by Jordan Ford
Kade didn’t come.
But my dismay has no time to fester.
Because it’s rapidly overtaken by a debilitating fear.
The plates in my hands wobble as my body turns into a quivering mess.
“Well, I finally found you.” Antonio’s voice is soft, stretched thin by a vibrating anger. His dark eyes flash as he rises from the table. “Fucking ambrosia pie. The second my friend told me he’d had a slice at this place, I had to come check it out. Because there’s only one person I know who makes a pie like that.”
His friend had a slice? How? When?
“You’ve been gone so long I thought you’d be farther away from Carson City. You know we come up here for a good time, right? Reno’s not that far.”
I swallow, feeling like an idiot.
Antonio’s shoes sound loud as he storms toward me.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I’m a dead girl.
The plates drop from my hands, smashing onto the floor. Cream lands on my sneaker. I can feel the sticky clump but I don’t glance down. I can’t take my eyes off Antonio.
“He told me it’d be worth the drive up.” Antonio’s lips rise into a smile that makes my skin crawl.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper.
His nostrils flare as he glares at me. “Did you do it? Or did you just take my money and run?”
Fear flashes through me. I turn to bolt but Antonio’s across the room in a second, grabbing me around the waist and squeezing until I let out a painful cry.
“Ow! Stop!”
He grabs my arm and spins me around. His face is masked in rage and fear, making his handsome features ugly. Fisting the edge of my shirt, he rips it up, exposing my stretched jeans held together by a bent safety pin. I grapple to pull the shirt back down but he won’t let me.
“I told you to get rid of it!”
“It wasn’t just your decision.” My voice is soft and breathy, cut short by a backhand slap across the cheek. “Ah!” I cover my face and start crying.
“You stole my money and lied to me!” he yells in my ear.
I cower away, leaning against a booth and keeping my eyes down.
“I told you I can’t have a kid with you!”
“I’m giving it up for adoption.”
“That’s bullshit, Julienne! How do I know you’re not lying? What if you try to use this against me? Threaten to tell my dad, expose me! Do you have any idea what he’ll do to me if he finds out I slept with you?”
“I don’t care about your dad, okay? I’m not going to blackmail you!”
“Yeah, right! The second that kid’s born you’re gonna be at my door asking for money.”
“No!” I force myself up, brushing the hair off my wet face and begging him to understand. “I’m giving it up for adoption. You don’t have to ever see it or know about it. Even if I kept it, I wouldn’t ask anything of you. You can trust me.”
“Trust you?” he growls. “How the fuck am I supposed to do that when you stole my money and took off!”
“I…I can pay you back.”
“It’s too late for that,” he seethes. “I told you to get rid of it and you didn’t. So it looks like I’ll have to do it myself.” Grabbing my arm, he hauls me away from the table.
“No, Tony, please!” I sob as he shoves me towards the bar and then marches after me like an unshakeable Terminator.
My entire body is throbbing with fear. It’s hard to move, think…act.
Run! My brain screams through the fog.
I lurch for the door but Antonio yanks me back, aiming a fist at my belly.
By some miracle I manage to dodge it. His knuckles skim the side of my waist and a feral instinct I didn’t even know I possessed comes over me.
“Don’t touch me!” I let out a raging scream and shove him away.
Taken off guard, he stumbles back, knocking over a chair before righting himself. His eyes are dark with rage as he shoves up his sleeves and stalks after me.
I yelp and dash for the kitchen. I don’t know what to do or how the hell to get out of this. All I can think about is protecting my baby.
I need to get home.
I can lock myself within those concrete walls. He won’t be able to touch me.
Maybe I can lose him in the park first. There are plenty of shadows and trees to hide behind.
Terror makes me whimper as I wrench open the back door and sprint into the rain.
“Get back here!” Antonio’s roar is muffled by the door, but only for a second.
I glance over my shoulder as he emerges and then starts running right at me.
“No!” I cry, and try to pick up my pace.
I don’t get far. He grabs my shirt and yanks me off my feet. Pain fires through my leg as I twist and land with a thud. Water splashes my face. I spit and cough, trying to rise, but Antonio shoves me back down.
Sobs are punching out of me, stealing my logic. Panic storms through like a thick fog.
The only thought I can hear through my hysteria is: protect the baby.
Antonio slaps me in the face again—a hard, wet sting that’s made worse by the freezing rain.
I fold onto the hard concrete, curling in on myself, creating a shield around my bump.
“Get up!” A boot lands in my thigh. It’s a sharp explosion of pain that blurs my vision.
I cry out, but it won’t be enough to stop him.
Nothing will.
Just like fear is making me cower, it’s driving him to destruction.
He grabs my shoulder and rolls me over, yanking on my shirt until the fabric rips. I stare at his black killer boots.
He’s going to use them on my belly.
He’s going to kick me until the baby’s dead.
“Please, don’t,” I whimper.
The rain pounds down on us. I squeeze my eyes shut, cradling my waist, knowing my scrawny arms won’t be enough of a barrier.
