Page 83 of Splintered Memories
I nodded automatically. His expression darkened as he took in the chains and the cut on my leg. “That bastard,” he growled.
I noticed, then, that he had specks of blood splattered on the side of his face. Before I could ask him what happened, he stood and rushed out the door again. I called after him, terrified that Amos was going to comeback, that he was going to kill us all, but my father returned shortly, holding a ring with silver keys on it.
I gasped as he knelt in front of me again.
“It’s okay, honey,” he murmured, his hands shaking as he tried to unlock my handcuffs with one of the keys. “I’m going to get you out.”
I couldn’t reply as a lump of emotion clogged my throat. I watched as my father fumbled through the keys until he found the one that unlocked my cuffs. I cried in relief as my arms fell.
I was free.
I stared at my father, and for the first time since I was a small kid, I felt something for him other than hate. An ache of fondness for him sunk into my bones, and I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder.
He tensed as I cried. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around me, holding me to him.
“It was Amos,” I gasped.
My father shushed me. “I know,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
I wanted to ask him what happened. I wanted to know how he had gotten here and what happened to my uncle, but a familiar voice cut through my thoughts.
My head snapped up. Standing in the doorway of this tiny room from hell was August.
Fresh tears welled in my eyes as he came to me. My father passed me off to him, and August folded me in his arms, holding me against his chest.
A sob bubbled up from my chest as his scent rushed over me. My fingers curled into his shirt as I clung to him.
“Emersyn,” August breathed in my ear, the relief evident in his voice. “I found you.” He sounded as stunned as I was.
I pulled back from him, just enough to look into his face. He was so tired. His skin was almost as pale as mine. “Amos is the Shadow Stalker,” I told him. I needed him to understand how dangerous he was.
August froze, his eyes widened. “What?”
I nodded. “He’s a monster. We have to get out of here.”
His grip tightened around me. “You’re safe.” His gaze shifted to my father, who was unlocking Jake’s handcuffs, but he looked back at me quickly.
“What happened?” I finally asked. “How did you get here? How did you know where I was?”
August’s lips thinned, then he shook his head. “I’ll explain later. We need to get you out of here.”
He tried to usher me out the door, but I resisted. “Where is Amos?” I had to be sure that he wasn’t going to ambush us and hurt anyone as we tried to leave.
August glanced one more time at my father. He was helping Jake stand up on quaking legs. When August looked back at me, his face hardened. “He’s dead, Emersyn. Your father shot him.”
33
Emersyn
Two Weeks Later
Istoodbeforetheashesof my home.
I hadn’t seen my house since the night of the fire. It was too painful to face the charred bones of the place that had been my peace. I’d avoided it, because even though I knew it was gone, seeing the destruction with my own eyes made it real.
A warm breeze rustled through my unbound hair. I pulled in a deep breath. The scent in the air was nothing but sweet from the giant lilac bush at the corner of my property that had survived the flames.
Footsteps sounded behind me and strong arms circled around my waist, pulling me against a warm, muscled body. I leaned into him, my eyes trained on the remnants of my past life.
