Page 50 of In It for the Long Ride

I’d never seen a rabid animal, but I knew in my soul, that was what one looked like. Tears streamed down my nephew’s face as he held onto his wife for all he was worth. Carl stood slack-jawed against the back of the trailer; I could tell he was as pained by the sight of her as I was. It was tickling at his war wounds. I shot forward and jerked the bag off her face, even though I was terrified of what I’d find.

Thankfully, I didn’t see any blood or gore. They whirled around once more, but when she saw me, she planted both feet and tore in a breath like it might be her last.

“Daisy?” she whispered, when she exhaled, her voice cracking like it had taken all she could muster to use her vocal cords after such an episode.

“Please come back to me?” I held open my arms and she shot into them.

She wasn’t much heavier than Blaze. I held her and kissed the top of her head while we both cried.

I shifted, dancing with her as I strummed her back and she numbly held onto me. I could feel her chest heaving, but there was no sound. She sobbed and I stared out the doors at the Sheriff and all the men she had finally managed to stand down, both ours, and hers.

“She’s alive,” Mak kept repeating from where he sat on the gravel.

“She is. She’s home. She’s safe,” I called, causing Trista to cling to me with a grip so tight it hurt my upper arm where her nails bit.

“I want to see Easy,” she sobbed, raising her head at last. “I want my husband.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him and dropped my arm so she could move to him. She stared, confusion evident in her brow and the tremble of her lip.

“You didn’t realize it was me,” he guessed.

She slowly shook her head and took a step toward him. That was all she had to do; the boy snatched her up like he wasn’t ever going to let her go again.

“I couldn’t see you, and in the dark the voice I heard was his.” She trembled and he made a throaty, restrained sound that I recognized all too well.

“W- would it be acceptable for our ambulance people to look her over, Eric? For her sake?” the Sheriff carefully attempted to negotiate.

“I don’t want nobody touching me,” Trista abruptly found her voice and bent her knee like she meant to climb Eric to get away from them all.

“No. Nobody is gonna fucking touch you, not unless you say so,” he promised her.

She clung to him and all but hyperventilated.

“It’s alright. That’s fine. Can we offer some water, and get you guys out of that truck so we can process it for evidence?” The Sheriff redirected.

“Let’s get out of here so they catch that cocksucker,” he murmured.

“No.” She planted her feet firmly, leaving Eric to look down at them and then back up at her.

Her jaw set with determination and her big eyes flashed with a need for vengeance, “Don’t you let them give him the sanctuaryof no fuckin’ cell, Easy. Don’t you do it. You hunt him down, do you hear me? You hunt that mother fucker down. You don’t know what he did to me.”

Her shoulders crawled in a way that said more than she realized, “Trista…”

I didn’t mean to interject, but I felt compelled.

She took a few panicked breaths and glanced my way. Her eyes filled with pain and her lip quivered, “I ain’t never gonna sleep right knowing he’s out there. Don’t make me give him that safety. I won’t do it. Promise me, Easy! You promise me you’re gonna fucking kill him!”

She slapped at his chest, and he grappled for her wrists. He gave up the struggle and took her face in both hands. The emotion and tension in his features as he stared into her eyes shook me to the core. I was torn between holding my breath and wanting to rush forward before he said something that would leave him in a damn cage!

He didn’t say anything, though, he slid his hands back into her hair until it was fisted and clung to her. She made a throaty sound of alarm just before his mouth smashed against hers.

If it wasn’t a silent vow, I didn’t know what the fuck was. My heart dropped to my asshole, terrified someone would move to act on it before I could convince him to call it off.

“Eric,” the Sheriff attempted, when he jumped down out of the back of the trailer and reached up for Trista.

“Get the fuck back,” he warned.

“Eric, we need to talk,” the Sheriff repeated.

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