Page 43 of The Fence Between Us

Skye relaxed back into his hold and Rabble rubbed circles over her back until her shaking subsided and she sat back on her heels.

“Get this thing off of me.” She flailed her arms, indicating the back of the wedding dress, her voice rising into a panic. “Get it off, please.”

“Okay, okay.” Rabble sat up, trying to soothe her.

He hadn’t been sure what to expect when he found her, but this wasn’t exactly it. She spun around, and he swore at the multitude of tiny buttons that ran down the back.

Fuck it.

Grasping both sides of the dress, muscles protesting as the fabric sundered, and he tore the dress from her shoulders, shredding it until it lay in pieces around her. Skye scrambled to her feet, shedding the rest of the dress as she went. She hopped out of it and fled to the opposite side of the room. Rabble whipped off his t-shirt, passing it to her cautiously and keeping his movements predictable. He had no idea what she’d been through during her time with Dylan, but being trapped or held against your will affected people in different ways.

Skye looked down at herself as if noticing for the first time that she stood in her bra and panties. “They took my clothes.”

Fisting his t-shirt in her hand, she lifted it to her nose, inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly before slipping the shirt on over her head. His shirt didn’t cover her completely, but it hid the important bits.

“Skye, did he . . .?”

“No. He’s a vile piece of shit. But no.”

Rabble picked up the awful dress and hurled it out the window, watching as the gaudy material caught the wind and slowed just slightly before tumbling to the ground.

Skye sank to the floor as if her legs would no longer hold her. Going to her, he kneeled down, opening his arms to her if she wanted his touch. She burrowed into his embrace like she couldn’t seem to get close enough.

“Skye?” His voice was grave, emotion choking his throat and burning his eyes.

With little hiccupping cries, her shoulders rose and fell intermittently. Then the small motions turned into full-fledged, heart-wrenching sobs, and she buried her face against his neck to muffle her cries. As she fell into him, he absorbed her weight, giving her a safe place to fall apart. He locked his arms around her in a strong, reassuring embrace.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he murmured into her hair. He found himself whispering nonsensical promises and words to console her as her body shook and shuddered.

Did they have time to sit in her room while she broke down? Probably not. Was that going to stop him from giving her every moment she needed to process this? Also, no. Rabble trusted his brothers to handle Dylan and Gayle. He also trusted them to deal with the police when they showed up. For the moment, he was exactly where he needed to be.

“You came for me?” she finally gasped out, her heart showing in every broken word.

“Always.” Rabble kissed her hair and rocked her gently. “Always.”

Chapter 26

Skye

What followed were the longest hours of Skye’s life, including the numerous times her parents made her retake the ACT, trying to improve her already impressive score each time.

When her stepmother came in and demanded her clothes, Skye refused. But Gayle threatened to send Dylan to retrieve them, and Skye shuddered, the thought of that man’s hands and eyes on her body too much to contend with. That she’d ever been with him was enough to make her sick.

She had handed over her leggings and t-shirt, her lip quivering as Gayle forced her into that wedding dress. If given the time and resources, Skye could have come up with a different escape plan. Her descent down the side of the house had started smoothly enough. The knot held, which had been her biggest concern. But when she made it halfway down, her arms and legs burned with strain. Based on the way her muscles pulled and burned, she doubted she’d be able to move much the next day. Thick redbands stood out against her palms from where she had wrapped the fabric tightly around them.

As Skye followed Rabble into the hallway, she held on tightly to his arm so he couldn’t vanish with her hope. She tucked herself close to his back, stepping lightly where he stepped, her muscles quivering with the need to bolt. Skye attuned herself to every twitch Rabble made as he led her slowly down the hall, stopping to listen often and searching the area with practiced eyes.

Rationally, she understood the extra time he took mattered, but that didn’t stop her nerves from thrumming violently. Impatience overrode her, and she stepped from behind Rabble, desperation fueling her movements. She closed the space between her old room and the stairs in record time, her steps light and silent on the cream carpet. Her gaze flew back to where Rabble now stood, only a few inches behind her.

“I know you want to leave, Skye, and I will get you out,” he said with whispered conviction, “but you’ve got to stay with me. I can’t lose you again.”

His voice cracked, breaking through the sound of her hammering heart and settling against her panicked psyche like a temporary balm. She closed her eyes and inhaled Rabble’s scent, ingrained in the threads of his shirt covering her body. Though it did little to hide her lower half, it was more than she had before and ten million times better than that wedding dress. Skye took another breath, then another, until she opened her eyes and nodded, falling back behind Rabble as they slowly descended the stairs.

Rabble stopped at the base of the stairs, his body going taut like a bow string waiting to snap. Voices sounded from nearby, likely from the den where Gayle held court with her subjects. Rabble backed Skye into the wall and crept forward. The urgeto grasp Rabble’s arm and keep him from continuing forward pounded through her.

“Wait,” her whispered plea barely sounded aloud, yet Rabble turned his head slightly toward her, letting her know she had his attention.

“Dylan…” Skye grimaced at his name, tasting the acid of it on her tongue. “He said he’d kill you. He said—”

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