AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why don’t I get you settled in the truck, and then I’ll change the tire while you warm up?” The gleam in his eyes told me that favor would not be free.
“No, thank you.”
His fake smile dropped. When he took a menacing step closer, I held my ground to keep the passenger side of the vehicle out of his line of sight. That was my priority. Screw my safety. I had Gracie to think about.
Before I could move away, his hand snapped out, meaty fingers wrapping around my bicep in a too-tight hold. I winced as my skin pinched between his fingers, but that only made him squeeze tighter.
“I’m offering to help ya. Now get in the fucking truck before you make me mad.”
I tried to yank my arm free but couldn’t break his hold. At his hard yank, I stumbled after him, feet catching me before I could face-plant to the asphalt. With each step toward his truck, I dug my heels into the loose gravel that ran along the side of the road, but he only pulled harder. The toe of my shoe caught the road’s jagged edge, and I stumbled forward when it slipped off my foot. My knees slammed to the ground, bits of debris slicing through my jeans.
Instead of helping me up, he continued to drag me toward the side of the truck that faced an empty field, putting me out of sight of the road and anyone who might pass by.
“Don’t act shy, you fucking bitch. I saw you with those two pigs. Know you spread your legs for both. Fucking whore for them. You’ll be a whore for me too.”
A scream lodged in my throat when he yanked me up, muscles and tendons burning with the force. My back slammed against the truck, the back of my head bouncing off the metal next.
Sharp rocks sliced into the bottom of the one shoeless foot, but I didn’t make a sound, not wanting Gracie to hear. If I stayed quiet, hopefully she’d stay in her hiding spot, which would keep her from seeing what I now knew was inevitable. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to anyone listening that someone would come by and stop this.
“Now, I think I’ll take my thank-you before I fix your tire.” With his free hand, he gripped my jaw and squeezed. “And you won’t tell no one about this, will you?” I just glared back at him, hating his hands on me. The lunch Shade brought to the house earlier crept up my throat, threatening to choke me. “Not a single word or I’ll make you disappear. You got that?”
Without waiting for my response, he used his hold on my arm to flip me around, slamming my face to the faded red paint so hard my teeth rattled. When his clammy hand dipped beneath my shirt, groping and prodding to undo my jeans, his rank breath puffing with his rattled breaths, something snapped inside me.
With a rage-filled scream, I jerked my head back, hoping to hit his face, and stomped down on top of his ankle at the same time. His responding roar vibrated in my ear, and his hold loosened enough for me to break away.
Curly hair whipped around my face, blocking my vision as I raced around the edge of the truck, hip clipping the tall bumper, making me stumble and fall to the ground. My ass hit first, then my hip, loose pavement and gravel digging into my skin, scraping my palms as I tried to catch my weight before my head hit.
Panic raced through my veins, making my movements jerky and uncoordinated as I pushed up to my hands, crab-crawling away from the man stalking toward me, hate and anger bright in his narrowed-eyed death stare.
“You’re gonna fucking regret that.”
EIGHTEEN
GEORGIA
My teeth rattled, my entire body trembling from fear and the cold as I crawled backward, moving as fast as my stiff muscles would allow toward the center of the road. A thundering pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out all sounds except my wheezing breaths, so I didn’t hear the oncoming car until it screeched to a halt a few feet away. The asshole prowling closer didn’t break his hate-filled stare, not caring about the witness now idling in the street.
Someone was close enough to help. All I had to do was get their attention.
As he closed the distance separating us, I sucked in a breath to scream, but only a crackled, raspy whisper came out.
Not that it mattered.
Between blinks, the man who was snarling down with the promise of pain and suffering in his dark eyes was looming over me, then gone the next. A rushed blur came from the direction of the parked car, along with a raging roar, knocking the bastard clean off his feet and sending him flying out of my line of sight.
Shock slowed my thoughts and stiffened my muscles as I blinked away the tears blurring my vision, attempting to process the quick turn of events. Wind whipped Trap’s dirty-blond hair over his face but didn’t obscure the look of fury clearly written across his tight features.
“Can you move?” The familiar voice beside me cracked, as if his emotions riding him were too much to hide.
Turning my gaze from Trap, I blinked up. Distressed didn’t even describe the expression on Shade’s crumpled features. “Baby, talk to me. Please.” Again, his gruff voice cracked, breaking the tight hold the panic had over me.
“Yes,” I croaked. “He tried to—Gracie,” I gasped, remembering she was still in the car. “She’s in the car. I locked her in when….” I trailed off, not wanting to detail the most horrifying five minutes of my life.
Shade didn’t ask, just scooped me off the asphalt and cradled me against his hard chest. The sounds of a fight had me shifting in his hold to see what was going on, but he changed angles to block me from looking over his shoulder.
“He won’t hurt you or Gracie. Trap is taking care of him, and I’m taking care of you, baby.” His dark eyes scanned my face, his already prominent frown deepening. “Your lips are fucking blue,” he snarled. At the Blazer’s passenger side door, he lifted a fist to knock on the window, only the door flung open before he could, sending him lunging back a step to not get hit.
Gracie leapt from the car, arms outstretched.
