Lead Me Home: A Fight for Me Stand-Alone Novel

by A. L. Jackson

  Made for each other.

  Did they really think she would consider that a bad thing?

  Did they even know her at all?

  She just wanted them to embrace it.

  Live free.

  The same as she wanted for herself and Rex.

  And the only thing it felt like was they were clipping her wings.

  Cutting little bits of her away as they pushed her further to the outside.

  There was no reason for them to be hiding, just like there was no reason for her and Rex to be hiding.

  Rex.

  At the thought of his name, her chest pulled tight.

  Stretched and yearned.

  She loved him so much. She didn’t think she really knew how much until she’d had to watch him kiss that girl.

  And she was the one who got to stay.

  The one who was with him.

  New tears pricked at her eyes.

  He hadn’t come after her. Hadn’t stood up for her. Instead, he’d just driven a knife into her heart.

  No more.

  She stumbled to a stop.

  No more.

  Maybe Rex didn’t know what she wanted. That she wanted him to stand up for her. Make a claim.

  Fight for her.

  She’d just have to do it herself.

  She touched the red, woven bracelet that she always wore around her left wrist. The other two matching pieces belonging to Ollie and Nikki.

  Her best friends.

  But they had to realize her life was changing, too.

  All of them had to make room for something new.

  She came to a stop.

  Realization struck.

  She was gonna turn around, go back to that camp, and demand Rex say it.

  Tell Ollie.

  She was his and he was hers and no one would have anything bad to say about it.

  Because it was good.

  They were good.

  Ollie and Nikki were good.

  She started to cross the road but froze when headlights cut into the night and a loud car roared around the corner.

  She took a step back away from the road as it flew by before the red brake lights flashed, splashing the color all over the night as the old car skidded to a stop.

  Her heart trembled with a dose of anxiety.

  She squinted her eyes, relief leaving her on a breath when she realized she recognized that car.

  Nikki’s grandpa.

  He could give her a ride back to the lake.

  She jogged that way with a smile on her face, and she saw his silhouette as he leaned over to fling open the passenger door as she approached. She started to duck her head inside to say hello when her knees wobbled beneath her.

  Not Nikki’s grandpa.

  It was Nikki’s uncle.

  Todd.

  He grinned, his teeth stained yellow from cigarettes, his hands still greasy from always working on cars.

  There was something about him Sydney had never liked. The way he looked at Nikki. Watched her too close.

  “Well, look who it is. Sydney Sue. Where’s my Nikki Lou?”

  Unease rippled through her consciousness, a cringe rolling through her at the stupid, creepy nicknames he’d give them, as if it was actually their middle names.

  “She’s at home,” Sydney lied. Not sure why.

  He frowned. “That so?”

  His eyes moved over her, and a cold shiver rippled down her back.

  “What are you doin’ out here all alone?”

  “I’m just heading home,” she said, angling back.

  “I’ll give you a ride.”

  She backed away. “No, that’s okay. My brother should be coming this way in a second, anyway.”

  She pinned on a smile and hoped he’d fall for the lie.

  He wasn’t exactly the smartest guy she knew.

  His eyes flicked from her face and down to her chest. “You look different than her.”

  He said it as if she should be ashamed of it. As if it were disappointing.

  Then he shrugged. “Guess for tonight, you’ll have to do.”

  37

  Ollie

  “Don’t do anything until I get there, Ollie. I’m right behind you.”

  “No promises, man.”

  Not when it came to Nikki.

  My Nikki.

  My girl who’d been desperate to be there through this with me, and I’d been too much of a fool to see it for what it was.

  Thinking I forever owed a debt, the girl nothing but a tease, a torment of what I couldn’t have.

  When in reality?

  She’d been a gift, always right there, waiting for me to accept it.

  I tossed my cell to the seat beside me and made a sharp right onto the drive that was close to being hidden under a thicket of trees that ran the land.

  Engine roaring, I gunned the accelerator. My Mustang bounced on the dirt road, wheels kicking up a cloud of dust as I flew down the narrow lane.

  The heart I thought I no longer had thrashed at my chest, my teeth clenched just about as tight as my hands were clenched on the steering wheel.

  I barreled around the corner, and the old house came into view.

  There were a million memories here. I could get lost in them. Stuck like I’d been.

  But I realized when Sammie had stood there in the hall, I couldn’t change the past, no matter how fucking badly I wanted to.

  I had nothing but this moment and the future.

  Nothing but Nikki.

  Swinging into the rounded drive at the front of the house, I rammed the brakes and jumped out, not bothering to shut the door when I thundered up the rickety porch steps that had seen far better days.

  I pounded on the door and then began to pace, roughing a hand over the top of my head as I waited.

  As seconds ticked.

  As I felt myself going insane.

  I couldn’t let this happen.

  I couldn’t let someone hurt her.

  I promised I’d protect her.

  That I wasn’t ever gonna let anyone hurt her.

