Page 1 of Infinitely Mine

Prologue

My breath shuddered through my chest, my lungs dragging in gasps of air as if they couldn’t entirely fill right. Blood pounded in my ears and roared through the canals as my hands shook, still gripping the baseball bat in my hands. Slick crimson fluid coated the wood, staining it bright red.

“Rowen.”

Everything felt surreal, as if I watched from afar, outside of my body, so disconnected from reality that I wasn’t sure if oxygen made its way into my lungs or not. My mind felt fractured, disassociating from the carnage and the man sprawled on the carpet only a few feet from where I stood. I could see the bruise forming on his forehead and the bump swelling from where the bat made contact. I’d hit him. Twice.

“Rowen,”Kate emphasized with a wince as she wrapped an arm around her waist. “Babe. Give me the bat.”

I blinked, slowly moving my head to turn in her direction.

“That’s right. Hand over the bat.”

I released a shaky breath but didn’t move.

“Honey, he can’t hurt me right now.” She groaned as she tried to reach out, and I fell to my knees, releasing the bat as I dropped it next to her side. Her hand fell to her lap, lying limp from a dislocated shoulder. The left side drooped at an awkward angle. It had to hurt like a motherfucker.

A sob escaped, but I felt more building within the cavern of my chest, ready to burst free and tear me apart from the inside out.

“Rowen. Look at me.”

I lifted my head, trembling as I made eye contact with my best friend. “Kate.”

“There you are,” she whispered with a nod. “Good. Listen, I need to call 9-1-1. You can’t be here when the police arrive.”

Shit.

“You’ve got little Jacob to think of. He can’t lose his mama.”

“I know,” I croaked, clutching my bloody, shaking fingers in my lap. “I almost killed him.”

“But you didn’t,” she reminded me, “and if you had, it would have been self-defense.”

Yeah, maybe. Would the police see it that way?

“You’re hurt,” I blubbered, fighting back tears. My eyes stung with the effort.

“But I’m alive. You saved me, Rowen.” She unwrapped her torso, and I grasped the hand that extended toward me, holding it as tightly as I could without causing further pain.

“I’d do it again.”

“I know, babe. That’s why I love you.”

Kate’s boyfriend, Dag, nearly killed her. If I hadn’t arrived when I did and found his hands around her throat, she might not be breathing right now.

I saw the bat leaning against the wall and picked it up, swinging before I could think through what the hell I was doing. I just had to get him off her.

I should have been there sooner, but Jacob wanted to show me one of his drawings, and I couldn’t leave before he finished explaining about it. When I let myself inside Kate’s house, I found her locked in a struggle with Dag. He’d already beat on her long before I arrived.

Even now, I could see her lip swelling and the crusted, dried blood on the corner of her mouth. The bruise on her jawline. One eye was swelling shut and discolored. Both were bloodshot. Dark handprints stood out on the tan skin of her neck, already changing color and darkening the longer she sat and leaned against the wall.

Jesus. Why did abusers always find and prey on the weak?

“You need a doctor,” I sniffled, close to losing my shit.

“I’ll get one, Rowen. Dag is going to go away a long time for this. They have to arrest him this time.” She squeezed my hand and released it. “Go wash up in my bathroom and rinse the blood off, then get to Jacob.”

We heard motorcycles outside, and I froze.

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