AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We didn’t bother to find you. We talked about it, but we were mad so . . . anyway, my dad moved us to Australia for a few years, and I lost contact with Em over time. We grew apart.”
“You moved away?” The news surprises me.
She nods. “Dante sent men to warn my dad. They smashed the house up and put the windows in. The next day, we drove to the ferry and went to France. From there, we moved around until we eventually went to stay with family in Australia. My parents were worried one of us would end up dead.”
“It was a mess,” I mutter.
“And I keep thinking, if I’d never met Jase, if I’d have not tried to be the cool kid and snort that shit he kept giving me, none of this would’ve happened.”
Part of me wants to agree, but we were teenagers. “We were kids. We didn’t know what we were doing. And he was older, old enough to know better. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t any of our faults.” The words leave my mouth and I feel like a huge weight is lifted.
“Dante killed him because he owed him money for the drugs. I didn’t know. If I had, I would’ve ran a mile in the other direction. And then Emerson . . . poor Em,” she whispers, her eyes filling with tears again.
“I still see her when I close my eyes,” I admit. “She was broken.”
“So were you,” says Callie, taking my hand. “Yah know, I joined the police to help stop men like Dante Anderson. I didn’t want other kids to go through what we did.”
“Do you think he’ll get out of this?”
She shakes her head. “Not if Nero and I have anything to do with it.” At the mention of Nero, I look away. “He’s not the bad guy, Tessa.”
“Isn’t he? He lied, just the same as Dante lied. I thought maybe I’d found someone who understood me, and all along he was playing me.”
“His feelings weren’t a lie. I tried to pull him when I realised he was falling for you, but he wouldn’t leave.”
I shake my head in disgust. “He could’ve saved me way before. He’s a police officer and he knew what hell I was in. How long would it have gone on if I hadn’t found out the truth? If you hadn’t burst in when you did, would he have raped me to keep up his lie with Dante?”
“No,” she says firmly. “He’d never have done that.” She takes a shaky breath. “This job is hard, and Nero is good at it. You have to think on your feet, be alert all the time, and when Dante asked him to get you pregnant, he was never going to do it. He told Dante he was sleeping with you even though he wasn’t. He was buying time.”
“Who for?” I snap. “Did you see the photographs, Callie? The ones of my bruises? And they’re just the marks he left on my skin. Everything else is under the surface. I was already trying to survive while drowning, and Nero gave me hope. Turns out it was bullshit, and now, I feel like a fool.”
“You’re not a fool, and if he made you smile, even for a few weeks, then surely, he’s not so bad. And look, you’re free. You’re out of there, and Dante is locked away.”
“For how long?” I mutter.
NERO
I tap the steering wheel impatiently. Callie walks towards me, getting in the car. “She’s not going to see you, sorry.”
“Did you ask?”
“Sort of. She’s not in a good way.”
“What’s it like inside?” I ask, looking at the tall building.
“Not great. Basic. Social gave her a bit of money until her benefits come in.”
“It’s shit. How the fuck can she live off the pittance they hand out? And why should she when her husband is fucking loaded?”
“There’s a hold on all his money,” Callie says. It’s police procedure to hold everything we suspect is the profit of criminal activity.
“Do me one last favour,” I ask, and she groans. “You lied to me, Cal, it’s the least you owe me. I’m gonna do some food shopping for her. Take it to the flat?”
* * *
Just as I pay for the shopping, Callie gets a call from the Chief to get back to the station. She pats me on the shoulder before rushing off. I can’t wait for Callie to come back, she could be hours, and the supermarket is a short walk from Tessa’s new flat.
I place the bags on the doorstep and knock loud. Then I turn to walk away quickly, but the door opens before I round the corner. “Nero?” I turn back and give her a guilty smile. “What’s this?”
