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“I gave you his name. The bodies are buried on his property. No one would dare go there.”
“And the others?”
“All his men. Jeremy,” she says his name slowly and softly before lifting her head and holding it high. “Malcolm, David, Silas, Tom, and Jimmy. They were all there that night,” she adds, standing to her feet and pulling a small envelope from her pocket. She holds it in her hand for a long time staring at it before she holds it out to me.
“What’s this?”
“A flash drive. All their names and addresses, photos of them too. Jeremy and Silas will be the hardest to get to as they live with my father,” she warns me.
“I’ll make it quick,” I tell her. Tears spring to her eyes, but she quickly blinks them away. I shouldn’t make anything quick for him. I should draw it out, but for her, I will. She nods her head slowly before grabbing her beer and taking the rest of it down, setting her bottle on the table. I watch her turn and walk up the steps toward her room as I sigh and drop into my chair. I run my hand through my hair, wondering what the hell I will do next. I want this planned out and timed perfectly, and mostly I want them all dead. I also need to grieve and wallow in pity. I want to miss them. I want to scream, cry, and blame this on someone. But I don’t know how to do those things or who to blame. I don’t know what to do at this point.
A few minutes later, I get a text the car has arrived, and a few seconds after that, Kyla comes down the steps with her bag over her shoulder. My chest clenches as I see her walking down. I don’t know if I’m ready to let her go. She’s what has kept me sane. Kyla’s kept me levelheaded, and now that’s all going away too.
“Well, this is it.”
“This is it,” I repeat. I stand from the chair and walk over, resting my hands on her shoulders. “They won’t find you. You can start your life. You can start being who you were meant to be,” I tell her. A small smile crosses her face; it isn’t a smile I’ve seen on her. It’s hopeful. It’s full of a future she wasn’t sure she could have.
“Thank you, Mystic. For everything you’ve done for me.”
“No. I need to thank you. You’ve taken care of me and made me better. You’ve gone way above what I could have expected of you. I might just miss having you around, Kyla.”
“I’m going to miss you too.” She throws herself into my arms, resting her head on my chest. I know this isn’t easy for her. She’s leaving everything she’s known behind. She’s leaving her family and boyfriend. Her life as she knew it, but she’s also gaining something. She’s gaining life. Kayla will find true happiness one day, and I can see her smiling in the future.
She pulls back and presses a quick kiss to my lips before taking a deep breath and turning for the door. I watch her place her hand on the handle and pause. She isn’t sure what to do here or what the world holds for her, and I can understand that too. She’s nervous and afraid, but she can do this.
“You can do this, Kyla.”
“I’m scared,” she says softly. I move closer, resting my hand on the back of her neck as she lowers her head.
“I know you are. I know this is hard for you. You’re starting over. You have to look at it that way. It’s a new life, one that they can’t ruin. They can’t hurt you anymore.” Slowly she raises her head and nods it. I squeeze her neck before she turns the knob and opens the door. The cool, salty air filters in and blows her hair over her shoulder as she steps out onto the porch. With her head held high, she walks down the steps and out to the waiting car without looking back. That’s exactly how it should be. She shouldn’t look back. She should only look forward.
I watch her climb in the car and the car take off before I close the door and walk to the kitchen. Now that she’s gone, I have nothing left. Nothing more to look forward to.
I grab the bottle of Jack and head out onto the back balcony. Dropping onto the seat, I pull the top off and take a long pull. They would have loved it here. Both of them. They would have been so excited to see the beach so close. They both loved the beach. We could have lived here full-time.
And now here I am. Alone. I tip the bottle to my lips and take a long pull as I look out at the ocean. I don’t know how to live anymore. I don’t know how to breathe, and now, without Kyla here, I have nothing to focus on.
Life has a way of taking us for a ride, and mine is no different. It’s taken me to a place I never thought I’d be, a place that I never wanted to be. Now I’m left to pick up the pieces. Pieces I don’t think will ever fit back together. I’m nothing more than a shattered shell of what I once was.
Chapter 10
Kyla
“You can’t be handsy,” I remind Daniel as he tries to grab my ass for the fifth time. I wink at him over my shoulder and continue with my work. I’ve worked at Husky’s bar since I landed in this little town five years ago. It’s a good paying job, and the people are nice to me. I’ve even made some new friends, which wasn’t something I’d planned on.
“You have the best ass in the house,” Daniel reminds me for the hundredth time tonight.
“As much as I appreciate that, you can’t keep touching it. Bill is going to have to have a chat with you soon,” I tell him as I pop the tops off some beers and slide them across the counter. Daniel smiles at me as I get back to work. He’s a nice guy, just a little too old for me.
“You giving our girl trouble again?” Speak of Bill, and he appears. He’s the bouncer and looks out for the girls here most nights. I walk over to one of the cages that hang high above the dancefloor and hand a bottle of water to one of the dancers. This bar is a little more badass than your local drinking establishment. We have dancers in cages, and a lot of bikers come and go through here. You meet a lot of interesting people around here. I know I have.
“He just thinks my ass is free,” I tell Bill with a smirk.
“Is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. She works here; it’s her job,” Daniel adds just as the doors open and a load of bikers come strolling in. I smile and nod at them being my polite self.
“What’s up, Little mama,” Striker, one of the bikers, asks as he pulls me into a side hug. He’s been a regular since I’ve been here. I think he likes the service or the view. Either way, he brings me good tips, and I’ll take them.
