Page 22 of Bound by Desire
Austyn begins to move from the passenger seat of my truck, her eyes flying open. “Where are we going?” she asks inarush.
“Home.”
“You asshole! You told me I could stay with you.” She moves to take her seatbelt off. I’m going about seventy, so if she goes out, she’ll make a fuck of a mess ofherself.
I reach over and grab her arm, tightly holding her in place. “No, I said you could stay last night. Already called Nox, and he’sexpectingus.”
“Fuck, Deke, do you have any idea what you’ve done?” She fights just a bit, then groans, dropping her head onto the back window. I take it as my cue to let go. “I’mfuckingdead.”
“Shoulda thought of that before you hopped in a car with someone you didn’t fuckin’ know. That’s some stupid shit right there, Austyn. Know you’re smarterthanthat.”
She sighs heavy. “Fuck, Deke, you have no idea what you’ve done. You have no idea what’sgoingon.”
“Fuckin’ enlighten me so I know what I’m gettin’ myself into.” Damn, this is a horriblefuckingidea.
“Ilied.”
I slam on the brakes and pull the truck over in a flash, my gaze shooting daggers at her as Iclip, “What?”
She reaches out, putting her hands on the dashboard, bracing herself. “Don’t getpissed.”
“Too fuckin’late.Talk.”
Her eyes fill with something, and she quickly tries to mask it, but it was there—hurt, pain,regret.
“You can’t tell anyone, Deke. I’m confiding in you. I can’t let anyone know why I was inGrayson.”
“Talk!”Ibark.
“Deke,” she snips back. “I mean it. This isseriousshit.”
“Talk. I’lldecide.”
“You’re not gonna let me go unless I tell you …” Her thoughts trail off as if she’s weighing what to tell me. “I didn’t hitchhike. I’m not stupid. I took the Greyhound here, not wanting the tracker in my car to keep tabsonme.”
“Well, at least you have somesense.”
She lets out a huff. “If you’d have been around the last four years, you never would’ve bought the hitchhike thing in the first place.” My anger rises. “I needed to do something, and it couldn’t be in Sumner. Emery told me a while back where you were living, so I planned that something here so I could crash with you for acoupledays.”
“What something? And don’t fucking blow rainbows up my ass,woman.”
A small smirk tips her lips. “We’vemissedyou.”
“Austyn …”Iwarn.
She lifts her chin as she straightens in her seat like she’s gaining her courage. What the fuck is sheupto?
She clears her throat. “Let’s just say, yesterday, when I came to town, I was pregnant. Today,I’mnot.”
Shock hits me in the gut. This scenario wasn’t even on my radar. I feel as if the wind is knocked outofme.
“What?”
Her head whips to me, tears and anger burning in her eyes. “I’m not talking about it anymore, Deke. You got more than I wantedtogive.”
“What aboutyourface?”
Her fists clench. “You should see him. Fucker outside the clinic said I was a murderer. Said I didn’t deserve to breathe. Said I was a whore. He came at me, and I didn’t think he was actually going to hit me, but he did. I fought back, of course, but he got a couplelicksin.”
