Page 57 of Chasing Forever

“Where?”

“He bought the abandoned lumber mill up on Tolliver Mill Road. Place has been abandoned for years. It would be the perfect place to go.”

My feet started moving before he finished talking. “Heading that way now.”

“Meet you there, brother. And Tris, I know what this is doin’ to you right now. Keep it together, brother. We’re gonna get your girl back.”

Merritt

Everything hurt.Every cell. Every nerve. I’d witnessed Warren’s cruelty more times than I could count, but it had never been like this.

Each strike left behind its mark, and he’d hit and kicked me so many times I’d lost track of all my injuries. He’d split the skin at my cheekbone and my right eye was quickly swelling shut. My nose was bleeding, and I’d chipped a tooth. But other than my ribs, I didn’t think he’d broken anything.

At least not yet.

I fought to remain conscious, knowing I needed to be able to move when I saw my opening, but it was getting hard with every punch and kick.

He’d raged and screamed and cursed me as he inflicted his punishment.

“This is all your fucking fault!” he seethed as his fist slammed into my stomach, knocking the breath from my lungs. If you hadn’t spread your whore legs for that backwoods hick cop, he wouldn’t be investigating me!”

I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I couldn’t afford to focus any of my energy on that. Not when I needed every ounce of it to keep from passing out.

He yanked my hair back and got in my face, his lips curled back from his teeth as he seethed, “Did you have fun? Huh? Did you enjoy bein’ a whore for him? Did it feel good to act like a slut? Fuckin’ another man while you were married?”

I grunted as he tossed me to the floor, that goddamn loafer pulling back and slamming into my hip.

“To think, I wasted all that time on a dirty little slut like you. Should’ve known you were never worth it.” He bent down and grabbed my arm, yanking me back to my feet. I cried out as my bones and muscles protested. My entire body felt like one big, throbbing bruise, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. “Waste of my fuckin’ time, playing your brother the way I did. His ass should’ve died just like the rest of them, but that stupid little brat had to call for help and saved him.”

He must have seen the way my one good eye flared in shock, because he grinned evilly. “That’s right. It was me; I knew the only way you’d ever come back was if that fuckin’ kid needed you. Took almost no effort at all. Just showed up at your brother’s door and showed him what I had; he was all too eager to stick that needle in his arm.”

It was all his fault, I thought as burning tears fell from my good eye, the salt burning the cuts on my face.

Fisting the front of my shirt, Warren yanked me onto my toes, forcing my face closer to his. “Maybe I should do myself a favor and end you too. Rid myself of your pathetic, whiny, broken ass. I’ll put the needle in your arm myself. Do the world a favor. What do you say?”

This was it. This was the closest I was ever going to get. My opening was right in front of me, so I took it. Reaching into my pocket, I yanked out the cork screw and stabbed it right into his neck where it met his shoulder.

Warren let out a roar of pain as I ripped the twisted metal out and stabbed it back in again until he lost his hold on my shirt.

He bellowed in pain, releasing me to reach up and cup the gaping wound I’d created. It was a miracle I didn’t collapse when he released me. I didn’t know what kind of damaged I’d done, if I hit an artery or what, but I didn’t have time to stick around and find out.

I took off running as Warren’s other-worldly bellows echoed all around me. His footsteps were like shotgun blasts as he ran after me, screaming my name in a voice that would give me nightmares for a good, long while.

I heard him getting closer, but I couldn’t stop. I still didn’t know where I was. I didn’t have the first clue where I was going, but I knew I couldn’t let him get me again. I skidded around a corner, my feet slipping from under me, but I managed to stay upright and put on a burst of speed that was fed by pure adrenaline and the will to live.

I made Tristan a promise that if anything ever happened, and he wasn’t there to protect me, I would fight with everything I had. And that was exactly what I was doing.

I raced down a long hall and cut a sharp right when I reached the end. The sound of his gun going off made me jump as fragments of the wall near my head blew outward and scratched at my face. He’d just shot at me, the bullet missing by only inches.

I pushed myself impossibly faster, lifting my arms to shield my head when he fired again, the bullet lodging into the wall about two feet in front of me.

Each inhale felt like I was breathing fire into my lungs. I could barely see where I was going. But I didn’t stop. I cleared a large, open space, and nearly cried out in relief when I spotted a door.

Warren’s steps thundered after me, that demonic voice even closer now, still screaming my name as I reached for the knob.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. My hand grasped the knob and turned. I yanked the door open and let my momentum carry me through, not realizing there would be people on the other side. Tristan’s face was the first one I saw. As soon as I crossed the threshold, he banded his arms around my waist, whipping me up and around right as another gunshot went off. I’d been moving so fast that my body didn’t stop when it collided with his. We both went down to the ground, Tristan on top of me, putting himself between me and the monster I’d been running from. A moment later, there were more. So many it sounded like there were multiple guns being fired.

I slapped my hands over my ears, slammed my eyes closed, and screamed until the noise around me stopped.

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