Page 18 of Insurgent

He smirks. “Yeah, I’m just standing out in the rain changing your tire for the hell of it.”

“What?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing. You’re good here.” He places the old tire and tools in the trunk and shuts it.

“Take care,” he says. I watch as he walks away from me, the rain still falling heavy around us. My mind tells me once again that I’m a fool. My heart’s chasing after the wrong boy. But who on this god-forsaken planet can control that stupid muscle? I climb back into my car and head home.

Chapter Eleven

Bones

One month three days missing

My girl’s done well making sure to give me the ibuprofen every four hours. The swelling in my wrists has gone down, making it easier for my plan to work. I didn’t want to tell Bexley when she asked what we were going to do about our situation because I didn’t want to give her false hope.

I wiggle my hands, wincing when I feel my flesh break once again, but I need the blood for lubricant. With a hard tug and some groan-worthy pain, I slip my wrist free from one zip tie before doing the same with the other. I exhale before breathing in and then I yank my arms outward, breaking the ties that bind my upper arms to the chair.

The moonlight shines in the room, so it has to be the middle of the night. Well after midnight, I’d presume. I can’t see my watch, so there’s no way to tell. My wrists throb and I feel the blood dripping down the front of my palms.

The fire in the stove still burns, keeping us warm, but the stranger didn’t leave much wood, so it’ll be out sooner or later. Luckily, we only had severe snow fall right when we got here. Other than that, it’s been cold, but not below freezing. I look down at Bex sleeping on the floor. I remember hearing rats here the first few nights, but they’ve disappeared, thankfully.

I watch the rise and fall of her back, the sound that slips past her lips when she breathes out. I remember how she used to sleep beside me at the lake house. Always on her stomach with one leg bent. I loved feeling the warmth of her next to me and the way she’d jump a few times before finally dozing off. I’d smell her hair and study her face.

I think about how different my life might be if I would have gotten out all those years ago when I went to Moretti. Maybe she’d be sleeping beside me at the lake house now. Maybe we’d have some kids.

I wonder why she and… I stop myself from thinking that. Their marriage ate me up enough to think about them sharing a child. Her walking around with another man’s baby. Even if it would have been a part ofhim, I can’t handle it. My chest aches for the great man we lost. We had our issues, but I loved him.

I sniff, rolling my neck and moving my arms to allow circulation, and I think about that day when I almost got myself killed because I foolishly thought it was going to be that simple. I was just a kid, only twenty-one and I’d already felt like I lived a lifetime. Now I feel as though I’ve lived several.

Chapter Twelve

Danny

2006

“I want out,” I say, walking into Moretti’s office.

He looks up at me, fresh out of jail, dirt caked on my clothes and blood still on my hands.

Moretti reaches up and grabs a cigar from his box. He twirls it between his thumb and finger.

“Sit down,” he says calmly.

“I don’t want to fucking sit down. I’m done. I came here to tell you that.” I was confident in what I was saying, thinking just because I said it, it would be.

His eyes focus on mine. “I saidsitdown.” His tone was harsher, his face darker, and that’s when I realized this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. What I wanted meant shit.

I narrow my eyes slightly, feeling the stretch in my skin. I look down at the chair I’ve sat in more times than I can count over the last eight years I’ve been working for this man. Reaching out, I grab the thing before reluctantly taking a seat.

He studies me for a moment. My heart pounds, and for the first time I feel how powerful this man really is. “Do you remember the first day you walked in here?” he asks.

I nod.

“And do you remember what you asked of me?”

I feel my brow furrow. “I think I’ve repaid you for that.”

“You do?” he asks, acting surprised. “Okay.” He says those words with a smug look on his face. “Nugget!” he calls out. Nugget walks in moments later. He looks from me to Moretti.

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