Page 88 of The Catalyst

Nigel charges for Martin, who stands there unmoved, until Nigel is within arm’s reach. Martin reels back his fist and cracks it right in the middle of Nigel’s face.

I almost cringe from the sound of cracking bones.

Nigel falls on his ass, cradling his face from the shock, as Martin calmly shakes out his hand, stretching his fingers. I don’t think anyone has ever gotten the jump on Nigel before.

“You know, I made a promise to Beth not to tell anyone what you did to her after she confessed it to me, but I also told her that I couldn’t promise not to kick your ass either. And,that…that was for her. She’s not your fucking property and she’s not a commodity.”

Then, Martin takes a step forward and kicks Nigel in the stomach hard before looking at me. “Take the trash out when you leave, would you, cousin?” He turns and walks back through the gate, the metal clicking back in place.

I smirk. Well, someone had to do it and I’m glad it wasn’t me.

Wait. No, I did something similar when I found her the way I did.

I shrug before I pull Nigel to his feet and force him back in the car.

Fucking idiot.

CHAPTER 35

BETH

Isit down in the living room, in the same spot where the couch used to be, and lean back against the wall. My heart speeds up as I let my carefully crafted walls fall down and my lip trembles. Now that I’m alone, I can let out what happened instead of bottling it all up. And for the first time since the light left Shawn’s eyes as he died in my arms, tears fall down my face and I fucking cry.

I cry as the heartbreak of Oliver’s betrayal hits me like a bomb, followed in quick succession with another and another. My chest vibrates with the pain as I take the phone out of my pocket. I turned it back on five minutes ago just to look at the messages, but it won’t stop vibrating against my ass.

The second I see “Ollie” as the caller, I throw my phone across the room with a scream of agony close behind the offending device. I’ve been hurt, rejected, dehumanized…but I’ve never felt betrayal this deep or this all-consuming.

He didn’t just hurt me.

He fuckingdestroyedme.

And, he’ll never do it again. I won’t let him. If I never see Oliver Doyle again, it will be too fucking soon.

* * *

I groanas I stare at the blinds, seeing a little light poking through, announcing the start of the day. It would be a wonderful sight if it wasn’t for the pain in my hip and my shoulder from sleeping on the hard floor. Using my duffle bag as a pillow could only do so much.

It’s okay. I’ll adjust.

I have a short list of things I’ll have to get from the Chevron gas station a few streets over, like jugs of water for drinking and bathing and some food. I’ll have to settle for one of those prepackaged danishes before I get on my job hunt.

I pull myself up from the floor and dust my jeans off before grabbing the brush from my bag. I work it through my hair, but stop halfway through when the sound of loud knocking makes me jump.

What the hell?

I swear, if Martin told Nigel where he took me, I will kill him.

I peek through the blinds and see a bunch of vehicles outside the house and three men in different uniforms standing on the porch.

I move to the door and unlock it, pulling it open. “Can I help you?” I ask, beyond confused.

Now that I’m outside, I can see one of them is with the water company and another is with the electric company, but the other I’m still unsure of.

“We’re looking for Bethany Mercer,” the one in the electric company uniform says, looking entirely bored.

“That’s me. How can I help you?”

Suddenly, the water guy and the electric guy both hand me a piece of paper before walking off and my head snaps around in the direction they went.

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