“Come on,” said Ryker, putting his arm around Mikey’s shoulders. “Let’s go downstairs. We need to call the police.”
Jenna’s gaze flicked down to where Ryker’s arm still bled freely, and her stomach turned at the way his hand flopped from the end of his arm. She prayed no permanent damage had been done.
“We need to ask for an ambulance at the same time,” she said. “That arm and your head wound need attention.”
Ryker nodded, not even trying to be macho about the situation.
Holding each other up, the three of them left the bedroom and slowly staggered downstairs into the living room. She left Mikey and Ryker on the couch, and headed into the kitchen to call nine-one-one.
The dispatcher told her they’d send the emergency services out right away, and Jenna hung up.
Everything that had happened suddenly swept over her and she sank to the floor, her face in her hands, and cried silently. She only allowed herself the luxury of a few minutes. She had Ryker and Mikey to think about now.
Jenna took a deep breath and pushed herself to standing. She wiped her face dry of her tears and walked back into the living room.
She sat down on the couch, with Mikey between her and Ryker. The boy’s eyes were red, his face pale. As she reached out to touch his arm, she felt him tremble beneath her fingertips.
“I’m so sorry for bringing him into your life,” she said, gently.
Mikey sniffed. “You were going to let him kill you for me and Ryker.”
“And I’d do it again if I had to. You’re a good kid, Mikey. You have your whole life ahead of you. You have someone who loves you, your brother. I couldn’t let that son of a bitch take that away from either of you. My death would have been worth it.”
He shook his head. “No, no it wouldn’t. You have someone who loves you, too. My brother.”
Ryker nodded. “He’s right. But if I had lost either of you, my life wouldn’t have been worth living.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said again, filled with regret. “I should have left sooner, and then you wouldn’t have gone through all of this.”
Ryker reached across Mikey’s shoulder with his good arm to place his hand against the back of her neck. She took comfort from the contact.
“Shh. It’s not your fault,” Ryker said. “You could have left sooner, but I lied to you. I stopped you from leaving. But listen to me, and I’m talking to both of you.” Both Jenna and Mikey looked at him intently. “None of this was anyone’s fault but his. No one invited him here, or asked him to be a murderer. Both of you, if there’s any guilt in this room, let go of it now, because I won’t have it living under my roof.”
She studied his eyes. “You still want me here?”
“Well, only if it’s okay with Mikey, of course.”
The boy shrugged. “You offered to let the guy kill you to save me. I think living here isn’t much to say thank you.”
Jenna gave him a smile.
They held each other as the wail of sirens approached.
Chapter Twenty-five
A month had passed since Garrett’s death.
Ryker had spent the last month in and out of hospital for surgeries to the severed tendons and ligaments in his forearm. Being unable to work, his injury had affected the business, as had the loss of Sam, which had hit Ryker hard. Sam had been like a father to him, and seeing Ryker go through such grief had broken Jenna’s heart. Ryker had paid for Sam’s funeral—the man had no other family to speak of. They’d all attended, and many tears had been shed.
Finally settled in one place, Jenna had financially been able to make up the difference the business lost while Ryker recuperated, and she’d been happy to do so. Paying her own way and helping the small family had seemed like the least she could do considering what they’d been through because of her.
Jenna had been working through her own issues. She no longer stopped every time she passed a mirror to examine her flesh and pinch her fat in the reflection. She had the body of a survivor, a strong, healthy body that had survived the worst that could be thrown at it. She still had some control issues, especially now she was living in Ryker’s house and trying to fit in with some of the not-so-great habits of a teenage boy, but she was getting a hold on them. As for her body confidence, Ryker never gave her any reason to think his feelings for her had changed.
Detective Nick Harlem had traveled to Arlington the moment he’d heard about the incident. Though the crime had been committed out of his jurisdiction, he’d told Jenna he’d wanted to make sure she was okay. It had been good to see him again, and she’d reassured him that she was in a much better place now. He’d asked her if she planned on getting back on the road, but she’d told him no. That part of her life was over. She had nothing she needed to run from any more.
