Page 139 of Freefall

Jace groans somewhere to my left, but all I can see is Taylor.

The way he bragged in the locker room about slipping GHB into Jackie’s drink at a house party that weekend. The way he said he liked girls better when they couldn’t fight back. She was too ashamed to come forward, so I got Luke to help me plant drugs in his locker, and then we beat the shit out of him.

Now he’s using Harper as revenge. My mind strays to the image of her in that photograph. The ropes. The way he knocked her unconscious with the back of a pistol. He drugged her. Just like Jackie. And if I hadn’t come…

I force the thought from my mind as my hands close around his throat, his face turning crimson beneath me. He claws at my wrists. “Jackie deserved so much more than you.” I snarl. “Her daughter does too.”

His struggle weakens.

A small voice cuts through the haze of rage. “Nathan.”

I tighten my grip.

I feel her behind me, her soft hand cold against my temple. “Nate.”

I look back at her, her legs still tied together with rope. Her hands and knees are covered in dirt.

She crawled to me.

I look back at Taylor, his eyes bloodshot, the life slowly draining from them. Sirens scream in the distance. His eyes roll back.

I could do it. I could end him. For what he did to Jackie. What he did to Harper. I wonder how many other women he's hurt. How many will he hurt if I let him go?

“Nathan.” Her voice shatters. “Baby, look at me.”

My hands still. For a second I’m suspended in time. This is the second time I’ve held a life in my hands. I almost killed Emory’s ex for what he did to her. Luke had been the voice of reason back then. He had calmed me when it seemed like there was no coming back from the edge. Now it’s her. Harper. My Dani. The mother of my child and the love of my life.

My gaze snaps to her—bloody and broken, still bound at the ankles, and yet there’s hope shining in those hazel eyes. Beautiful and fragile and glittering like sunshine on a crystal lake. She’s not scared of who I am—of what I’m capable of. She doesn’t beg or plead. She just gives me that hope, that quiet strength, until I slowly ease my grip.

And for the second time in my life, I release a monster. If only so I don’t become one myself. If only to honor the unspoken words, the trust, of the woman beside me.

My hands drop to my sides, and Taylor sucks in a jagged breath. I shove him away and crawl toward Harper.

“I love you,” I say, catching a tear on her face with my thumb. “I love you so much. Now, then, fucking always. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”

“Nate, I⁠—”

She’s interrupted by shouted commands as officers descend on the clearing, drawing their weapons. I reach around Harper and tear at the ropes around her ankles. Her whole body shakes. Behind me, officers roll Taylor onto his stomach and cuff his wrists.

Another officer kneels beside Jace. “We have a gunshot wound,” she shouts. “We need medical now!”

Harper’s eyes fill with tears. “Jace?”

“He’s going to be okay, baby.”

I don’t know if it’s true, but I say it anyway.

The rope around her ankles finally gives, and Harper falls into my arms. I hold her against me as voices clash through the trees. Her fingers twist into my shirt, staining it with blood.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobs.

“No.” I press my face into her dirt-streaked hair. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“I turned off my location. You could have found me sooner.”

I cup her face, brushing away the dirt and tears with my thumbs. “I found you anyway.”

Her lip trembles. “But I told you to leave.”