AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I break myself out of my frozen stupor and run over to them.
“Linc, stop. Please,” I beg. I’m not begging for Jace, but I don’t want Linc to be arrested on murder charges, and by the way he’s so brutally beating Jace, it’s a very real possibility Jace won’t live to see tomorrow.
“Please,” I cry again and lay my hand on his back. Probably not the smartest move, considering I don’t think Linc is fully aware at the moment, but somehow, I know he won’t hurt me.
My touch jolts him out of the haze of violence he seems trapped in.
Linc looks from me to the bloody body under him, then back to me. He stands and my hand grazes his face. His eyes close for a moment, and when he opens them, I can tell he’s back and fully present again.
“Go get your stuff,” he says in a hoarse whisper.
I run to my room and grab a bag, hurriedly opening dresser drawers and shoving clothes inside. Then I rush out of the bedroom into the laundry room, where I have my meager stash of cash hidden in an old detergent box on the top shelf of the cabinet.
When I reach the living room, Jace still hasn’t moved from the floor. I can’t tell if he’s passed out or if his eyes are so swollen, he can’t open them.
“Is he dead?” I ask Linc.
“No, the piece of shit will live to see another day, but we need to get out of here.” The gun is in Linc’s hand once again while he waits for me by the door, keeping it trained on Jace.
Closing my eyes, I take a steadying breath. I never thought I would get out of here in one piece, or at all, for that matter. Relief washes over me when my eyes open and look around the room. My gaze catches on a book that Jace always kept close. I’ve heard him talking about what’s inside. On a whim, I grab the notebook and shove it in my bag.
“Let’s go,” I tell Linc as we make our way back to his truck.
I have no idea where life will take me now. I’m leaving the only place, the only town, I’ve ever called home. I’m scared to fucking death about my future, but I’m free.
Linc jumps in the truck and turns to me.
“Where to?”
Isn’t that the million-dollar question?
“I have no idea.”
Linc nods and starts the truck.
“How about you come back to the hotel, and we’ll figure it out from there?”
“I’ve never been on my own,” I tell him in a shaky voice, so scared he’ll just drop me off and expect me to know what to do.
“Well,” he begins as he backs away from the trailer. “It’s a good thing you have me, then. We’ll get you sorted, Charlie. I won’t leave you until you’re safe.”
Safe. That certainly isn’t a word that could have ever been used to describe my life.
We’re almost to the exit of the trailer park when three police cars turn in from the road and stop in front of us with their sirens blaring and lights flashing.
“Get out of the truck with your hands in the air,” one of the officers calls from a microphone.
My terrified gaze turns to Linc, and the pain in his eyes makes mine well up with tears.
“Linc?” I don’t know what I’m asking or what I want him to tell me. It’s not like he can reassure me. He just beat the hell out of Jace, not to mention the gun stowed under his seat.
“Don’t say anything. You weren’t in the trailer. Understand?”
I nod as a lone tear escapes.
Linc rests a hand on my cheek, his stare boring into me.
“I don’t regret it, Charlie. Not a damn thing.”
