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That was the question of the hour. Why the fuck did I do that? “I don’t like bullies. And even if you got away, he would always be looking for you. At least, that’s what you’d believe, and you could never live in peace. Besides, there would be someone else he hurt after you.” I shrugged as I ran out of words to describe what motivated me to end a stranger’s life. “It’s not something I go around doing every day, but I have no regrets about what just happened.” I turned and looked him right in the eyes. “Do you?”
He shook his head, holding my gaze. “None.”
“All right then. So, do you want to come home with me?”
He wrapped his arms around Luna again and chuckled. “Well, I don’t think your dog would let me go anywhere else if I wanted to, so yeah, thank you.”
6
JESSE
What is happening right now?
Bruce was a horrible human and the biggest asshole I’d ever met, but I didn’t know for sure if he was a murderer. I thought he was close to becoming one…and had I stayed, he would have definitely been one sooner rather than later, but I didn’t know that he actually was one.
Harris, on the other hand, definitely was. I basically watched him murder a total stranger.
For me.
What the fuck…
I should have been terrified and working out how I could get as far away from Harris as possible, but none of those instincts were firing inside me. The sense of relief outweighed any fear or self-preservation that should have been inside me.
Instead of worrying about what might happen next, I let my eyes drift shut and thought about the fact that I was still alive. Alive and warm.
I fell asleep quickly but kept waking up to images of Bruce—hovering over me, slamming the butt of his gun against my head, or kicking me before throwing a bottle in my direction.
Every time I jolted awake, the dog in my lap moaned her support and a heavy hand reached for my shoulder, gently reminding me that I was okay.
Those were words I hadn’t thought in a very long time.I’m okay.
Nothing about my situation should have felt okay, but that was all I could come up with when I glanced at Harris and saw the lights of the city finally coming into view.
“You drove all night.” The sun was just starting to rise, and he didn’t look the least bit tired. “Don’t you need to sleep?”
“I’m fine. How about you? You must be hungry.”
My stomach rumbled, and Luna’s ears perked up. She must be ready for breakfast too. “I’m okay.”
Harris looked straight ahead, but I could see his eye twitch before he inhaled deeply and turned to me. “I know you don’t have any reason to trust me yet, but I would appreciate it if you don’t lie to me. If you’re hungry, don’t say you’re not. If you’re in pain, don’t tell me you’re fine.” He glanced at the road then back at me, holding my gaze. “Can you do that?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard as I nodded. “I guess I could eat.”
“Good. Me too. I want to get you to the clinic to make sure nothing’s broken or frostbitten, and then we’ll go grab breakfast.”
I looked down at my filthy jacket, knowing the shirt underneath was torn and bloodied. “I’m not really dressed to go anywhere. Can we do all that later…or tomorrow?” Or never. Preferably never.
“No, Jesse. I have a friend who’s a doctor. He won’t ask you any more questions than necessary, and I trust him to be discreet. I just don’t want to be responsible for you not getting the treatment you need because you’re embarrassed about something you shouldn’t be.”
I wanted to argue, but there really was a lot of blood crusted on my jeans and shoes. It seemed likely there might be more damage than I thought. “I don’t have insurance. How much will it cost?”
Harris placed his hand on Luna’s back, just inches away from where mine was resting. “He’s not gonna charge you for an exam. Don’t worry about that. Let’s just get you back to one piece and we’ll figure things out from there.”
“Okay,” I whispered. What was there to figure out? All I really needed was an address I could use for a job application and a place to shower now and then so I could be presentable. Why was he taking such a strong interest in my health…unless he was just worried I might tell someone what he did? “And…I won’t tell anyone what happened. Ever. I promise.”
His gaze caught mine again, and he gave me a small smile. “I know, Jesse.”
As much as I wanted to believe that Harris just had some kind of hero complex and would do all this for any random stranger, deep in my gut, I wondered if maybe there was something more to his kindness.
