Page 72 of Love in Unexpected Places

“Almost a hundred grand. Enough for you to start a new life. I’ll get out of here too. Out of the life. I swear. I’ll?—”

No more words leave his lips as Vernimer grabs Brooks’s head and twists it all the way around. He’s dead before his body hits the ground.

A harsh breath leave my lips as I meet the mutilated body and lifeless eyes of the man that’s tormented me for three years, forcing me to work on the streets against mywill. Even though he doesn’t deserve any tears, a soft sob bubbles out of me.

It’s not for Brooks. It’s for my missing years, years I’ll never get back. It’s for all the shit I went through. It’s for all the lives he ruined.

He’s no more, and we can live happily and free of his bullshit.

Five of us work—worked—for Brooks. I won’t be taking any money since Vernimer said he will take care of me, so that leaves twenty-five grand for each person. More than enough for them to get on their feet.

Wiping my eyes, I look at Vernimer. “Come on. Let’s go free the others.”

Vernimer teleports us to the place I’ve called home for the past three years. It’s a fucking dump, a three-bedroom house that can barely contain six grown-ass people without us living on top of one another.

Shaking my head, I pull Vernimer inside. Tara is on the couch, her legs pulled to her chest. When she sees me, she leaps off the couch and throws herself into my arms. “I thought something happened to you.” Her words are muffled against my jacket. “Brooks wouldn’t tell me anything. He got pissed when I kept asking him and…” She lifts her head, and I get a good look at her black eye. Fucking asshole.

Smiling sadly at her, I pat her hair to arrange it in place. “He’s gone now, Tara. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“What do you mean?” she asks, her voice full of hope. “He’s not coming back?”

“Never. Come on, I’m going to get you out of here.”

I pull her along, Vernimer following closely behind us. Tara looks over her shoulder at him with a question on her face. “Who is he?”

Smiling back at him, I answer her honestly. “My mate.”

Tara gives me a puzzled look but doesn’t ask anything more.

When I get to Brooks’s room, my hands shake, but I swallow my fear and push the door open. It’s been close to two years since I’ve been in here, not since I started to sleep with other men for money.

I make my way to the closet and use the step stool that’s beside the door. I find the hole Brooks spoke of and rummage around inside until I feel the material of the sack under my palms.

It takes a few tries, but I manage to pull it free. Going over to Brooks’s bed, I dump the money on the mattress and gape at all Brooks was hiding from us. Hell, he could have taken this much money and run. Sure, we would have struggled a little, but we would have been free. Brooks was fucking greedy.

Quickly, I separate all the money into four equal piles. I gather one stack and push it into Tara’s hands. Then I deliver the other piles to the occupants in the house. They all ask what’s going on and where Brooks is. I don’t answer, just tell them to take the money and go. They don’t need to be told twice. Even in this cold weather, being away from this house is preferable.

Tara, Vernimer, and I take an Uber to the airport after she packs her meager belongings. Like the rest of us, she doesn’t have much.

When we get to the airport, Vernimer goes inside and buys Tara an airline ticket. Tara and I stand on the sidewalk, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” she says. She repeats this often, her warm breath growing cold as soon as it hits the air.

“I’m just glad I was able to get you out of the life.” I pull away, holding my hand against her cheek. “Will you be okay?”

She nods, tucking her hands into the pockets of the thin jacket she has on. “Yeah. My sister will be shocked to see me, but she’ll take me in. She lives in Florida, so I won’t have to deal with any of this shit.” She waves her hands at the snow, and we both chuckle. “I’m going to miss you.”

Tara collapses into my arms again, sobbing hard. I kiss the top of her head.

“We’ll keep in touch,” I say. “I promise.”

Vernimer steps up to us, and when Tara pulls away, he hands her the ticket. “Your flight leaves in two hours. Safe travels.”

Tara smiles up at my mate. “Thank you. Take care of him, yeah? He’s special.”

Vernimer smiles down at me, holding me close to his side. “He is.”

Tara gives me one last look and hurries inside the airport.

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