Page 88 of Hart of Darkness
“It was an accident,” Grace added.
I flicked off my seat belt that was squeezing the breath out of my lungs. “How did you get away from the person who promised you the world? Where did you go during the day when you were staying with Dom and Fi? Why did you go to Dad’s house? Why were you using Mom’s name? Why haven’t you contacted me? Why are you afraid of me? What in the hell is going on, Grace?” I started the first question in a low voice, and from there, my voice ramped up, much like a song reaching its crescendo. I inhaled the air filled with fury, helplessness, shock, pain, and so much more.
Her chin quivered while she looked at her legs. “Dad never touched me like that. He might be a lot of things, but he isn’t a rapist.”
Duke’s hard features loosened.
I didn’t know how I felt yet. Our father still hurt her. Dad was still responsible for Grace’s fate. He’d forced her out of the house. He’d forced her to make decisions she shouldn’t have had to make at sixteen.
“Let’s start again,” I said after taking a deep breath. “When you say he gave you nice things, who is he?”
“Miguel Rivera,” she said with disgust.
I scrubbed my hand down my face. “Come again? The man running the Black Knights?”
Duke sucked in his bottom lip. “Where did he keep you? Did he sell you to someone? How did you get away?” Duke was practically foaming at the mouth.
I couldn’t blame him. My mind was a bit overwhelmed as I slowly processed what was happening in the confines of the car.
Darkness was setting in, and so was the nausea in my stomach. The only reason I didn’t open the door to puke was Maggie. Regardless if I was running late, she was safe. She was in a restaurant full of people. But then something Bruce had said hit me. Maggie was chasing a lead. She’d wanted to go back to that house where Nadine had run from. Then acidic bile rose, quick and hot. If something did happen to Maggie, she didn’t have her phone.
Nothing happened to your girl. She’s fine. She’s waiting for you.The clock on the dashboard blinked 8:10. I wasn’t that late.
“Answer the question,” Duke prodded Grace in a toxic tone.
“I killed my owner,” she said without any remorse, sitting up straighter. “Where Miguel kept me doesn’t matter because he changes places like he changes his underwear. Every day he’s looking at real estate. Every day he’s buying some new house or some new abandoned building. He needs both. He keeps his drugged-up women in a warehouse and then uses the home to have lavish parties or quiet dinners, where he introduces his clients to the girls. I didn’t run to you, Dillon, because I wasn’t ready to face you. And I wasn’t ready for you to look at me the way you’re looking at me now, with revulsion written all over your face.” A tear slid down her cheek.
“Grace.” My voice broke, and my heart hurt. I could tell her how angry, worried, and everything else I’d been feeling for the last four years, but she was there now. She was alive. “I don’t know what you see on my face, but I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. And you probably see a bit of shock. I’m still processing that you killed someone.” I didn’t know what I would do if I’d been in her shoes.
She dashed away a tear. “So am I.” This time, there was a small amount of regret in her voice. “During the day, I searched for Duke. It took me a month to find him. When I did, he told me about your shelter. He told me to stay with you.”
Duke’s eyes were glossy. “I’m not a complete dick,” he said to me.
Grace laid her hand on my leg. “I couldn’t risk Miguel finding me and putting your shelter in jeopardy. Duke’s businesses are different. Still, I was cautious with Duke.”
“And the money I gave you?” Duke asked.
“I used the money to pay Dom for letting me stay. I used it to buy some essentials for living. And I gave some of the money to girls on the streets who need it.”
“Dom said he hadn’t seen you in two weeks. Where have you been?” I asked.
She gave Duke and me a weak smile. “I’ve been hiding. One of Miguel’s men found me, and that’s when I dropped off the radar. I couldn’t lead them to Dom.”
Her hand was still on my leg as though she didn’t want to remove it. So I covered her hand with mine. Four years of tension slowly left my body. “How do you know you weren’t followed to Duke’s tonight, or even the shelter?” I held my breath. I couldn’t let anything happen to the girls at the shelter.
“Because the man Miguel had on my tail got hit by a car, chasing me. He’s not dead if that’s your next question. He was hurt, though.”
I let out a sigh, relieved she hadn’t killed him.
Duke rubbed his temples. “Why not go to the cops?”
Grace removed her hand from my leg. “No way. I would be dead before I even opened my mouth. Miguel has some cops in his back pocket.”
I couldn’t disagree with her. Nadine had been frightened to go to the police. Hell, she hadn’t even talked to the cops, and they’d killed her. But Grace couldn’t keep hiding and running scared.
“And Mom’s name?” I asked.
She picked at something on her jeans. “When I got away, I had to disguise myself. So I cut my hair, changed my name, then used some of the money Duke gave me to get tattoos.”
