Fire (Beautiful Ashes Series, Book 2)(65)
She stroked her husband’s jaw. “Call Nik and Alex. She’ll need all the love we can give.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Her arm was throbbing and somehow she managed to get herself lost. Keeley knew not to go back to the house she’d been staying at. Tar would look there first. She couldn’t go to her mom’s, again, he’d look for her there. With no clue as to Lacey and Even’s whereabouts, she roamed the streets aimlessly. A nice couple gave her a ride from Orange County. They wanted her to go to an ER but she convinced them it wasn’t bone protruding from her arm, just a busted bracelet she couldn’t part with. In the dark her lie was believable. Their age didn’t work against her either. She tied a piece of her T-shirt around her forearm to hold the bone in place. Pain radiated all the way up into her shoulder, and the fact she relished its inviting bite pissed her off more. Exhaustion was taking its toll and she was finding it difficult to walk.
Keeley tripped up the fire escape thinking more than once how convenient it’d be to fall from it. At least then it wouldn’t be suicide. She took a deep breath fighting back the sobs. How could Tar do such a thing? Was it all a lie? The claims of being in love, forgiving her, wanting to marry her? God, had she been duped the entire time? She stumbled again after reaching the top and grabbed the rail tight. Her arm protested with a vengeance. A wobble and creak told her what she held onto wasn’t stable. “Oh, for fuck’s sake just let me die already,” she roared into the night. The bar gave way under her hand and sent her flying forward on all fours. She laughed maniacally. “You have some sick sense of humor,” she grunted while looking up into the sky. Her arm gave out under the weight and pressure breaking it in another place. Fucking fantastic. She huffed and puffed through the agony, hating herself more and more every second that she enjoyed it.
The bottle of whiskey sitting along the roof’s edge called to her. “Make it all go away, Keeley. Come. Drink.”
She had no fight left in her. And she simply wanted all the shit she felt to just leave her alone. Life was simpler when she was strung out. Hell, it was even easier when Caleb was doing all those sick things to her. She knew where she stood in those scenarios. This fucked up heartbreaking crap made her feel lost at sea. No anchor. No way to find land. Adrift in a vast ocean of emotions she didn’t want. Keeley began to tear at her body. She wanted to take away every memory of Tar’s touch on her skin. The dirty feeling went all the way to her bones. Shame and guilt came to play until there was a party of demons dancing around her.
“Stupid girl,” they hissed, “no one could ever love a whore like you. Unworthy. Men only want you for your cunt. Nothing more.”
Keeley fell into a heap and curled into herself, holding her hands over her ears.
Long nails caressed her cheek. “There, there,” the demon drawled, “drink from the bottle and let me take it all away.”
Her hand reached above and snatched the whiskey. They were right, she’d been such a fool to think any man could ever love her for her. Tears slid down to her mouth mixing with the fiery liquid as she tipped her head back and drank and drank.
Tar’s gut told him Keeley was close by. He searched each abandoned warehouse certain she was in one of them. The area was familiar to both of them. Shelby and Keeley had been residents of one in particular. He’d gone there first, coming up empty handed. But he wasn’t giving up. She was his everything. God damn Lisa and her sick little game, which was costing him dearly. She better hope and pray Keeley didn’t go off the deep end. He wouldn’t be responsible for what happened to her if the woman he loved was harmed in any way. Well, more than she already was. He was haunted by that look in Keeley’s eyes. Betrayal. It screamed at him through the pane of glass, “You deceived me!”
For the hundredth time he prayed for her safety, continuing to search in vain. His head was killing him thanks to the aftereffects of the drug he’d been given. Tar’s body metabolized quickly and nothing ever stayed in his system for too long. But damn, he suffered from nasty headaches afterwards. He just wanted to sleep it off. His body demanded he slowed down and rested. Yeah, fuck that! Shirtless wasn’t helping his burning scratches along his stomach as he glanced down noticing fresh blood. Hell, he must’ve opened it back up somewhere along the way. Not good. He’d been in some filth holes recently and infection probably was setting in. That could explain why he felt like shit. More than his emotions all over the damn place, he was physically drained. But he couldn’t stop. Keeley had to be found. He needed to explain to her what happened before it was too late. She’d run. Or worse…No, stopping wasn’t an option. He leaned heavily against the wall trying to catch his breath when a bottle came crashing down from above. His eyes were drawn to the roof where someone was dancing on the edge. Holy fuck! How drunk did a person have to be to do that? Tar pushed off the wall, knowing he couldn’t just walk away and let some stupid ass fall to their death because they enjoyed a little too much alcohol.