Page 25 of Scarred Bride

First I need to figure out what Patrick has planned for me. Then I’ll form a plan to get away on my own. If one of my loser neighbors in the building where I live hasn’t already broken into my apartment and found my small stash of cash stuffed inside an old sneaker, I’ll have enough for bus fare.

I’ll buy whatever ticket I can afford and get as far away from Detroit—and the Stepanovs—as I can. Then I’ll find a job scrubbing toilets if need be. I’ll have to go south if I’m sleeping on the streets, though. The northern climate in winter is too rough on the homeless.

“You’re thinking pretty damn loud again, Serenity.” Heath’s words cut through the silence. I focus on the road and find we’re on the outskirts of the city. I’ve been lost in my thoughts for so long that miles have flown by.

So has my time with Heath. The realization is a sharp sting to my heart but one that I’ve endured before. I survived then, and I’ll survive this time.

I turn my head to the side window and ignore his comment about me thinking too loud. I drop back into my own quiet despair.

Soon after that, Heath pulls up in front of an old vacant office building. Judging by the slummy look of it, the Connollys use this spot for some of their business transactions. When I see a blond man climb out of a car, I knowI’mthe transaction.

Heath looks at me as Patrick approaches the driver’s window. “You go with Patrick. He’ll take care of you. Okay?”

I nod and find the energy to offer him a bright smile that has nothing to do with the feelings inside me. It’s a ray of artificial sun. A fluorescent beam of light.

Another man gets out of Patrick’s car. When I see Heath’s brothers, a bittersweet nostalgia rises up inside me. I love this trio beyond words. It defies logic, time and space. But I can’t ever escape the hold these men have on me.

Heath crushes my fingers in his palm. “Let’s go.”

We climb out, and I enfold my fingers in my fist to trap in the warmth of that final touch.

Patrick and Linc both stare at me as if seeing a ghost of one of their victims. When Heath walks over to me, I’m not ready for what he does next.

He wraps his arms around me. His mouth crashes over mine. Head slanting, tongue sinking deep. I moan at the last kiss I’ll ever receive from this man I adore.

He plunders me, the kiss turning from hot to smoldering right there in front of his family.

Just as suddenly, he pulls away and lets me go. Blue eyes blaze down into mine. “Patrick will take you to your apartment first.”

Shock ripples through me that my request has been granted with so little argument. I hardly pushed back, and this beautiful man crumbled to my wishes.

I have no idea how to take the turn of events. He turns and walks off toward the other vehicle. Linc falls into step with him. They climb into the car and drive off, leaving me and Patrick alone.

Back in the truck, I give Patrick directions to my apartment. After we arrive, he shakes his head at how downtrodden it all looks. After spending days in the cabin, this place looks like a broken-down slum.

But it’s my broken-down slum.

I lead the way inside with Patrick right on my heels, palming his weapon every step of the way up three flights of stairs.

“Gimme the key.” He holds out a hand for it.

“I don’t have one. I crawled out the window onto the fire escape to escape. But I know a way in.” I sweep out a hand to push Patrick aside. Then I turn the handle and push the door inward.

I knew Nathan wouldn’t lock up.

Patrick jumps in front of me as if guarding me from the empty apartment. “Jesus Christ, Serenity. You live here?”

“It’s not great, but it’s a roof over my head and I can afford it.”

“Whatever you’re payin’, it’s too much. I’m surprised Stepanov didn’t try to get at you before now. That door is worthless.”

“Pretty much,” I say as I head straight to the corner of the one-room place. The twin mattress on the floor was here when I moved in. A can of Lysol spray gave me enough peace of mind to fall asleep and not worry about bedbugs or lice. A few quilts I found in a thrift shop that I tacked to the wall act as a curtain for privacy. Early on, I discovered the neighbor across the alleyway liked looking in at me.

I grab my backpack and toss in the contents of a clothes basket—everything I own. Then I walk into the bathroom and get a few other things I don’t want to leave behind.

Finally, I head to the kitchen, which consists of two cupboards, a sink and a hotplate. But I reach for the small potted cactus on the windowsill and cradle it in my arm.

Patrick’s blond brows shoot up exactly like Heath’s. “What the fuck is that?”

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