AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jade’s voice startles us both. All we hear for a moment are the pleas and whimpers from Hall.
I’m too shocked to speak, so Elliot takes over. “My love,” he says sweetly, as if we haven’t just been caught torturing a man who assaulted her in the middle of the woods.
“Don’tmy loveme, Elliot. What do you think you’re doing?”
He smiles as I stand up, the wrench dripping red on the forest floor. The smell of pinewoods is mixing with the coppery scent of blood. I like it. It’s soothing.
“Enjoying a milkshake?”
She narrows her feline-like jade eyes at him, and the eyeliner she draws on her eyelids enhances the effect.
“What?” He raises his palm. “I’m not doing anything.”
She cocks an eyebrow, unimpressed, as her eyes flick to me. “Are you going to say you’re not doing anything either?”
“How did you know we were here?”
“Because I’m not a fucking idiot,” she snaps back at me. “You’ve not left me alone more than two seconds at a time in the last three weeks and, suddenly, you tell me you’re both out tonight? With no serious explanation?”
“And you knew we’d be at tree thirteen?”
“I checked that fucker’s house before. Lights were on, his wife and kids were having dinner. Clearly, you weren’t there. There aren’t many places on the North Shore where you can take someone to kill them.”
Hall cries out. Probably something about having family and deserving to live, but we all ignore him.
“Where did you park?” Elliot asks.
We got Jade’s car back the day after Hall put his hands on her, but she hasn’t been wanting to drive since.
“At the edge of the woods.”
“You walked the whole way here?” Elliot jumps off the hood of the truck, his tall form towering over the tiny thing Jade is. “What if something happened to you?”
She throws her hand up, frustrated. “The two most dangerous things in this forest are right here, torturing a man.”
“A man,” Elliot scoffs. “That guy ain’t no fucking man. He abused his position to—”
“I know what he did. I was there.”
“Then you understand why we’re doing what we’re doing too.” Elliot takes a sip of his milkshake, shrugging.
Jade pinches her lips. My brother’s casual demeanor isn’t doing it for her, so I decide to take charge. “Mi Cielo, come here.”
She hesitates, and I extend my hand, digging my black eyes into her greens. “Trust me.”
She slowly takes the few steps separating us, her eyes going back and forth between Hall and me. Her face twists when she sees the state he’s in from up close. I grab her hand, pulling her in front of me, her back to my chest, and forcing her to fist the bloody wrench with both hands.
My palms cover hers, and I talk softly in her ear. “We know there’s something raging in you. Something you’ve been wanting to let out. I don’t know what it is, Jade, but you’ve been punishing yourself for the things you can’t control. Every time I watch you get angry, I also see the regret in your eyes. Ifeelit. I don’t want to ever see that hate in your eyes that’s directed at yourself.”
I kiss the skin below her ear. “You are the bravest woman I know. You survived through your dad’s death, your mom’s illness. You survived on your own in a broken town. You fought Sawyer and you fought Stan. You kept your head high when we brought you back. You are a queen, Jade. You’re my heaven and hell, my most beautiful salvation. I want you to feel the way you make me feel. The freedom and the deliverance.”
She shakes her head, sniffling. “I’m scared.”
“The only thing you’re scared of is letting yourself be vulnerable. But we’re here. We’ve got you. It’s okay to admit that this man hurt you. It’s okay to acknowledge what he did. He put you in a vulnerable position.”
“Stop, please.”
“He assaulted you when there was nothing you could do to defend yourself.”