And just as the last thread of hope flitters out of me, I hear my name.
“Jules!”
Boots splash through the water—fast and furious.
My eyes pop open.
Kade.
#24:
Because I Love Her
Kade
My fists are good to go the second I reach the asshole who just kicked Jules.
I smash a right hook into his face. He trips over Jules and smacks into the wall. Water splashes into her face as he thuds to the ground beside her.
She gasps and tries to scramble away. Her sobs are cutting me wide open. Rage is pushing through the space. I want to kill the guy who’s hurt her.
Tucking my arm under hers, I help her up and cradle her against me.
“It’s okay.” I kiss her forehead.
The guy on the ground staggers back to his feet. Blood is running from a cut on his eyebrow. It’s making his ugly snarl nasty…and completely punchable.
“This isn’t your business.” He points at me. “Now get the fuck out of the way.”
“I’m making it my business,” I growl. “And you are never touching her again.”
With a feral kind of roar, he lunges at me. I step in front of Jules and block his feeble punch, sending him flying with all the power I can muster. He lands in a muddy puddle, pushing a small wave of water against the dumpster.
Anger is firing down my limbs as I stomp after him, and before anyone can stop me I start smashing my fist into his face. “Never. Touch. Her. Again!”
One punch per word.
It’s so damn satisfying.
I’m trying to think of more things to yell at him when Jules grabs my arm.
“Kade, stop! You’ll kill him!”
She wrenches my arm back, trying to drag me away, but she’s not strong enough and ends up tumbling backwards.
I spin in time to see her land on her hip with a soft whimper. She cradles her belly while rain soaks into her clothes.
And it does my heart in.
Scrambli
ng to my feet, I gather her against me, lifting her off the wet concrete.
Jules fists my shirts. “I gotta go,” she whimpers. “I’ve got to get out of here.”
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she sobs against my shoulder.
Turning back, I check on the son of a bitch who hurt her. His body’s lying in the puddle, his head lolled to the side on the hard concrete. Blood is running down his face like tears. He’s not moving.
Shit, did I kill him?
Panic tries to choke me.
I need Riley.
If he were here he’d check on the guy, probably call an ambulance before disappearing, but all I can think to do is haul ass and get as far away from this nightmare as possible.
My boots crash over the wet ground as I walk Jules to my bike, and then quickly realize it won’t do. I rush around to Keith’s truck instead, hoping he’ll forgive me for taking it.
Rybeck will have a field day.
Two charges of auto-theft, plus assault…maybe even murder.
Fuck!
I buckle Jules into the passenger side and run around to the driver’s door. The security light by Skate Home’s back door flicks off, hiding the dumpster, the puddle…my crime.
Bile surges up my throat as I hop into Keith’s truck. My fingers shake as I start the engine.
“What are we going to do?” Jules’s voice is like an earthquake.
“We’re leaving.”
“What about him?” She points out my window.
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
I rev the engine and scream out of the lot. The truck bounces as I tear over the curb and into the street.
I know exactly where I’m going. I probably shouldn’t, but it’s the only place I want to be right now.
Gripping the wheel, I glance at Jules. She’s holding her belly.
“Are you in pain?”
She sniffs and shakes her head.
But then her chin starts to tremble.
“Jules, you’ve got to talk to me, babe. Should I be taking you to a hospital?”
“No,” she croaks, brushing the backs of her fingers over her cheek.
There’s a red blemish on her cheekbone.
My knuckles are white as I fight the urge to bash the wheel. “Did he hit you as well?”
“I’m okay.” Her voice is barely audible. “Do you have your phone? We should call an ambulance. We can’t just leave him there.”
I nearly deny her access but she’s right. We can’t just leave him there.
My phone is a burner, untraceable. It should be okay.
Reluctantly digging it out of my pocket, I pass it over and let Jules do the talking.
“Yes, hi, I think there’s an injured man behind Skate Home Bar and Grill. Could you check it out, please? Thank you. Bye.”
She hangs up and drops the phone on the seat. It slips onto the floor with a clunk.
Neither of us moves to fetch it.
I’m still gripping the wheel like it’s the only thing keeping me sane, and my foot is getting heavier on the gas as I speed out of town.
I need to be careful not to get noticed by a cop, but I can’t help speeding.
Distance is the only thing on our side right now.
“Shit, I shouldn’t have done that.” Jules covers her mouth. “What if he reports us? There’ll be an investigation. They’ll be looking for us.”
“We’re going to disappear. Somewhere they can’t find us.”
She blinks and nods like a robot.
Shock is kicking in. Her entire body is trembling like she has no control over it.
Drops are running down her face, dripping from the ends of her hair and getting sucked into her saturated shirt.
“We’ve got to get you out of those clothes. We have to get you warm.”
She glances at me, her expression dazed.
I can’t afford to pull the truck over. The risk I’m taking is huge enough as it is. Rybeck’s had enough time to get himself organized. For all I know, the police could be scouring the area looking for me…and now an ambulance is on its way to Skate Home too.
