Page 37 of Hit the Ground
“Oh no. That’s not good.” His voice dropped low, almost gentle. “No more burger for you, but you should finish your drink. It might settle your stomach for the ride home.”
His sincerity made me hesitate. That, and the eyes of the bartender and the other guys sitting at the bar. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a scene.
“Okay. I’ll stay a few more minutes.” I perched on my stool and sipped my soda to be polite.
Much to my relief, James didn’t put his hand on me. He concentrated on eating the rest of his fries and downing his beer while peppering me with a few questions about my life, putting me at ease. He told me a few stories about himself too. If even half were true, he’d lived a wild life. He’d been a rodeo clown, to war, divorced three times, and had patented an invention. I was so entertained, I finished my whole drink and most of my french fries.
The longer I sat there, though, a strange fuzziness began to spread through me. My limbs felt heavier than normal, and I couldn’t quite grasp a single thought. I wasn’t drunk. I knew what that felt like, and it wasn’t this. I was…almost outside my body.
“You’re not looking so great, Alice. I think it’s time to wrap this up and let you get home.” His voice sounded far away, but his face was so close to mine, it blurred. He wrapped his hand around my wrist, his thumb rubbing circles into my skin. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“I… yeah, I…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. My tongue felt thick in my mouth.
He smiled and helped me off my stool. “Come on, babe. Let’s get you home.”
The floor wavered beneath me as he guided me into the cool spring night. The fresh air did nothing to clear the fogginess of my thoughts. I tried to focus on the gravel crunching under his boots, on the smell of diesel, the faint scent of alcohol drifting out of the bar—anything to keep me grounded so I didn’t float away.
James’s grip on my waist was firm and possessive as he led me through the parking lot. We kept walking and walking. Iswore I’d asked him where he was taking me, but since he didn’t answer, maybe I was wrong and had asked it in my head.
My vision swam, bright lights from the bar flickering like distant stars. I tried to pull away, but my feet didn’t obey, sliding clumsily on the gravel. Even if he let me go, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand on my own.
“Where…my car…” I couldn’t get my thoughts and my tongue to match up.
James chuckled under his breath. “Don’t worry, Alice. I’ve got you. I’m going to take good care of you.”
Panic ignited in my gut, then flickered and died as quickly as it had sparked. “No…my car…”
He steered me sharply to the side, between two big trucks parked near the back of the lot. The shadows swallowed us, and his fingers dug into my waist.
“That hurts,” I whispered, but my plea came out as little more than a sigh.
He pressed me back against the side of one of the trucks, the metal cold through my thin blouse. His hand fisted in my hair, pulling my head back, straining my neck.
“You’re going to be coming home with me,” he said, his voice low and rough, his breath hot against my cheek. “I’ve been nice all night. It’s time you returned the favor, little bookworm.”
His other hand went up under my shirt, gripping my side hard enough to bruise. I tried to push him away, but my arms were useless, flopping against his chest and falling down to dangle at my sides.
“Please don’t…” Tears burned hot behind my lids. My knees buckled, and I slumped forward into him. He shoved me upright, the back of my head hitting the truck door with a dullthunk. Stars burst in my vision, nausea rolling through me.
“This doesn’t have to be hard, Alice. We can have fun together, sweet thing,” he murmured.
I tried to tell him no, to shove him away, but he shook my shoulders so hard, my teeth clacked together. The ground tilted, the gravel beneath my shoes shifting sideways.
He jerked me forward again, trying to drag me away from the truck, but my foot caught on the tire. I stumbled, my ankle rolling, and went down hard. My elbow hit first, a sharp shock of pain shooting up my arm, then the side of my head cracked against the gravel.
For a moment, the world spun in blurry circles. James’s face loomed above me…the dark sky…the orange glow of the bar sign flickering in the distance…
Then everything went mercifully black.
Chapter Thirteen
Caleb
ThelastplaceIwanted to be at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning was the emergency room. But when one of my hands gashed himself up in the stables, it fell on me to make sure he got taken care of.
At least Jesse was with my grandparents until Shelby picked him up. I didn’t have to worry about him while I sat through Emmett’s stitches, X-rays, and discharge instructions. One of the boys was giving him a ride back to the bunkhouse, leaving me free to hunt for some coffee before heading home.
I was halfway down the hall toward the exit when a scream split the quiet morning.
