Page 50 of Hunted Innocence

Lifting my hand to my mouth, I gasp. “Is Brody okay?” I ask as Colette hands me the bottle of water.

As I take a sip, they share a glance with one another, a look that I cannot decipher. My heart begins to race, and I swallow the water with a groan. My throat is raw and tender, no doubt from being choked.

“Brody is okay,” Lucille says before she clears her throat. “He’s okay.”

Clearly, she has something else to say, so instead of pushing her, I wait, and when she does speak again, my heart races and I’m filled with anxiety. But I listen. Mainly because I can’t do anything else. Every ounce of my body doesn’t just ache, it hurts.

“Tell me,” I demand.

“Well, Brody and Grayson kind of got into a physical altercation…” Lucille starts, her words trailing off.

I blink, staring at them in disbelief. I can’t imagine Grayson fighting with anyone. I mean, he’s grumpy and serious, maybe he says things gruffly, but fighting with Brody? Although I can see Brody fighting with anyone, mainly because I’ve seen him in dozens of fights.

“Are they okay?”

Lucille smiles, but it’s Colette who speaks. “Both ended up with black eyes and swollen cheeks, but I don’t think anyone lost any teeth. Brody wanted to take you back to his clubhouse, but Grayson wanted you at his place.”

Hearing that they fought over me in any way makes me feel sad. That feeling washes over me. It’s not something that can just dissipate, either. The last thing I want is for the man I’ve fallen in love with and my only family member to fight.

“I take it Grayson won,” I whisper.

Lucille shrugs her shoulders. “Under protest and only because the other men broke it all up. Brody also promised to be back tomorrow, and every other day to ensure your recovery and safety.”

I can’t deny that it feels good. I know that the circumstances surrounding all of this are heinous, but I have two men who care for me and want to protect me. Hopefully, all of this means that I no longer have to worry about Landon.

There is an ugly slithering snake in the bottom of my belly, and just the idea of Landon no longer being an issue makes that snake shrink. I will have to deal with what he did to me later, but right now, I’m safe. My brother is safe, and so is Grayson, along with the rest of the people in my life.

That is all that matters.

“Your parents, though,” Colette whispers.

“Are dead. Yes, I know. I actually thought they died years ago. That’s what Landon had told me, that they were making drugs and their house exploded.”

I sound mean, unfeeling and uncaring. I know I do, and it’s because I am when it comes to my parents. They created life, me and Brody, and then didn’t just neglect us, but they abused us in so many ways. Then shipped me off to a man to save their own skin.

A man who lived for the torture of me. Reveled in it.

I will never be sorry that my parents are dead. I will also never be sad that I watched it happen. They died the best way possible, consuming the only thing they ever loved. Their bodies riddled with their choice of drug.

Lucille’s eyes widen. She clears her throat and dips her chin, but thankfully doesn’t say she’s sorry, because I wouldn’t accept anyone being sorry about the trash being taken out. I’m glad they’re gone, and now I know for sure that they are. I witnessed it with my own eyes.

“So, what happens now?” I ask, my eyes searching Lucille’s, hers widening before her lips curve up into a grin.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“I’ll get some food delivered,” Colette calls out.

Lucille turns on the television before she climbs onto the bed beside me. She doesn’t say anything, and I’m glad for it. The moment of silence is almost too much, but when she reaches out for me, her fingers wrapping around my hand, tears fill my eyes.

For a moment, the sensation of relief that had flooded me and the blanket of safety vanish, and I’m filled with vulnerability. My body is in pain, and even though I don’t know exactly what Landon did to me, at the same time, I know exactly what he did to me, and that hurts my soul.

Hurts my heart.

I thought I had healed from the trauma I endured with Landon, but his doing it to me all over again ripped me apart emotionally… and judging by how sore and tender I am, physically as well.

“It’s going to be okay,” Lucille breathes as she stares straight ahead at the television. She flexes her fingers around my hand in a supportive move.

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