Page 169 of Burn the Wild

It’s like the sun breaking through the clouds. That slow burn of realization. Everything clicks. My new life will cost me my old.

I don’t care. Fame, fortune—they can have it.

I’d rather be with Ford than anywhere else.

I lean in. “Psst. Country Boy.”

Brow furrowed, he glances up from the menu.

“This doesn’t feel right.” I reach across the table to take his calloused hand in mine. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

I smile. “Somewhere more us.”

Ford grins, then he tosses a large tip on the table and we all but run out of the restaurant.

Outside, Ford looks up and down the block. The sun sinks below the horizon. “Lead the way, Birdie.”

I take a step toward a neon lit bar when my phone rings.

I groan. Ford stiffens.

Then I blink.

“It’s Doctor DiFeo.” I answer it. “Hello?”

“Reese?” Doctor DiFeo’s voice sounds over the line. “I’m sorry to call after hours, but I had something that couldn’t wait.”

“Of course.”

“Those pills you brought me on your first session, well, I wanted to confirm it before I said anything, but…they’re not depression meds. They’re sedatives.”

It feels like I’ve been sucker punched. I gasp. “What?”

I’m vaguely aware of Ford. His hand going to my shoulder, his amber eyes worried and searching.

My head spins. “But—But I was taking those for such a long time.”

“I suspect you were drugged, Reese. Without your consent.” Over the line, the flip of papers. “It’s a high dose prescription. I suspect your manager or therapist was slowly upping the dosage when you became resistant to its effects.”

Rage heats me up. That’s why I was always exhausted and never felt like I was getting better. Why, when I arrived here, I felt more awake than I ever did.

Grief and rage consume me.

All this time I wasn’t crazy or broken and it could have been easier? Gavin could have helped me, and he didn’t?

The lengths he’s gone to control me. My IUD, what I wore, my money, my contracts…

At first, I thought it was business, but now it’s terrifying. I ran because I felt that dark hole caving in on me, but what if it was saving me? My doubts and hesitations about Gavin have been right all along.

“I want you to be careful around this man, Reese,” DiFeo instructs, pulling me from my thoughts. “You’re my patient and your safety comes first.”

Oh god. Dizziness swims around me. I brace a hand on the brick building to steady myself.

“I will,” I tell her.

After thanking Dr. DiFeo, I hang up the phone and explain everything to Ford. His eyes widen in understanding, and I watch the realization—the rage—hit him.

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