by Leddy Harper
When she gasped, I relaxed my grip in her locks.
“How did you find out?” she pleaded against my lips.
“You left your phone at the bar, and before I walked outside to look for you, I picked it up. I forgot all about it until this morning when I found it in the bag containing everything I had on me when I was arrested. I asked Jarrod to get past the lock screen. He sent me the texts from your uncle. I read them.”
“When he found me, he was angry about the money. At the time, he had no idea how much was missing. He was more pissed that I didn’t have my phone. He just kept demanding that I give it to him. He didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t have it. Maybe he needed it to erase those messages before anyone saw them. By now, I guess he thinks it’s a moot point because they haven’t shown up.”
“If that wasn’t his dad…how’d he know to look there?”
“The lawyer told him everything when he called looking for my mom.”
I figured as much, but at this point, I wasn’t willing to leave anything to assumption. “So he was already there when the hospital called him…” It wasn’t a question, or even needed a reply, more of a verbal thought as one more piece fell into place.
“Yeah. I’m not sure who called. It could’ve been him—either way, I’ll never know. I woke up and he was there, like a reminder that I’d never be able to escape. I couldn’t tell anyone. Even when the police came to get my statement, he stayed in the room, pulling the law enforcement card. I wasn’t a minor, so he didn’t have to be present. Still, not once did the officer question it. Then he took me home.”
“How were you able to move out of his house?”
“It took a while, but I guess he didn’t want to chance me overhearing something, or tracking his whereabouts to use against him. Eventually, after I begged for a year, he let me leave—as long as he knew where I was. For a while, he’d show up everywhere, making sure I understood he was watching. I couldn’t go to work without seeing him drive by.”
As much as I needed to hear the truth, it completely gutted me. I hated the control he had over her, and the way he wielded his power. He’d gotten away with it for far too long, and I refused to let him take one more breath without paying the price for the pain he’d caused.
Now, if I ended up choosing to take this to Jarrod’s friend at the sheriff’s office, not only could I point them in the direction of the house in Florida to check on, but they could also pull up phone records and find out he hadn’t been in Iowa when Maggie had been attacked. Both great in theory, as long as the trail led directly to her uncle. Except, both would take time to get—and they would need a warrant to go through the phone company to get the information. If I’d learned one thing about phone records and the law from my trial, that was it.
I had to be smart about this. If I set out to pin everything on him, I had to ensure I gave as much detail and unquestionable proof as possible—proof that would only point to Captain Daniel Culberson. It was a risk…a gamble, because if I chose to leave it up to the authorities and it didn’t stick, Maggie would undoubtedly be put in harm’s way.
And it would all be my fault.
If I did everything right, he would be locked up for a very long time—potentially, the rest of his life. In order for that to happen, I’d have to prove that Maggie’s mom was dead, and had been since she went missing six years ago, long before the paperwork for her grandfather’s estate had been signed. Because that would prove that her uncle had forged the documents with the understanding that she wouldn’t return. However, my entire plan was contingent on a body being on the bottom of the lake—information that had come from the mouth of a paranoid junkie.
And I didn’t have time to waste on a damn warrant.
So I rolled the dice.
I held Maggie’s face and pressed my lips to hers. I poured every ounce of emotion into that kiss and prayed she could hear my thoughts. She’d done it so many times before, but this was the one that counted. She needed to know how I felt before I walked out that door, in the event I didn’t come back.
“You smell so fucking good,” I whispered when our mouths parted. “Don’t ever forget that, okay?”
It’d never been said, but she’d used that phrase enough to make me believe it was her way of expressing how she felt. Even though she thought I’d said the words this morning—or wrote them—I hadn’t, and I refused to utter them for the first time in this moment. With our pasts being mysteries and our future up in the air, it was just easier to use her words than the real ones—saving those for the next time I had her in my arms.
“Don’t go, Talon. We can run away. We can take off like we did before. Just me and you.”
My voice became stuck in my throat when I croaked out, “I can’t live like that—always worried that he’ll find you. I don’t care what he does to me, but I won’t let anything ever happen to you again.”
“You can’t kill him. He’s a—”
“I won’t. I promise, sweetheart…I won’t kill him.”
She shook her head, tears cascading in waves down her face faster than I could wipe away. When her eyes found mine, they were so light they had seemingly lost their color—ghostly. “He’ll do something to you, make you disappear, leave you for dead and make it look like an accident. And he’ll get away with it. He can manipulate the system…lose evidence, get people to lie for him. You can’t take him down.”
“I have a plan. But I need your word on something. Okay?” I waited until I had her undivided attention, until I was positive she could hear me over the deafening thoughts that riddled her mind, and when she touched my face, I felt confident I had her. “Go to my apartment and stay there until I tell you what to do next.”
“I can’t let you leave.”
“You don’t have a choice, sweetheart. This is me, scooping you up and keeping you safe. And right now, the only way I can do that is if you’re at the shop. Jarrod will keep an eye on you. If something happens to me, he’ll know what to do.”
“No,” she cried, her face scrunching in pain. “I can’t live without you.”
“Hopefully, you won’t have to.”