  I could hear the car coming up the road, and Seth’s cruiser rolled into view right when Nikki’s mom swung open the door with a smile on her face.

  A smile that slid off the second she saw me.

  “Oliver Preston.” She looked around, spotting the approaching patrol car. Worry took hold of her expression.

  “What are you doing here? What’s going on? Is Nikki okay?” Each word came faster than the last, panted pleas winding into her tone when she stepped outside.

  Anxiety fisted my throat, and I pushed the gritted words through it. “I was hoping you could tell me that. You haven’t seen her?”

  She shook her head, and there was no missing the glimmers of fear that streaked through her expression when Seth stepped from his car.

  Her brow pinched with confusion. “No . . . I haven’t seen her for a couple of days. Sammie called a few hours ago, wondering if she’d come by, but she didn’t say anything else.”

  Apprehension trembled her voice, and she reached out and grabbed my arm. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I need to find her.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Where’s that piece of shit Todd?”

  The question knocked her back a step, and her brows twisted into a knot. “I . . . I don’t know. Heard him leaving late last night. I don’t think he’s been back.”

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  I fisted my hands in my hair, searching for the air. Desperation climbing.

  “Does he still stay in the trailer in the back lot?”

  Warily, she nodded.

  I spun around.

  Seth caught me by the arm as he came up to the door. “Where are you going?”

  I ripped my arm away. “To find Nikki.”

  I bounded down the steps and ran for the trailer that sat a little more than a quarter mile back from the house.

  “Ollie,” Seth shouted f
rom behind me. “Wait, man. We need to let the warrant come through.”

  I didn’t even stop to ponder it. I pounded the heel of my fist on the door.

  Nothing.

  No movement.

  Holding on to the railing, I leaned back and lifted my leg.

  “Fuck, Ollie, you can’t just bust in there.”

  “Watch me.”

  There was no way I was sitting idle.

  Waiting.

  Not when waiting meant we could be running out of time.

  I slammed the sole of my boot into the door at the side of the flimsy knob. The old wood splintered and gave. Nothing holding it together.

  I wrenched open the door, flying inside.

  The place was a disgusting mess. Dishes piled in the sink, garbage everywhere.

  Decay and rot.

  Silence hung in the air.

  Vacant.

  Ominous.

  A stark emptiness echoing back.

  Still, I couldn’t stop myself from pushing deeper into the rat hole, rushing down the short hall and throwing open the door to the only bedroom.

  The sight bent me in two.

  Pictures.

  Everywhere.

  All of them were of Nikki.

  Baby pictures.

  Ones of her as a little girl.

  A few with Sydney as a teenager.

  But it was the current ones that sent panic sloshing through my system.

  There were a bunch of Nikki at the diner.

  Some outside of Olive’s.

  One of her walking up the steps to her apartment.

  Motherfucker.

  Her apartment.

  It was him. It was him.

  My eyes darted around for anything else, and I started to push out of the room, when my sight snagged on something in the closet.

  The sliding door had barely been left open a sliver.

  A floral box.

  A box.

  Anxiety gripped me everywhere, and my movements slowed as I edged forward. Slowly, I slid the closet door open farther. The lock had been broken, the lid ripped off, the contents tossed aside as if someone had frantically dug through it to find what was hidden underneath.

  A groan climbed out from my soul.

  Agony.

  Sydney’s bracelet.

  It was there in the middle of it as if the asshole had needed to hold it.

  Sick and deranged and twisted.

  “Oh God,” I whimpered, unable to stomach it.

  Sickness clawed, and I was clutching my head, trying to see through the web of darkness that spun through me.

  Cruelty.

  Cruelty.

  My sister.

  Fuck, my sister.

  It hurt. It hurt so damned bad.

  The reality.

  I’d hunted for so long.

  And the proof was right there.

  It was like the idiot wanted everyone to know. Or maybe he’d just realized once they’d found Sydney, there was no place left to hide.

  I’d die before I let it happen again.

  “Shit,” Seth whispered in shock from behind me, pulling me back. “Get out of here, Ollie. Don’t touch anything. This is evidence.”

  I blinked at him, seeing nothing but red.

  He didn’t have to ask me twice.

  I was busting back out the door and running for my Mustang.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he shouted.

  I jumped inside. “I’m going to find Nikki. You go to her apartment . . . he’s been there. Call me if you find anything.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Up the river.”

  “I can’t just let you take off like some kind of vigilante. I’m calling it in, everyone will be looking for them.”

  “And you can’t expect me to stand aside and wait for that to happen. I’ll call you if I see anything. Swear, man. I’ll call. But you can’t expect me to sit here. Go. Find her,” I begged him.

  He gave me a reluctant nod before he jogged back to his cruiser.

  I was throwing my car into first when I met Nikki’s mom’s stare through the windshield. Her hands were pressed against her chin and tears blanketed her face.

  I made her a silent promise.

  I’ll fight for her.

  I’ll die for her.

  Most of all, I’ll live for her.