I reach into the back of the cab, scrambling around for anything that could help Jules out. I find a blanket. The material’s coarse, but dry.
“Here.” I pull it free and pass it to her. “Take those wet clothes off and wrap this around you.”
She responds with a quiet sniff and takes the blanket.
I keep my eyes on the road, only glancing across a couple of times. The sopping clothes land with a squelch on the floor beside her feet.
The rain is still pelting down. I have the wipers at full speed, their rhythm fast but somehow soothing. The more distance we put between us and Reno, the more the fog clears.
Panic is down to a manageable simmer.
The wipers’ even beat is pulling my heart rate back into sync.
I’ll be on high alert for a while longer, but I can breathe evenly again.
The red haze is starting to clear.
Rage is making way for an overwhelming relief.
I nearly didn’t come back. I warred for over two hours as I drove out of Reno when all of a sudden it hit me. If I left without telling Jules the truth, I’d never see her again. Even after all this shit ends, how could she ever forgive me for just taking off without a word?
That thought possessed me, crawled into my chest until my entire body was pulsing with a desire I couldn’t fight.
I had to see Jules. She had to know the truth.
So I risked everything, sneaking back into Reno to walk Jules home and lay it all bare. I was going to tell her nothing but the truth and then promise to return for her when it was safe again.
I wasn’t sure how she would react. I prepared myself for a few scenarios as I snuck back to Skate Home.
But nothing could have primed me for what I saw…what I heard.
Jules crying in pain like that, her lying on the ground while he kicked her.
I smash my teeth together as a surge of anger courses through me.
I’ve never felt a force so strong before.
Seeing her that way…
It makes me realize how much I care about her.
“Where are we going?” Jules clutches the blanket around her neck.
She looks so small and fragile.
“We have to get out of town.”
Her lips dip into a frown, her gaze darting to the floor. “I’m so sorry about Antonio.”
“Who?”
“The guy.” Jules looks out the window. “He’s um…” She clears her throat. “He’s the fa…the sperm.”
And my knuckles are white again. I have to take a second before I can speak. I don’t want to take out my anger on her. She needs quiet and calm right now.
Licking my bottom lip, I will my voice to come out even. “The guy who was beating you is the reason you’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” she squeaks. “He was mad because I didn’t use his money to get rid of the baby. He said he’d do it himself.”
I can’t look at her. If I see those tears in her eyes, I’m gonna lose it.
That fuck!
“I never spent his money.” She sniffs. “I’ve been keeping it for emergencies. It’s still at my place. I was going to give it back to him after the baby was born. Once he could never find out about it.”
“Why do you have to hide this? It’s not like you’re asking anything of him!”
“He doesn’t want the baby to live because…” Jules pulls in a ragged breath.
“Because what?”
“He doesn’t want his blood mixed with Japanese, because his dad hates Japs and he’ll be livid if he knows his son has slept with one of them.” She lets out a chocking sob and dips her head. “I’m only half Japanese and…I…I feel like such an idiot for ever caring about him.”
I punch the brakes. I can’t help it. We don’t have time to stop right now, but what the hell is wrong with that asshol
e?
Pulling the truck to the edge of the road, I reach over and unbuckle her seatbelt. The second it pops free, I drag her across the bench seat and wrap my arm around her.
She looks up at me. I can barely see her in the country darkness but I find her face easily enough, brushing my thumb over her cheek and lips.
“Any guy would be lucky to mix his blood with yours. Whatever children you have, no matter who the father is, they’re going to be gorgeous, because they’re part Julienne Bishop.”
Her mouth twitches beneath my thumb, a small curling of her lips.
“I don’t know where we’re going right now,” she whispers. “But wherever it is, I want to come with you. I don’t need the truth, Kade. I just need you.”
She lurches up, planting her lips against mine.
They’re soft yet firm, the kiss assertive. She’s holding nothing back, killing my doubts in a heartbeat.
I grip the side of her neck. Powerful emotions are all so close to the surface, encasing us in an out-of-body moment that’s going to be impossible to pull away from.
But I must.
Because we have to keep moving.
I need to keep her safe.
Because I love her.
#25:
Confessions in the Darkness
Julienne
Kade’s still holding me, his arm locked around my shoulders while he drives one-handed…in the rain. I try to wriggle free, but he just holds on tighter.
I don’t have the energy to fight him.
I’m exhausted to the center of my soul. Today has been too much. No one should have to face this many emotions in a twenty-four-hour period. It’s hard to believe it was only this afternoon that I was staring at a fuzzy black-and-white image of my baby and now I’m escaping Reno with Kade…still so much a stranger to me, yet possibly the one person I’ve felt closest to in my entire life.
Life is weird…and so unexpected.
The rain continues to cover Keith’s pickup as we speed through the darkness. Kade is quiet and tense. I need to ask him why he didn’t come for dinner—I have a feeling that Antonio might not be the only thing we’re running from—but I want him to concentrate on what he’s doing.
I pull on the coarse blanket, making it a little tighter around my body.
“Are you still cold?” Kade’s voice is husky. He sounds as tired as I do.