Counseling and support had been offered to everyone involved, and though Jenna and Ryker didn’t feel they needed it themselves, they agreed to go along for the sake of Mikey. Taking a man’s life at such a young age—or at any age—even when it had been done in self defense or to save those you love, was something that would haunt him, probably for the rest of his life. Social services had of course been sniffing around them, wanting to determine whether or not Ryker’s house was still the best place for Mikey to be living. After much debate, it was agreed that it would only traumatize the boy more to move him into a foster home, and the authorities came to the conclusion, since the threat had come from outside of the home, and not within, that Mikey could stay as long as they agreed to weekly meetings, and keeping the appointments with the counselor. Both Mikey and Ryker had agreed to these terms willingly.
Jenna hated that she’d been the one to bring such pain into Mikey’s life.
They sat on the couch one lazy Sunday afternoon, almost four weeks since the nightmare with Garrett, and she said as much to Ryker. He put his arm around her and told her it wasn’t her fault.
“I just keep going over and over everything in my head, trying to figure out all the places where I went wrong, or where I could have done something differently. I wish to God I had never mentioned to Garrett about me not believing you were dead unless I saw a body. If I’d kept my mouth shut, Garrett would never have brought me here and Mikey wouldn’t have been forced to do what he did.”
He held her close and kissed the top of her head. “And then you’d probably be dead right now. You’re not the only one who wishes they’d done thing differently, Jenna. I wish I’d taken you seriously about Garrett. I wish I hadn’t lied to you so you’d felt the need to go to the garage alone that day. Hell, I wish I’d gone into work that morning so Sam wouldn’t have died alone.”
They sat in silence for a moment, each trying to come to terms with their own mistakes.
Eventually, Ryker said, “Anyway, haven’t you noticed the change in Mikey these last few weeks?”
She had. Mikey seemed far more open with them than before. He no longer locked himself away in his room, or sat gaming for hours on end. He ate his meals with them at the kitchen table, chatting about his day, sports, or what he’d been watching on television. Ryker hadn’t even been called into school to sort out the usual sort of trouble his brother used to get into.
Mikey had even apologized to Jenna for stealing her credit card. “If I hadn’t taken the card,” he’d said, “Then your ex would never have found you.”
In the scope of things, a stolen credit card wasn’t a big deal, but it must have been playing on Mikey’s mind. Jenna had given him a hug. “Garrett would have found me eventually,” she’d told him.
“I’m sending all the stuff back,” he’d said.
Playfully, she’d smacked him around the back of the head. “Too damn right you are!”
The next day, the gaming gear had arrived, and they’d sent it straight back. The stolen card had never been mentioned again.
“I think Mikey is realizing how close he came to losing you,” she said to Ryker, “And maybe that’s made him appreciate you
a little more. Maybe he’s even appreciating his own life a little more.”
Ryker smiled. “And he’s treating you like a hero. The woman who offered up her own life for him. You can do no wrong in his eyes.”
“Yeah, well I’m sure he’ll get sick of me sooner or later. I’m surprised he hasn’t already started complaining about me still living in his house.”
Ryker shifted away from her on the couch. He appeared nervous, and she noticed his hand trembling. “Actually,” he said, slowly, and her heart dropped. “I kind of wanted to talk to you about that.”
Suddenly she felt sick. Was this it? Was he finally going to ask her to leave? Things had been going so well for her, but she always misread situations, and perhaps she’d finally out stayed her welcome?
He took her hand. “Jenna, there’s something I want to ask you. I know I should probably have taken you somewhere fancy and romantic, but I didn’t want to wait, and also someone else wanted to be here to hear the answer. This is your home now, and I know a home isn’t something you’ve had for a very long time.” He reached behind a cushion and pulled out a small box, before dropping to his knee in front of her. “We haven’t been together for very long, but the time we have been together, we’ve been through more than most couples would go through in a lifetime. You’re smart, and beautiful, and quite possibly the bravest person I have ever met. Jenna Armstrong, I hope you’ll consider this to be your home for the rest of your life, and I hope you’ll allow me to be in your life for that long as well. Will you marry me?”
He flicked open the box to reveal an eternity ring of diamonds. A lump rose in her throat and she choked back tears.
