Page 114 of Trip Through Your Wires

I knew what I felt now wasn’t just adoration and loyalty but both. I loved Jenica, with every breath in me, and the need to keep her safe mattered more to me right now than anything. I knew what I had to do and I was prepared to do it. That is what you do for those you love. You do whatever needs to be done, consequences be damned.

Richardson starts to stir, spitting on the ground, before pushing up and leaning his back against the wall. “So, you’re going to make me pay, huh?” He laughs, then spits.

“Tell me…” I rest my forearms on my knees. “Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

Richardson runs a hand over his head slicking his hair back. “Son, you have no idea who you are—”

I cock my fist back and nail him in the throat. He clutches his neck, wheezing. “I could have crushed your windpipe but luckily for you I’ve got incredible restraint. You see I’ve spent my life perfecting it.”

“Pussy,” he grounds out.

I pull my fist back and nail him a second time, this time in the nuts. He howls and grabs his crotch. “What the fuck?”

“What the fuck? What the FUCK?” I seethe. “You thought you could sell my girl to the highest bidder? MY GIRL!”

“She is not your girl. Not anymore. She belongs to—”

I hit him hard a third time, cutting him off. “That girl you’ve been blackmailing…she belongs to me. ME! Not you! But she is not my object. She is my equal. My partner. And she means more to me than anything.”

Richardson spits onto the ground, a mixture of spit and blood. “She’s not worth it. She is a tease, just like her mother.”

I deliver a right hook that sends his head swinging to the left. “Don’t say her mom’s name again. Do you hear me?”

“Or what?” He laughs maniacally. “That girl is a—”

“Ah-ha,” I hold up a finger. “Watch it.”

“Or what? You’re going to kill me? You don’t have it in you.”

“See now that’s the thing,” I grin. “I do. It’s in my DNA. Nature over nurture mother fucker.”

“Very well then,” Richardson spits again. “Let’s turn you both into murderers. Whore,” he says simply. “That girl is a whore, nothing more.”

And that’s all it takes to send his head flying a fourth and final time.

Chapter 25

Jenica

When I hear the rusty hinges of the door creaking, I bury my head in my arms, and pull my knees tighter to my chest. I’m too scared to look, afraid of what it would mean if it’s not Jake.

Richardson is a madman that would do anything to ensure his survival. If it is him, if he is the one that has walked out of that room and not Jake, my life will be over. It won’t matter what he does with me, my heart will be dead.

Footsteps approach, slow and tired, and when they stop, I press against the stone, a chill crawling up my back. “Sparky,” Jake whispers, “it’s me.”

I don’t look up. Too afraid what I’m hearing is not real—a figment, nothing more. But when I hear the soft rustle of fabric, followed by a warm hand on my forearm, I look up.

“Hey,” he smiles at me softly, while tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

I bring both hands to my face and start sobbing. I haven’t cried since the day I learned my dreams of playing ball were over. But my tears taste the same—salty and bitter.

“It’s okay,” he reaches for me and pulls me off the floor. “It’s over.”

He holds me for a moment, face buried in my hair as he holds me protectively against his chest, then starts walking.

With my arms around his neck, make our way down the dark tunnel, and when we reach the end and turn the corner, a warm glow lights up the corridor in front of us. It’s the tunnel from earlier. We were just here. Or were we? How long has it been—minutes? hours? I had no clue.

Striding down the hall, we reach the circular staircase, and when we reach the top, he sticks out his hand and feels along the wall. The panel to the back of the closet opens and he steps through, only we’re not in the club. We’re in what looks like a room.

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