Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 50311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
And he stops cold.
“Cambria?” he says, voice cracking around the edges like it’s been rusted with time and disbelief.
I stand too fast, the porch railing catching me as my legs wobble. My whole body is trembling, and I don’t know if it’s from the emotion or the exhaustion, or just the weight of everything I’ve been holding in for too long.
Tears fall again. “I need to tell you why,” I say, voice catching on the first syllable.
He climbs the steps without hesitation, two at a time, and then he’s there—right in front of me. His hands reach out, hesitating for only a heartbeat before he cups my face like I’m something sacred. His thumbs brush my cheeks, chasing the tears as they fall.
His touch is gentle, but his eyes burn. Not with anger. With something worse—concern, grief, something that looks too much like love.
I press my hands to his wrists, holding them there like an anchor. “You need to know why Frankie is coming for me.”
His brow tightens, but he doesn’t interrupt. He nods once. I feel it in his fingertips, his pulse beating steady beneath my grip. I close my eyes. And then I speak the truth I’ve buried so deep it hurts to drag it out.
“I killed his brother, Drew.”
His hands twitch against my skin. He doesn’t pull away. I open my eyes again, and they meet his.
“He was going to rape me.” The words don’t even feel like they’re mine. They sound distant, like they belong to someone else—some other broken girl in some other ruined life.
“It happened fast,” I whisper. “In a blink. He had me cornered, and something in me just reacted. I didn’t think. I grabbed at him. The knife cut through my neck, but somehow I managed to get it away from him. I stabbed him where I could.”
I shake, but his hands stay steady.
“There is so much blood. I didn’t know what to do. I pushed him off me. He wasn’t moving. There was blood shooting out with the knife still stuck in his neck.” The words tumble out as my entire body trembles remembering that night. “I called 911. They came. They took me in. Questioned me. I was shaking so bad I couldn’t even remember what I’d done at first. Couldn’t explain what happened. But eventually, they ruled it self-defense and let me go.”
I pause, my chest tightening. “That’s when Frankie came and got tied to my mom.”
Drew’s eyes are locked on mine. He’s so still. I can’t read him.
“I didn’t even know Mike was Frankie’s brother. Not then,” I say. “I didn’t know until it was too late. Until after my mom… after she was in too deep.”
His hands slide down from my face and wrap around my shoulders, pulling me in just slightly, like he needs to hold me without letting me disappear inside myself.
“He got my mom hooked,” I whisper. “Drugs. Real bad. And when she couldn’t pay… he made her work. Pimped her out. Kept her in the same trailer where he knew I’d see him every day.”
The sob that breaks from me is raw, but I don’t look away.
“He told me he wouldn’t kill me. Said that would be too easy. Said he wanted to make sure he watched me suffer until the end of time. That he’d burn everything I loved to the ground.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek until I taste blood. “I didn’t think he’d follow me out of Arkansas. He had my mom. He made money off her. I lived life struggling. I knew pain and loss. I watched my mother die in front of me even though she was still breathing. He doesn’t see it, but his brother killed my innocence that night too. A part of me died when I took his life and I still wish anything else could have happened.”
Little Foot steps forward, his body pressing against mine as he wraps me in his arms.
I bury my face in his chest and inhale so sharply it’s like I’ve been drowning without realizing it.
“You didn’t deserve that,” he says quietly, his hand running up and down my back. “You didn’t deserve any of it.”
“I left everything,” I choke out. “I took the opportunity you gave me and I ran. I didn’t think Frankie could follow me. How did he find me? I don’t call home. I haven’t talked to my mom, Drew. She could have overdosed being alone in the hotel or a John beat her up. I turned my back on her to save myself. And still I’m going to lose it all.”
Little Foot pulls back just enough to see me. His hands cradle my face again, warm and steady. “You didn’t tell me because you were protecting me.”
I nod, barely. “But it’s here now. He’s here now. I don’t know how, but he found me. And he’s going to make me pay, this time using you and your family.”