Page 130 of Redeemed

“You’re a coward,” he says, the words dripping in disgust.

I scrunch my eyes shut. “No.”

“That’s why you ran from your family. It’s why you betrayed us.”

“Shut up,” I whisper.

“It’s why you’re keeping unnecessary secrets.” He lets out an irritated breath when I shake my head. “It’s why you need me to force you to confront your fears.”

“That’s ridic—”

“And it’s why you can’t kill me. You’re a fucking coward, Haven Ashford.”

“Shut up,” I yell.

I move to hit him again, but he pins my arms to the bed. When I try to kick at him, he traps my legs underneath his.

“Enough,” he snaps.

The anger in his voice has my body involuntarily going rigid. Ice-cold terror slips into my veins. Isaiah used that tone with me, and it almost always meant I was about to turn into his punching bag.

For years, I’ve been saying I can’t go back to Cornerstone—to the abuse and the misery. But with Colton caging me in like this, with my body still stuck in the same perpetual state of panic, maybe Iamback.

Maybe Cornerstone exists in more places than I think it does.

A heart-wrenching sob breaks free, and I turn my head so I don’t have to look into Colton’s eyes anymore. He’s following through on his promise. I’ve never felt more broken than I do right now.

I really, truly thought I’d escaped, but maybe I can’t. Maybe I’m destined to be trapped by monsters for the rest of my life.

Gently, Colton helps me get dressed. I can’t stop sobbing, but I can’t find the motivation to move. Not to cover myself, and not to get away from him. So when he picks me up and carries me upstairs, I let him. And when he sits on the living room couch and places me in his lap, I curl up into him because I have nowhere else to go.

“It’s never going to change,” I manage to say.Cornerstone will haunt me for the rest of my life.

“Shh, shh, shh,” Colton whispers, rocking me back and forth. “It’ll all be worth it. I promise, angel.”

“It’s the same,” I sob. “It’ll always be the same.”

“I got you further than you’ve gotten on your own, didn’t I?”

More tears leak from my eyes. He’s not talking about the same thing I am, but he’s still right. He always is.

But this time, I’m not sure he realizes the true cost of what he just did.

Lucas

ThesecondXanderandI step into the house, we’re hit with the haunting sound of Haven’s sobs.

“What did that motherfucker do?” Xander growls, throwing his backpack to the floor in the mudroom by the garage.

I do the same, following right on his heels as he tears through the house. We find them in the living room. Haven’s sobs echo off the high ceilings, making my hair stand on end.

Colton is sitting on the couch with Haven settled in his lap. She’s wrapped up in a blanket, shaking. This close to Colton, she looks so fucking small.

So fragile.

It sets off a chain reaction inside me. First comes the desires to crush her with my bare hands—to show her how weak she is compared to us and remind her how naively stupid it was to ask us for help. But the protectiveness I can’t seem to shake eclipses it in a split second, so powerful it brings me to an abrupt stop.

I want to protect her.

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