He looked at her with those deep, blue eyes, tears swimming in their depths. “It was our mother’s ring,” he told her. “We both thought you should have it.”
Jenna clutched her hand to her mouth, overcome and unable to speak.
His face took on a worried look. “Is it a yes?”
She nodded frantically, wiping at her tears and finding her voice. “Yes! Of course it’s a yes!”
She threw herself into his arms, so they both ended up on the floor. Ryker caught her up in his arms and kissed her through her tears. His mouth was warm and sweet, and felt just like coming home.
They broke the kiss long enough for Ryker to take the ring from the box and slip it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.
She twisted her hand in the light, the multi-faceted diamonds glinted rainbows back at her. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
Feet pounded down the stairs and Mikey’s head popped around the door. “Have you asked her yet?”
Ryker rolled his eyes. “Good thing I have, because you’d have spoiled the moment.”
He grinned. “I knew you had, really. I was listening from upstairs.”
Ryker gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.
Jenna held out her hand, displaying the ring.
“It was our mom’s,” Mikey said.
“I’m honored to be wearing it, Mikey. Thank you.”
The boy shrugged. “Don’t thank me. It was Ryker who gave it to you.”
She gave the boy a smile. “You know what I mean. It means the world to me.”
Mikey blushed and gave another shrug. “Yeah, well, you’re family now.”
Jenna glanced between Ryker and Mikey and smiled. He was right.
She was home and she’d finally found her family.
Acknowledgments
I wrote this book differently to how I normally write. A friend of mine Reetah Mitchel, sent me a link to Wattpad, and an article about how well people were doing on the site. I figured I’d give it a go, so instead of writing Cut Too Deep in my usual unplanned, unedited way, I wrote each chapter, and then edited it, before posting it to Wattpad.
Because of this, one of my proofreaders, Glynis Elliott, was pestered by me every few days for two months to read yet another chapter, and another, and another, until the book was done. So a huge thank you to you, Glynis, for your patience and putting up with me only wanting one thing from you.
A big thank you, as always, to my editor Lori Whitwam.!
Thank you, as well, to my proofreaders, Glynis Elliott, Kim Hayes, and Vickie Turley. Your keen eyes always pick up on those little things that are so easy to miss. I hope you all enjoyed the story!
A big thank you to all the Wattpad readers, for all your words of encouragement and comments about the story. Your comments made me want to write and post even faster so I didn’t keep you all waiting too long.
And, of course, thank you to my readers. Without you, there would be no books. I will always do my best to write the best I can for you.
If you want to stay updated about my new releases, please sign up to my new release list on my blog. You will receive notification of when a new book comes out, together with exclusive previews and sales!
www.marissafarrar.com
Thank you once again.
Marissa.
About the Author
Marissa Farrar has always been in love with being in love. But since she's been married for numerous years and has three young daughters, she's conducted her love affairs with multiple gorgeous men of the fictional persuasion.
The author of more than thirty novels, she has been a full time author for the last six years. She predominantly writes paranormal romance and fantasy, but has branched into contemporary fiction as well.
If you want to know more about Marissa, then please visit her website at www.marissa-farrar.blogspot.com. You can also find her at her facebook page, www.facebook.com/marissa.farrar.author or follow her on twitter @marissafarrar.
She loves to hear from readers and can be emailed at [email protected]. To stay updated on all new releases and sales, just sign up to her newsletter! https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/g0x9r0
Other Contemporary Books by the Author
The Bad Blood Trilogy
Shattered Hearts
Broken Minds
Tattered Souls
The Monster Trilogy:
Defaced
Denied
Delivered
Dark Codes: A Reverse Harem Series
Hacking Darkness
Unraveling Darkness
Decoding Darkness
Merging Darkness
The Mercenary Series:
The Choice She Made
The Lie She Told
The Trust She Gave
The Trap She Faced
Standalone Novels:
No Second Chances
Cut Too Deep
Survivor
Dirty Shots
CUT TOO DEEP
Copyright © 2015 Marissa Farrar
Warwick House Press
Edited by Lori Whitwam
Cover art by Marissa Farrar
LICENSE NOTES
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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