Page 81 of Exposed to Him

Rolling over and up, I knock the gun out of his hand. It goes flying out the back of the van.

“You bitch!” He slaps me in the face and I fall backwards, but not all the way. I lift my foot and kick him right in the dick. He falls down and screams in pain. I then grab his head and slam it into my knee. He groans, falling over. I’ve learned some self-defense moves over the years.

Jared speeds up and his hand comes out to grab me.

“Grab my hand, baby!” he yells through the craziness.

The man who is driving turns the wheel fast, causing us both to lose each other and for Jared to skid off the road. I scream his name, and for some stupid reason I jump out of the van. Myankle snaps as I roll off the cement and down a grassy area off the highway.

I shout out in pain and call Jared’s name, hoping he’s okay. The van screeches to a stop.

“Fuck, I can’t move,” I groan.

So I decide to roll as fast as I can, leaves and branches catching my hair. I make a decision to bury myself in the leaves, trying to stay as still as I can and well hidden.

“I don’t know where the fuck they went!” The two men bicker back and forth while I try to control my breathing.

Two shots are fired and I can’t help it when my body jumps.

“Erica? It’s safe, baby, if you’re out here.” I hear the love of my life and sigh.

“Jared!” I try and yell his name as loud as I can.

I hear him running towards my voice and I sit up. “Over here!” When he sees me I notice a gun in his hand, and the most menacing look I’ve ever seen on his face. This is the man I love. He may be a killer, but I still love him nonetheless.

“You need to come with me back to the bar and stay where we can keep an eye on you. I need you safe, and I promise you when the time comes I’m out. You mean more to me than anything else.” His confession leaves me speechless, and so I just nod as he lifts me up like a child and holds me close.

The ride to the bar is short. Before we go in, he grabs my hand and kisses the back.

“You are my life, baby. Do not run away from me again.” The look in his eyes scare me.

“I don’t want to be here, Jared. I want to go somewhere else. I know Grady doesn’t want me here. What the hell are you guys involved in now?”

“It’s not that; he just wants your loyalty. He needs me to help end this war, and then after I will get the fuck out. You just needto trust me and be patient. If I make Grady the boss I may be able to get the fuck out of this.”

“Don’t you think I’ve been patient enough? Don’t you think I deserve more than this?” I query.

“Of course I fucking do. This is life or death in my world, and I have to make sure we are set up and secure before I get out. The only way out is death, baby.” My lip trembles as he speaks.

“Look, just leave it to me and follow my lead.”

“I was going to leave you,” I whisper, and I see him grind his jaw.

“Are you fucking serious?” His eyes blaze and then he storms away from me. He doesn’t enter the building, he just walks around to the side. He punches the building and that’s when I hobble over to him, because I’m in so much pain. Still I try to grab his hand, but he flinches.

“You were going to just fucking leave?” My body starts to shake with worry. Maybe I went too far and shouldn’t have mentioned that little detail.

“I’m not pregnant, and it’s not like I was going to take your child away from you,” I say.

“I bet you would have, though. You know what? I can’t even look at you right now.” My heart feels like it’s being squeezed to death.

I probably should have just kept my mouth shut.

“Good, because I can’t even look at you either.” I start to move to the bar but have to lean against the wall to steady myself. I feel him move towards me but I push him away. When I make my way in the bar it is in full swing, so I hop as quickly as I can to one of the vacant rooms and slam the door.

I collapse on the floor, leaning my tired body against the door and rubbing my swollen ankle.

A light knock and soft voice echo through the door, and I recognize it as Shannon’s.

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