Page 91 of Marked

“What about…” she looks down the hall toward the club while we’re waiting for the elevator.

“Later, little bird. Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten them.”

The door opens, and we step inside.

One step closer to ending her nightmare.

“Mom’s asking to go to lunch again.” I show my phone to Zack.

“That’s fine.” He nods and pats his lap. “Come sit with me for a few minutes. He’s starting to wake up, but let’s give him a minute.”

I climb into his lap and look at his laptop.

Jimmy’s safely tied in the barn. His muscles aren’t awake yet, but Zack bound his head to a board so he could see around him.

I smile when his eyes widen, and fear grips him.

“Are you sure no one will find us out here?” I ask, typing a response to my mother. She’s going to have to be dealt with soon.

I can’t keep hiding from her.

And she’s the last link.

But there’s a decision to make.

“This was Dustin’s place. He used it for his own purposes. Unless someone’s looking for him, no one’s coming out here.” Zack takes my phone from me and scrolls through mymother’s worried texts. “I think she’s scared something’s happened to you,” he says then puts the phone on the arm of the couch.

The farmhouse is a bit dusty, but it’s comfortable. Zack gave Jimmy a stronger dose than he did Vince, so it took longer for it wear off. Instead of sitting in the barn all night, we came inside.

“She’s probably worried she’s been caught.” I snort. “I just…I don’t understand how she could do it. How could sell us to those monsters?”

“I’m not sure she knows, either.” He rubs his hand over my back. There’re four bandages on it from where the flogger cut into me.

I know we had to put on a show for Jimmy to get him to want to play with me in private, but it served a secondary purpose. The pain distracted me from being so close to the man who killed Quinn.

But that distraction’s over.

“If I were ever in that situation, I’d pick me. Let them kill me and save my kids.” Any mother would, I think.

“You would. But then again, I think you’d take out the monsters well before it got to that point.” He kisses my shoulder.

The humidity is thick tonight.

I’ve changed into the tank top and jean shorts Zack packed for me. He thinks of everything. There was a second bag in the car just for me. A second change of clothes, two snack bags of Fritos and cool ranch chips – my favorites.

While he drove us out of the city, he held my hand, lighting brushing his thumb over my knuckles as I curled up in the seat. He left me to my thoughts, just silently watching over me while I worked through the horrible memories.

It’s so much easier to fight off the demons when your protector lies in wait beside you, ready to slay them should you fall short.

But the thing with Zack is, I don’t think I would ever fall short, at least not to him.

To him, I’m perfect.

“You’re everything I never knew a man could be,” I say to him, running my fingers through his thick hair.

He smiles. “And how many men have you known?”

“Only a few. There was a boyfriend in college, but he hated that I went home every weekend to spend time with Mom. Said I was a baby that wouldn’t let go of Mom’s apron strings.” I laugh. “What an old saying, apron strings.”

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