She clung to me tighter. “I can’t let you do this. I’ll come with you. I’ll confront him with you, or go to the cops and tell them everything. Please, Talon…don’t try to be the hero.”
I didn’t have any other choice; I picked Maggie up and carried her to bed. The entire way down the hall and into her room, she remained wrapped around me. And as soon as I had her on the mattress, her lips found mine. Her motivation was obvious, though I wasn’t about to argue. This could potentially be the last time I ever felt her beneath me, and there was no way I’d walk away from that.
I pulled away just enough to slide her leggings down, and once I had her top off, I began lavishing her body in enough attention to last a while in case things went wrong. It didn’t take long to have her begging for me, but there was one thing I had to do first.
“Let me use the bathroom real fast, sweetheart. I’ll be right back, I swear.”
I didn’t have to go, but I needed to reach out to Jarrod, and there was no way to do that in front of her. If she refused to stay at the shop where she’d be safe, then the only other choice I had was to call in reinforcements. Thankfully, he didn’t make me wait for a reply—nor did he hesitate to agree.
Tears filled Maggie’s eyes when I returned to the bed. I tossed my shirt on the floor and unfastened my pants, but the sight of her in pain halted me from taking them the rest of the way off. I climbed between her legs and hovered over her body.
“Don’t cry.” I kissed her right cheek, drying it with my lips. “I’m right here.” And then I did the same to the other side. “Don’t think about anything other than me, okay? Just me. Us. Be with me in this moment, and we’ll worry about the rest later.”
She nodded and pulled my mouth to hers.
It took Jarrod just over half an hour to get to the apartment, which hadn’t given me e
nough time to ensure I’d be on her mind for a while to come. But nothing could’ve been done about it. Even if Jarrod hadn’t been on his way, we were getting dangerously close to when Maggie was supposed to be at her uncle’s house.
“Can you text him and say you got out of work late, that you’re running behind?”
The fear in her eyes cemented my fate. My decision had been decided right then and there. If she were that worried about showing up five minutes late…I would never be satisfied with anyone else “handling” him.
I took her phone and typed the message myself, ignoring her panicked pleas from behind me. And less than a minute after I sent, “I’m running five to ten minutes behind,” he replied with, “You’re aware of the interest rate. I don’t mind the clock ticking.” It enraged me.
When I handed back her cell, I glanced between Maggie and Jarrod. “Go with him to my shop.” It wasn’t a request. “Stay there. Don’t go anywhere until Jarrod tells you to. Got it? If I’m arrested and he’s free, you’re not safe here. Jarrod will keep up with his friend in the sheriff’s office regarding the situation and update you if I’m not able to.”
“So you’re going to turn him in?”
“Yes.” That wasn’t the entire plan, but it was the gist of it; it was all she needed to know. “Which is why you need to go to Fleetwood. He’s gonna realize you aren’t showing up, and he’ll come after you. He won’t touch you at the shop.” I turned to Jarrod and asked, “You’ll stay with her, right?”
“Yeah, man. I’ll take the couch in the office.” There was no hesitation. He had a pregnant girlfriend at home, and not once did he pause to consider it. That was the sign of a good person.
“Go pack a bag. I don’t know how much you’ll need, so just take whatever you can fit.” I waited until she was in her room before pulling Jarrod outside. “I need to fill you in just in case something happens.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Talon? You said you’re going to the cops.”
“And I will.”
He scoffed, his anger not well hidden. “When? After you confront him?”
“I’m not going to do anything. I’ve got it under control, so don’t worry about me.”
“If you had it under control, you wouldn’t feel the need to fill me in.”
I ignored his logic and continued to tell him all the information I had—what Jinx had said about the lake, about “his own flesh and blood,” Maggie’s mom, the phone records for when Maggie had been attacked. Everything I had on him, down to the deed for the house in Florida, I gave him in hushed tones to keep Maggie from overhearing.
I’d managed to get it all out—as well as have Jarrod look up public records for the house, finding it in the name of Amanda Abrams—by the time Maggie came to the front door wearing her black hoodie and a bag over her shoulder. I never wanted to forget the way it felt to see her in that jacket, whether it was mine or not.
“I need your keys, sweetheart.”
Without question, she handed them over and then wrapped her arms around my waist. “You smell good,” she whispered into my chest.
It nearly destroyed me, but I repeated the sentiment against the top of her head. I couldn’t look at her; I’d never be able to leave if I did. So instead, I kissed her forehead, then her lips. And then quickly bounded down the steps to the parking lot.
Maggie
I spent the next hour on the couch, staring through the window as if he’d come strolling in from the grocery store. Jarrod was next to me, and if it weren’t for his constant flipping through the channels or checking his phone, I would think he wasn’t at all worried.
Jarrod was supposed to take me to Fleetwood so I could hide out at the shop, but I’d convinced him to stay just a little longer. I hated the thought of being so far away in case something happened. Honestly, it didn’t take much to talk him into it.
Watching the time and the entrance to the complex did nothing but make me nervous. I’d already chewed off both thumbnails, and if this lasted much longer, I doubted I would have any thumbs at all…just nubs. Finally, my car pulled into the parking lot. I jumped up and ran to the door, but Jarrod grabbed my arm to restrain me before I could fling it open.
