Page 115 of Broken Skulls

Jesse walks in and busies herself, setting my clothes on the counter.

Tank stands to leave, but he stops in the doorway, knocking lightly on the doorjamb. “If you need anything, you call me.”

“I will.”

He nods before walking away.

Jesse helps me out of Jacob’s shirt, tossing it in the trash. She grabs my arm lightly before I step into the shower. “Lexie told me you sent her out to call for help, and you didn’t run with her.”

“I couldn’t leave Jacob. He … well, he was tied up.”

“His dad tied him up?”

My cheeks turn bright pink. “Um, no.”

Her eyebrows jump high on her face. “Oh, oh, crap. You mean he caught you guys in the act? That would explain why the guys found JD naked.”

I tell her the whole story as I shower.

Once I’m dressed, she chucks me under the chin. “I’m proud of you. You saved Jacob’s life.”

“Never surrender,” I remind her.

“Never surrender,” she repeats, smiling at me.

“Besides, he saved my life once, so I kinda owed him.”

She laughs, wrapping her arm around me and guiding me to the bedroom. I expect her to get me settled in and then leave, but she crawls in with me.

“No offense, but I’ll lay on top of the covers,” she jokes.

I smile at her sadly. “I miss him.”

“He’ll snap out of it. He just needs a little time.”

“I hope so.”

My eyes fall closed. I’m suddenly so tired, I can’t keep them open.

Chapter Forty-Five

Jacob

Idon’t know how many days pass before I finally hear her voice. Thank god she’s okay. Lily told me she had a concussion and was ordered to rest. I didn’t say anything in return. What could I say? I’m the one who gave it to her.

They should have had me arrested. It doesn’t matter that I was out of my mind when it happened. I’m a piece of shit. No better than my old man.

“Please talk to me, Jacob,” she begs from the other side of the wall.

I don’t say anything.

“You can’t stay in there forever,” she tries again.

Fuck if I can’t. Animals deserve to be locked away. I hit the woman I love. I’ve never hit a woman in my entire life. I’m so fucking pissed at myself.

She sighs loudly on the other side of the wall. I hear her open the little door. She’s leaving me something.

“I love you,” she says as she closes it.

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