Page 10 of Out to Find Freedom

If only I could remember her number, but they’d wiped my phone clear of everything. At least they hadn’t been smart enough to end the direct debit payments for the bill from my account. Or they just didn’t care enough to look since they had a good supply of money to use.

They’d even deleted my old photos of my father.

A new voice caught my attention, dragging me away from my thoughts, and for that, I was grateful.

“Yo, Warden, where you gonna put this garden shit?”

I peeked out the window and that was when I saw him.

He walked—no, strode—down the side of the house with his tall, muscular body. His biceps were bigger than my thighs, and one strained when he pointed somewhere. Then I heard his deep, rough, almost growly voice, “Put it down over there. Gonna build a shed soon.”

I knew then that the person who’d moved in was the tall, well-built, dark-haired man with a hard gaze.

With a glance behind me to the stairs, I wondered if I called for help, would he come to my rescue?

I could be free from my hellhole, or was it yet another risk I couldn’t take for Harriet’s sake?

All I had to do was open my mouth and shout out.

Looking back outside, my gaze landed on some children running into the backyard. Were those his children? Did he have a wife? A girlfriend? Why did it feel like my stomach bottomed out with that thought?

My door swung open. I flew down to sit on the cot and curled my knees up, my arms around them. I flicked my eyes to the small bathroom in the corner. I should have made a run for it and locked myself in there.

Gloria came down the stairs, her hair a mess and make-up from the night before smeared over her face.

My breath caught at the sight of the blade in her hands.

She hadn’t cut me since that night. Why did she hold it once again?

“Gloria—”

“Shut the fuck up,” she snapped low. She came at me, her blade touched my neck, her hand gripped my hair. She pulled me up and moved me to look out the window. “Know you heard someone moving in. You even think to shout, to call for help, you know what will happen to not only you but your old friend.”

“Y-you won’t get your money,” I told her bravely, if only my voice didn’t shake.

She laughed, not even surprised I knew her play. “I won’t care. You’ll be out of my hair.” The knife dug deeper into my neck. “But you want to get smart. Look out there.” When I didn’t, she shook my head by my hair. “Look. See those kids, the women, the men?” I didn’t reply. She went on. “Yeah, you see them. Then you know if you get any type of attention from any of them, it won’t be you and your friend’s lives lost. It’ll be theirs.” My pulse raced. “You know what Lenny brought home last night? A gun, Emerson. A gun can do a lot more damage than this fucking knife. It can kill a lot more thanoneperson. You do anything, their lives are on your hands like the others. Got me?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

She shoved me forwards, and I landed hard on my knees on the concrete floor. My upper body slumped over the bed. I sucked in a shaky breath, and tears trailed down my cheeks. I listened to her storm away, knowing she knew she had me.

Knew I wouldn’t do anything to risk other people. Especially children.

She’d always said my heart was too soft. She couldn’t understand why I mourned my dad for so long. Even called me weak for it. Only I knew Gloria didn’t have a good bone in her body. She would never understand how much it could crush a person when you lost someone you loved.

I couldn’t let anyone else feel that loss.

No one else would die for me.

No one would know anything.

I would keep my mouth closed.

Stupidly, once more, I found myself praying for a miracle.

Chapter Four

Emerson

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