Page 9 of Newton

"Get away from the fucking window," Nathan growls, but before Xan can walk a step closer, the sound of glass breaking fills the tiny living room and Xan drops to the ground.

I don't have to look to my left to know that one of my tormentors is dead, but there isn't a rush of freedom filling me, not even with the warmth of his blood now coating my face. Xan has hurt me more times than I can count, but he's not the monster that invades my nightmares.

Beth screams because that's what sane people would do in a time like this, but even the fear escaping her throat doesn't stop the second bullet from being heard when Nathan rushes toward Beth as if he's going to issue her punishment right in front of me.

His yell of pain mingles with Beth's as he falls to the dirty floor, his gun long forgotten, as he wraps his hands around the wound in his knee.

I rush to Beth, dropping down in front of her in an effort to let her know that she's fine, that we're both fine, that somehow against all odds, we're going to make it out of this alive.

"Are you okay?" I ask, trying to get a better look at the injuries on her wrists, from the ropes they've tied her with.

She jerks at my voice, her eyes searching mine only for the briefest of seconds before she speaks.

"Get away from me," she whispers before her voice gains strength. "Get away from me! Someone get her away from me!"

She fights against her restraints as the house comes alive with people coming through the front door. Tears well in my eyes, both from relief that I didn't die today but also from the hatred I see on Beth's face when she looks at me.

Nathan and Xan held her captive, but it's me she's afraid of. Just like Nathan threatened more times than I can count, others are capable of seeing the evil inside of me. He wanted me to accept that dark part of me, and I knew I wasn't far from doing exactly that the day I ran from Ohio a year ago.

Someone rushes to her as I take a step back, my sobs growing uncontrollably. I cover my face with my hands in shame, born from the abuse I've suffered. I'm not supposed to let anyone see my pain. It was something Nathan insisted on. His punishments were not only lessons, but they were also training, a way for me to know what to expect and how to fight that urge not to be a coward.

"You fucking whore! How can you betray your family like this?" Nathan screams from his spot on the floor, ignoring the handful of guys pointing guns at his head while a guy in SWAT gear flips him to his stomach with no care for his injury, in order to put him in handcuffs. "I'll still have my fucking vengeance. No matter where you run, angel, I'll find you."

I know his words to be true, but at least that won't happen today. I don't know where I find the hope that maybe I'll be able to escape him, but it's the only reason I don't run from this house.

"Beth?" I ask, trying again.

I watch as the only woman I would've considered my friend freezes at the sound of my voice.

"Keep her away from me," Beth pleads as she leans in closer to the female Cerberus member.

"Ma'am, please step away from us. A little help over here. Newton?"

"Thank you," Beth says when a man steps in front of me, before urging me out of the house.

Chapter 5

Newton

Even with tears on her face, she watches, standing with me to the side of the porch as police and paramedics extract Nathan Adair from the house, the wheels on the gurney they’ve placed him on getting caught on the threshold.

I don’t know if it’s because she’s brave or what, but I think she’d have less tension in her muscles if the bullet in Adair’s knee was in his head like the one that Xan caught.

“We’ll die together, angel. Just like I always promised," Adair says when he spots Brielle standing on the porch.

He continues to rant and rave about destiny and their futures together. The dossier we got a year ago on Xan spoke of his unstableness, but Nathan Adair was spoken of like he was some sort of undefeatable evil genius.

"You're safe,"I assure her, as they get the gurney off the porch and onto the walkway leading to the ambulance, but she doesn't even turn her eyes to mine.

They stay locked on her stepfather until a police officer climbs into the back of the ambulance and pulls away from the curb.

People line the streets, everyone wanting to know what's going on. It speaks a lot about people's lack of self-preservation when folks hear gunfire and they go toward it rather than running in the other direction.

I want to assure her that he'll never be able to touch her again, but I know better than to make promises I have no power to control.

I try not to focus on the whispers of unkept promises that threaten to take over in my own head.

"Newton, I need you to—"

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