Page 91 of These Rough Waters

Rett’s body jerks as it slices through his right shoulder, and I watch in horror as a puddle of blood starts to bloom beneath my brother.

Maya screams.

“Now I have your attention,” Trevor steps closer, “The next one goes through his skull.”

The man who shot originally keeps the barrel of the gun aimed at Rett.

“We are going to collect Harper,” Trevor continues, “And we are going home. I don’t need to remind you what will happen should you decide to fight me on this, Maya, darling.”

“I don’t think we have met,” I step forward, keeping Maya behind me.

“No, I don’t suppose we have but I assume you’re the one who has been keepingmyMaya serviced.”

“Every fucking night,” I growl, “And every night from here on out too. I will give you five minutes to leave, you don’t want to find out what will happen should you decide to ignore my warning.”

Trevor grins, “I don’t think you understand the severity of this situation, there is one of you, well two but I don’t think your buddy here will be walking anytime soon, and there’s ten of us, twelve if you count the two men I have sent to retrieve my daughter from school.”

Maya cries out at his insinuation. Harper was in trouble, and no one would be there to stop them from taking her.

“Torin,” she pleads, “No, he can’t.”

I glance at my woman, the tears glistening in her eyes, face long gone pale. Trevor simply grins, “Such a lovely little town here,” He says, “Would be such a shame for it to suffer two deaths. I suspect you’re all quite close.”

“Don’t hurt them,” Maya pleads, “And leave Harper.”

He scoffs, “You think I will leave my darling daughter behind?”

“You will,” She says, “Or I don’t come quietly.”

“Maya,” I grab her when she advances towards her ex, not even entertaining her going with him. She turns her green eyes on me, the emotion that was in them before gone and replaced by a steel wall and a blank face. She was closing herself down, preparing herself for a battle she didn’t expect to win.

“Save Harper.” She whispers. “If what you said was true and you love me, save my daughter. Not me.”

“Maya, I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can, I’ll be okay. Take her to Ruthie. I’ll figure the rest out.”

I could feel my own eyes stinging as fear cripples my heart, stuttering in my chest. If I refused to save Harper, she’d never forgive me. But leaving her with him was killing me inside, I could feel that ice that had thawed with her arrival starting to grow back, the mere idea of losing her forcing my body to shut down. I couldn’t do this again.

I couldn’t lose her.

But I already have.

“Save her, Torin,” She begs quietly, “Don’t let them take her.”

“I’m coming for you,” I promise, “I’m not leaving you.”

“Don’t worry about me, Torin,” Her voice sounds different, in a matter of seconds my woman has changed from the warm, fierce woman I had fallen in love with, to an emotionless shell.

She turns her vacant expression to Trevor, shrugging out of the hold I have on her arm.

Her name stutters from my lips on a barely there whisper but she doesn’t turn to me. “Go, Torin.” She says.

I step forward, coming to a stop at Trevor’s side, “You want to run far and fast because I’m coming for you and the shit you did tomygirl, I’m going to pay it back tenfold.”

He turns his cold eyes to me and I get to watch as he realizes I’m not fucking around right now.

“That isn’t a threat, that’s a promise, Trevor, and you harm another hair on her head, I will take off each finger and feed them to you before I kill you, do you understand?”

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