Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Unstoppable.
“Where?” I ask, staring out into the dark night.
“With that prick who took you.”
Oh.
That.
I shrug, lightly. “He was cruel, unforgiving, and mean. But, he did keep us fed and secured. Coming from the life I came from, it wasn’t that bad. I guess, at the very least, I had a warm bed to sleep in every night and food in my stomach.”
“Why didn’t you run?”
“Where would I have run to?” I say with a broken smile. “I had nobody, Bohdi. No family. No friends. Nothing. Dax got me off the streets and sold me to a place that wasn’t any worse than the one I had come from. If anything, it was better. If I did what Bryant wanted, he left me alone. He fed us drugs, kept us content ...”
“He’s a fuckin’ monster.”
“Yeah, he is. But sometimes it’s better the monster you know ...”
“What happened to your family, Merleigh?”
“My dad was never in the picture. My mom and sister died in a car accident when I was only two. I don’t remember them. I didn’t have any family so I was placed into foster care. I’m sure you can imagine what the system is like, it’s hard and people are cruel. At sixteen, I moved out with my boyfriend at the time. He got me onto drugs, and I was messed up in a bad way. I was a junkie, living on the streets because he got us kicked out of the place we were living in and, honestly, I was a mess. That’s where Dax found me and took me in, promising this amazing life ...”
“And then he sold you.”
“Yeah, he sold me. To Bryant Luther. He was only young, god, when I first met him I thought for sure he was going to be incredible. He showed me this house and all these nice things, and I thought, well, it can’t be any worse than the life I was living. Plus, he was providing us drugs at no cost. At the time, I thought that’s exactly where I wanted to be.”
Bohdi clenches his fists.
“You don’t have to be angry for me, Bohdi. I’m here now. The club got me out and now I’m safe. That’s more than I ever deserved.”
Bohdi turns, his expression sharp when he takes my jaw in his hand and forces my face toward his. My eyes widen, and I gasp. He growls low, his voice so powerful it sense shivers down my spine when he speaks. “Don’t you ever think you deserved a single fuckin’ thing you got. You deserve this life and so much more. Do you understand me?”
I nod, swallowing.
“You’re a fuckin’ angel, Merleigh. You’re here for a reason.”
Oh, my.
My heart races, and I pull my face from his, because if I stare at him a second longer, I’ll want to kiss him and do all the things to him I know I shouldn’t. He’s married. He has a wife, a child, and a step child. He’s got things in his life he has to sort out, and I can’t be the one to get in the way of that.
“I’d never hurt you,” he says, his voice low.
“I know that,” I answer, softly.
“Don’t ever pull away from me like I will.”
I look to him. “Oh, Bohdi. That’s not why I pulled away.”
He goes to answer, but his phone rings. It’s Isla. Exhaling, he takes the call and stands, walking inside.
I fold my legs up on the chair and lean back, yawning. We’ve been out here talking for hours. I don’t even know what time it is but it must be close to early morning. I need some sleep, and I need to stretch out in my bed and try not to think about the little trip we’re taking to try and find Cova tomorrow.
I’m not at all looking forward to that.
Bohdi returns a moment later with his phone in his hand. “I better get home.”
“You’re driving?” I say, narrowing my eyes. “It’s late, Bohdi. You could fall asleep.”
“Isla is losing her shit. I need to go and calm her down, for the boys’ sakes. I’ll call you tomorrow. Keep your leg elevated tonight.”
With that, he disappears down the front stops.
Bohdi always leaves when there is so much more to say.
I wonder if we’ll ever get to finish saying it?
8
THEN – BOHDI
19 YEARS OLD
“I’m pregnant.”
The words come out of Isla’s mouth, and I stand, staring at her in horror. I just spent the morning escaping my raging mother and now my girlfriend of nearly two years is telling me she’s pregnant. I couldn’t think of two worse words that she could say right now. That very sentence makes my skin crawl.
I’m working two jobs, I can barely keep a roof over my head, my mother is losing it more and more with every passing day, and now Isla is telling me she’s pregnant. We’ve had a few moments where we haven’t used a condom, but she assured me she’s on the pill. I believed her.