  Twenty minutes later, I’d made it through town. Dusk sat heavily as I wound down the twisty, country road.

  My nerves were speeding while I drove like a motherfucking snail, foot itching to hit the gas. But I was looking for a hint of . . . anything. Anything that felt off.

  I passed the turn that lead to the lake and wound around a bend, heading for Row. There were at least a hundred little offshoots of deserted roads, no more than trails carved out between the trees.

  Anxiety clawed, the sharpest talons in my flesh.

  Flickers of awareness.

  Realization and a tease.

  Little Tease.

  I jammed on the brakes in the middle of the road as a sticky feeling came over me.

  Drawn.

  Compelled.

  Row would still be crawling with investigators.

  And Nikki . . . she wouldn’t go there.

  I knew it.

  I knew it all the way into my soul.

  Heart taking off at a sprint, I flipped a U-turn in the middle of the road, tires sliding off into the shrubs and dirt. The tail end whipped behind me when I forced the accelerator to the floor, and I righted the car when it skidded.

  Two seconds later, I was cutting across the road to make the left.

  Praying the whole way that she was there.

  That she was alone.

  That she was just seeking the solace this place had always given us.

  Needing that peace when I’d done the exact thing I promised her I wouldn’t.

  I’d hurt her.

  Shunned her.

  Left her.

  When she was dealing with the same damned thing.

  I was so finished with being this selfish prick. The guy who thought it was his duty to suffer. Only thing that stupidity accomplished was taking the ones he loved down with him.

  Again, I was gonna be the beggar. Pleading for forgiveness when I didn’t deserve it. Couldn’t change that.

  All I could do was fucking fight.

  Fight for her.

  This time, I would make it right.

  The lake shone a vibrant pink as the sun sank at the far end of the sky.

  Off to the left was the public beach.

  I knew that wouldn’t be where Nikki would go.

  I barreled on to where the road curved at its end, and I took the same worn-out path we’d used for all our lives.

  It wound up through the trees and back down again.

  My pulse thudded when I caught sight of the glint of metal in the dusky haze. I edged forward until it fully came into view.

  Nikki’s car.

  But it was the beater truck sitting next to it that punched the air from my lungs.

  Sent a quiver of stakes through my spirit.

  An earthquake.

  Hate and fury and devastation.

  I wouldn’t let this happen.

  Hands shaking like a bitch, I dialed Seth.

  He answered on the first ring. “You got anything?”

  “They’re here. At the secluded cove at the far end of the lake. Both of them. I’m parked behind both their cars.”

  “Fuck,” he shouted. I could hear the siren blip on the other end before it became a full, shrill cry, the sound of his cruiser quickly accelerating. “Do not approach them, Ollie. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Send help,” I told him before tossing my phone back to the seat without taking the time to end the call.

  I reached for the glove box and pulled out the handgun I’d taken from the safe before I’d headed for Nikki’s grandparents’ land.

  I jerked open the door
, blood pumping so hard I could feel it as it slogged through my body.

  Taste it on my tongue.

  Rage and desperation.

  Fear and hope.

  As silently as I could, I edged up the path, terrified of what I was going to find.

  If I was too late, I wasn’t sure I would survive it this time.

  My guts clenched in both relief and misery when I heard the whimper. The rumble of a low voice came out behind it, but the words were indistinguishable.

  The threat of night hugged the earth, the day slipping away and stealing the light. Twilight swam through the trees in a dreamlike haze.

  Footsteps quieted, I inched all the way up to the spot where we used to jump from the cliffs.

  I pressed against a tree, trying not to shout out when they came into view.

  In pain.

  In vengeance.

  In the violence that twisted through me like the blackest storm.

  Ravaging.

  Annihilating.

  Destroying.

  Nikki was on her knees, arms twisted behind her back as he stood behind her and shackled her wrists and ankles with a thin twine.

  The sick fuck had her gagged, the same twine running across the rag he’d stuffed into her mouth and tied behind her head to keep it in place.

  But the hardest part was the terror that blazed in her eyes.

  I nearly dropped to my knees when I was slammed with the gutting relief that overwhelmed her when she saw me at the line of trees.

  Tears spilled out, and she released a gurgled cry as she sagged forward.

  And that energy.

  It surged.

  So intense.

  The greatest thing I’d ever felt.

  Wave after wave.

  Blast after blast.

  This girl was everything.

  All of me.

  “None of that,” the vile piece of shit seethed, yanking her back up, and I had no reservations left.

  My feet were moving, the gun lifted in the air, boots crunched beneath me.

  His head whipped up. “You little fuck. Always hanging around her. Thinking she belonged to you. I never should have waited so long. It needed to be perfect. It needed to be perfect.”

  The last spiraled in derangement.

  I almost laughed, an unhinged sound I felt bubble at the back of my throat. “Let her go. Let her go. Don’t think I will hesitate to kill you.”

  He killed my sister.

  He killed my sister.

  Oh God.

  Bile swam, and every muscle in my body bristled. Flexed with aggression.