Page 61 of Beg Me Angel

The officer glanced at his partner, then flicked his eyes back to me. “Sir, we're just trying to—”

Raising my voice, I started to shut the door. “You're on private property, take your shit elsewhere, I told you I don't know anything.”

The officer planted his palm in the center of my door, holding it open. “Look—”

“Pax, who is it? Is everything okay?”

No!

Oh, no, no, no!

My lids expanded, eyes never breaking away from the two officers on my doorstep. The men turned to each other, giving a sideways glance and a heavy nod.

The man in the back slowly placed his hand over the butt of the gun on his hip, drawing it out in one quick snap.

The officer holding the paper dropped it to the ground like it was a burning piece of coal as his shoulder forcefully slammed into the door, breaking it open. “Get on the ground!” he screamed, drawing his weapon and aiming it directly at the center of my face.

Holding my hands up, I tried to speak. “It's not what you—”

I didn't get out another word before the men were on me, grabbing my arms and trying to throw me down.

“I said get on the ground!” His hands found my shoulders as the second officer lunged forward, sweeping my feet out from beneath me.

A hard knee drove down into the middle of my back, stabbing my spine and sending a cascade of pain down through my legs.

Lifting my head off the floor, I stared at my angel, sending her a million wordless apologies. My arms were yanked behind my back as cold steel was clanked shut around my wrists.

The officers were speaking, but I didn't hear a fucking word. All I could do was look at the woman who had come in and saved me, the woman I had given my heart to, the woman. . . The woman I loved for breathing life back into my black soul.

Mouthing to Vera, I formed each letter with perfection. “I'm sorry. It'll be okay, I promise.”

Tears had already stained her cheeks, rolling down one after the other in a cascade of sorrow. Her hands were clenched by her sides as she never took her eyes off of me.

She didn't mouth anything back, she didn't speak or nod to let me know she understood what I had said.

Vera just stood there like a statue, shock and fear filling the weeping holes as the police officers held me in place.

The moment the officers had me lifted to my feet, Vera broke her gaze and looked down at the floor, bending to pick up the paper that had floated to her feet. Holding it in her hands, her quiet sobs turned into heavy wails as she read the missing person flier.

My angel stood there looking more broken than the moment I had found her.

I wanted to tear myself from the hands of these pricks and scoop her up in my arms, hold her tight and soothe her the same way I had when I pulled from the trees. I tried to fight them, I tried to break free and get back to her.

She needed me now more than ever as a wormhole opened up and swallowed us both. This wasn't my forever, this wasn't how it was supposed to end.

And this time, this time I couldn't save her from it.

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