Roman-1(Lane Brothers, Book 5)(24)

The way Will keeps his tone light while pushing Fin’s face into the wood and forcing him to breathe in his own blood makes my skin crawl, and yet I feel so much anger.

Fin knows I’m pregnant. He knows I’m afraid and being watched all the time. I’ve served this man beer and food and spoken to him so much that I know his mother.

“Now, what I’m gonna do, Fin, is give you a few new life choices.”

Will bumps his chin toward the door and I don’t need to look back to see Jared and Jace walk in looking so furious. I know they’re here even before one of them comes up behind me and wraps an arm around me.

“Come on, sugar. Let’s get you home before Finny boy has to decide what he wants out of life.”

“But…but he has a mom who relies on him and—”

“Don’t you worry none about that, darlin’. We’ll take care of Misty. You just go on home and make sure you keep my godson safe.”

I want to cry and plead for poor Fin, but all I can manage is one last look before Jace picks me up and carries me out to the car.

Miah stands waiting, his gun drawn, looking mean enough to scare a monster. I feel safe again, just like that.

“You can stop hanging all over me now, Jace,” I say ten minutes later when the car’s moving and he has yet to let go of me.

I can barely see over the seat because of the way he has me pinned beneath one of his arms. I’m pretty certain I’ll have a hunched spine by the time we get home.

“Nope. I keep you safe till we reach home and that’s that. Christ, I lost ten years off my life when Lon called and Jared got to the driver’s seat first. The man made a thirty-minute trip in eight minutes, sweetheart. Try feeling steady after that,” Jace jokes darkly, making me laugh despite the nerves still gripping me.

“Oh yeah? Try feeling steady after you see a man almost smash another’s face in.”

To be fair to Will, Fin did have some really bad plans for me, so I forgive him. After all, without it I’d now be headed into God alone knows what sort of hell, leaving myself and my kid exposed to things I can’t even think about.

My shock and horror only stem from the risks I’ve been taking, because some small part of me thought that I could force him to come back if he knew how reckless I was being.

I can’t endanger myself or my kid anymore.

We pull into the gates minutes later and the only home I have comes into view against a backdrop of green that calls to me in a way I’ve never known.

For once I feel like I belong here. No matter what happens, I always will.

“We’re home, sweetheart. Come on,” Jace murmurs, taking my hand to pull me from the car.

Suddenly, I feel exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open.

“Mel!”





Chapter Eight


Roman

My heart is racing by the time midnight strikes and I fall into my room, bloody and hurting so bad that it’s a wonder I managed to make it here without collapsing halfway down the hall.

My body aches from broken ribs, courtesy of Dyson. The blood pouring from my left eye tells me I’ll be lucky to keep my sight. If I live through this.

I woke this morning with one goal; get to Mel. I hope up instead to a fist hitting me. I spent the rest of the day being beaten while Cleo watched and asked me question after question.

I had no answers to satisfy her, not just because I’d die before breaking, but because she’s so nuts already that she kept asking me things like what my favorite color is and how I feel about art.

The pain never stopped but for the few times they forced me to drink water or had to revive me.

Now I’m broken, beaten, and lost as I collapse against the wall and can’t even muster a cry of pain. I have nothing left but the taste of blood and the inability to breathe properly.

I can’t allow myself to just lie here and give up. Not when I have so much to live for.

When the need to live becomes more than the pain and wooziness, I allow myself to fall to the floor and start the excruciating task of dragging myself toward the bed and the hidden phone I secreted in a hole I carved out weeks ago.

I have to stop more than once along the way before pulling arm over arm across the small expanse. I get to my destination with a wheeze and fall to my back with a grunt, dragging in large gulps of air, or trying to, at least, before a coughing fit overtakes me and I hack so hard, I taste more blood in my mouth.

Punctured lung.

Now I really need to move because I could be dead long before help arrives if I don’t get a move on.

It takes forever for the phone to come on and I almost cry out loud when I drop the damn thing and it spills apart beside me. Precious minutes are spent reassembling it and then I dial the only number I know will save me.