “What did you say?” I ask, just to be certain that I heard correctly.
“I’ll go with you. I’ll go home.”
My heart jolts in my chest; it’s beating so loudly it’s all I can hear for a few seconds.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure, but I still want my freedom.”
“If that’s what I have to do, then I will do it. I’ll give you whatever your heart desires.” I squeeze her a little tighter, grateful that for once, I didn’t give into my most basic instinct. Claire changed me and is still changing me.
37
Claire
Most people like going back home, are proud of their roots and long for the place they grew up.
The drive back to our hometown has my stomach in knots. So many terrible memories were made here, memories I’d rather forget. I try to shove those down, back to the darkest corner of my mind, and concentrate on the good things.
I’m excited to see Hope again. It’s been over two years, and I’ve missed her dearly. Besides Carter, she has been one of the few actual friends I had.
As we enter the city limits, familiar streets and buildings emerge. I notice right away that we are not going to the part of town we used to live. The neighborhood we are heading to is the upscale side of town. An area I only went to once by accident when the school bus took a wrong turn.
Glancing over to Lucca, I’m close to asking where we are going but decide to just wait and see. We pull into a gated community. The guard waves Lucca through after he flashes some kind of card, and I can’t help but wonder if these guards are keeping people in as well as out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lucca is paying them extra to keep an eye out for me.
We pass a dozen upscale homes, one looking more luxurious than the next. Two even have water fountains in the front yards. I’m so enamored with the beauty of the surrounding homes that I barely realize when we pull into a driveway.
Lucca parks in front of the three-door garage, and I gawk up at the breathtaking house in front of me.
“What are you doing? You can’t park here.”
“Why not?” Lucca chuckles.
“Someone lives here.” I sit up a little straighter and look around us, just waiting for someone to come out and yell at us.
“Someone does, indeed.”
“Wait! Is this Tracy and Steven’s new house? Did you buy them this house?” If you can even call this a house. Mansion might be a more accurate term.
“No, Claire. I bought this house for us. For you and me to live in.”
I stare at him, speechless for so long that my mouth gets dry. That’s when I also realize my mouth is hanging open.
