Page 103 of Full Circle

The lights remained off so that patrons knew we weren’t open, but I could easily move around in the dark. My clothes were kept in the bottom drawer of Daddy’s old office and I didn’t pay attention to the shadows in the room as I shimmied out of my jeans. So when a hand shot out of the darkness to clamp around my throat while another wound around my waist to pull me backwards, the scream stifled as the hand squeezed my vocal cords shut.

“This is how I’ve always wanted you,” a man’s voice whispered in my ear. His breath was foul and sour, reeking of alcohol and rotten food. “At my mercy, with your body ready for me.”

I bucked against him, thrashing my body as much as I could to break free. This wasn’t Wesley, this was a dangerous presence that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and fear flood my body.

Something long and hard pressed against my lower back. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break free from his grip.

“It’s so sexy when you fight me,” the man breathed. With a violent shove, he pushed me forward, pressing my torso down on the desk and knocking all the paperwork to the floor. Cold air hit my ass as the man yanked my panties down. “I bet he hasn’t taken your ass yet. Wesley Madden is an idiot. Real estate like this is meant to be painted.”

My blood turned to ice as I recognized the voice. Only one person ever said Wes’ name with that mixture of hatred, jealousy, and reverence—my stepbrother, Jeremy.

A door slammed towards the front of the restaurant and Jeremy froze. Loud, rapid footsteps echoed from the dining room, making him curse under his breath.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured in my ear. “I’ll be back for you. You’re not gonna ignore me anymore, Mama.”

In the next second, Jeremy was gone.

My body trembled so hard that my teeth chattered and I fell to the floor in the fetal position. Jesse flipped on the light switch and darted over to me.

“Oh my god, Celeste! What happened?!” He grabbed an old tablecloth from one of the shelves lining the wall on his left and carefully draped it over me, preserving some of my modesty. It did nothing to shield the chill. “I’m calling 911!”

His words sounded like an echo in the back of my mind. The entire situation was too much when I was already too raw to face my demons. I blinked slowly before letting my eyes close so the darkness could finally swallow me whole.

CHAPTER 49

GLORIOUS TRUTH

WESLEY

Chief Hillsborough could suck start a Glock for all I cared. The man was entirely too gleeful about putting me in the cell at the Smithson County jail, to the point where he moved his desk over so that he could grin at me over the rim of his coffee cup afterwards.

He made it really hard to regret setting his shed on fire. My one phone call kept getting pushed back because he was “busy” with paperwork, yet all I had seen so far was him dismissing the other deputies on duty and refilling the old Keurig several times. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing it was getting to me however, so I let him keep digging himself a hole. If he wasn’t aware of my educational background or the strings I could pull, he could find out the hard way.

After what felt like an eternity, I was permitted to call Phillip.

“Where are you calling from?” he asked instantly.

My back teeth ground together. Hillsborough eyed me suspiciously over the top of his computer monitor.

“I need you to come bail me out of Smithson County Jail,” I replied. “Just bring a blank check.”

The traitor snickered. “And what have you done now?”

I rolled my eyes. “Can you just do what I pay you for? Please?”

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I’m already on the way there because we have an even bigger problem.”

That piqued my interest. “What do you mean? What did you find out?”

“Wrap it up, inmate,” the sheriff called. Malice lit up his face as he said it. The fucking prick.

“Prepare to make a generous donation,” I advised Phillip before hanging up.

Hillsborough shook his head. “That kinda thing isn’t gonna work around these parts. We don’t care about your dirty money.” He firmly gripped my shoulder to steer me back into the cell before angrily slamming the iron grate.

I glared at him, but wisely kept my mouth shut for once.

Within an hour, Phillip arrived. By that time, several other deputies and clerks had also shown up, which proved to be beneficial when Chief Hillsborough tried to deny my bail.

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