“Be careful. You don’t have any idea who’s driving it.” His concern laced his voice until it flowed through me, stifling my heartbeat. “Just wait a minute to see who gets out before you go down there.”
Jarrod carefully pushed me behind him to shield me with his body. When he reached his hand to his lower back, I noticed a handgun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. I was torn with how I felt—terrified of the weapon, yet strangely safe. Although, I was far more petrified than anything, and if it got much worse, I’d have to run to the toilet.
Time dragged on, every second lasting years, until finally, the driver’s side door opened. I held my breath and waited. When Talon’s scuffed, black boot hit the pavement, I didn’t waste a second getting to him. I practically yanked the door off its hinges and flew down the stairs, ignoring Jarrod’s frantic pleas to stop. Nothing or no one could keep me from him.
Except his face.
I made it to the last step and came to a screeching halt. He was beaten and battered, only standing there out of sheer determination. My heart shattered, and I couldn’t keep myself from him any longer.
I ran to him, slowing just before reaching the car. At first, it looked like he was cradling his arm with the way he held it across his stomach, but as I began to observe him, I noticed he was holding his side. I lightly touched him over his ribcage with my fingertips in an attempt to soothe his ache.
“They aren’t broken…I don’t think.” Raw and unsettled pain filled his voice.
Taking a minute to absorb his injuries, I noted the torn skin over his knuckles and blood stains on the front of his shirt. When I made it to his face, my gaze lingered on his obviously broken nose and purple eye, which was almost swollen shut.
A gasp slipped past my lips before I could suppress it. There was no way this had happened at the sheriff’s office…which meant he’d gone after my uncle instead. And if he was here, alive, that meant my uncle was dead.
“What did you do?” I cried out, unable to suppress the sobs that tore through my chest.
He reached for me when I took a step away, but it was the wince and groan of agony that stopped me from retreating. And when he wrapped his fingers around my arm, tugging me with the strength of a child, I went willingly.
“Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay.” Even his hushed words didn’t offer me any comfort. They did nothing except remind me that he’d been hurt. And that reminder set about a fear in my chest over what had truly happened, and what this meant for him—for our future.
He ran his hand along my back, but when he spoke, his words were harsh. “Why are you here? I told you to go to the shop. You shouldn’t be here.”
“She wanted to wait for you,” Jarrod answered, and I realized Talon wasn’t talking to me. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it an hour or two, just in case you needed us. I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her, so calm down.” He took a deep breath before pleading, “Please tell me he’s alive.”
“He is, but he won’t be coming after her any time soon.”
“What does that mean?” Jarrod’s voice became deeper.
“He’s not gonna die, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I was able to breathe a sigh of relief, yet I still couldn’t pull away from Talon. I couldn’t look at his face or see his eyes—that would make this too real. As long as I kept my eyes closed with my cheek against his chest where I could hear the thumping of his heart, I could pretend this was any other day.
“What happened?” Jarrod’s question was more of a demand.
I’d never heard him speak that way, much less to Talon. Regardless, I refused to open my eyes or say anything. I needed to find out what Talon had done in order to process everything. At this point, I wasn’t sure how many more minu
tes I had with him, and the longer it took to get information, the more my fear strangled me.
“He was all nice when he answered the door, then he saw the Honda in the driveway and became suspicious. When I confronted him, it was like a switch flipped. At first, he tried to deny everything. Then I mentioned the house in Florida…he would’ve killed me if he had the chance.”
Tears ran down my face, yet I didn’t make a sound, and it took everything in me not to squeeze him tighter. I couldn’t get the images out of my head. I’d seen Uncle Danny mad before; I’d witnessed firsthand how quickly his temperament could change.
“Why did you even go there?” I questioned against his chest.
“He was expecting you at his house, and I had no time to get enough information from the cops. They more than likely would’ve taken my statement, asked a few questions, and then gone on their merry way. That wouldn’t have kept you safe. I couldn’t take that chance. I needed to keep him from coming after you, and I didn’t have many options.”
Everything was quiet for a moment before Jarrod asked, “So where is he now?”
“Probably on his way to the hospital. I called for an ambulance before I left. I was worried about him getting to one of his minions first, but I couldn’t risk being there when the cops showed up. I needed to swap out the cars first.”
“First?” I released my hold on him and retreated a few steps, not allowing him to stop me. “What does that mean? Where are you going?”
“I have to turn myself in.”
“Do they know it’s you? Did you tell my uncle who you are?”
“No, but that doesn’t matter.” It was hard to see his expression through the swelling, and based on his voice, I could tell he was determined. There was no changing his mind. “I need to make sure he doesn’t get free.”
“And how will you do that if you’re in jail?”
“He has to tell the authorities everything he knows, which means he’ll have to turn himself in for assault on an officer.” Hopelessness droned in Jarrod’s words as he answered my question. “Right now, they’ll think someone showed up to his home and attacked him. They’ll bandage him up and let him go free. And I highly doubt he’ll let someone else deal with Talon.”
