Wild Card (North Ridge #1)

But I knew we were both trapped. I knew we had to get out, to break free.

I told my mother one day that I knew what was happening. I told her I was going to report him. I told her I knew he was hurting her and I told her what he was doing to me.

It was the hardest thing I’d ever had to say.

But even harder after that was trying to believe I deserved any love at all. Because when I told my mother, she just shook her head and told me I was lying.

She pushed me away. She told me that it wasn’t true, that I was making things up for attention.

She did all this and she wouldn’t even look me in the eye.

It didn’t matter how much I cried and begged and screamed.

She turned her back on me.

And that’s when I knew I didn’t have a soul in the world on my side.

“But you have me,” Shane says after a few moments of silence. He started gripping my hand so hard that eventually he had to let go. Now he’s balling his hands into fists. “You know you have me.”

“I know,” I whisper. “I was just so afraid to tell you. I thought that you’d be disgusted by me. That you’d look at me differently. I couldn’t bear the thought of it.”

“Rachel,” he whispers hoarsely. He tucks my hair behind my ear, gently cupping my face as he stares into my eyes. “I love you. Body and soul. I will never stop loving you. I will never stop being there for you. You’re my whole fucking life, Raven.” He pauses. “Did he try to touch you tonight?”

I nod. “And I stopped being silent. I fought back. And he fought back harder. It’s been years since he’s tried anything with me, maybe he’s been afraid now that I’m older, but I could feel it coming. It’s like the devil himself is sitting outside your room, biding his time.”

He chews on his lip and starts wringing his hands until his knuckles are white. “I’m going to kill him,” he says calmly.

“Shane. You can’t. I told you this in confidence.”

He looks at me, his eyes burning like wildfire. “Your father, the town cop, has been abusing you and your mother for years. I’m going to fucking kill him with my bare fucking hands.”

I’ve never seen that look on Shane’s face before. If I were anyone else, I would be frightened to death. “You can’t. You can’t, okay? No one will believe me. No one. And no one will believe you either. Don’t you know by now that he has this fucking town eating out of his hand?”

“Only because people fear him, not because they like or respect him.”

“And what’s the difference? They’ll still take his side no matter what. The police chief being accused of abuse. Do you really think that will fly? And do you think I’ll escape unscathed? I’ve had to live in shame, I’ve had to will myself to not exist. I’ve done all I could to prevent this, to pretend it isn’t happening. That would put all of it out there for the whole town, the whole province, the whole country to see. And you know it. Do you really want me to go through that?”

“He can’t get away with this,” he says through grinding teeth. He gets to his feet and I’m sure he’s about to put his fist through the wall. “He won’t get away with this. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Shane!” I say sharply enough that Fletcher jumps to his feet, giving us a baleful stare. “Please promise me you won’t do anything. You won’t say anything. Please.”

He leans against the wall, resting his head against it. Every single muscle in his back is tense and ready to go, ready to fight.

“Shane,” I say again, getting up and placing my hand on his shoulder. “Please. I told you because I trust you. I trust you to do the right thing and that’s to keep it to yourself.”

“That’s why you wanted to run away,” he says softly.

“Yes. It wasn’t just this town, it’s him. I’ve been saying it for years, but…”

“But you’ve been waiting for me.”

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

He turns his head and his stark gaze holds me. “I should have listened. I should have run with you. I should have understood what you were saying. I should have dug deeper.”

I swallow, thirsty, my throat beyond dry. A fizzy kind of weakness goes through me, making my knees feel like jelly.

“Hey,” Shane says, immediately reaching out for me and pulling me against him. “How hard did you hit him? Do I need to take you to the hospital?” He runs his hands gently over my forehead.

I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. I’m fine. I…I’ve…I’ve never told a soul. Never told a soul and now I have, and…”

I burst into tears. Tears I’ve spent so long trying to control. I let them flow, soaking Shane’s shirt as he grips me, holding me tight.

“It’s over,” he says to me. “I’ve got you. And I’ll never let you out of my sight. I’ll never let you go. You fly, I fly. I promise.”

And I believe his promise, as I believe all of Shane’s promises.

Because he loves me.

He loves me.

That’s the only true thing I know in this whole world.

I hate to think what would happen if it were ever taken away.

“It’s over,” he says again.

But despite the conviction in his voice, I know it’s not that simple.

It’s not over.

It’s just beginning.





12





Shane





PAST - 20 years old





Rachel is asleep on my couch, and I’ve covered her in a quilt. She’s breathing deeply, her chest rising and falling. There’s a red mark on her forehead where she had to headbutt her father in self defense, but other than that, there’s no sign that anything happened.

And yet I know she’s carrying a million scars underneath her skin. They’re imprinted on her heart, tarnishing her soul. She hides them deep inside so no one will find them. She believes they make her dirty, but I think they make her strong. She’s the strongest woman I know. She’s endured years of abuse at the hands of a monster, a man who has been sworn to protect her, to protect his wife, to protect the citizens of this town.

And I’m going to end that all. I’m going to make sure that he protects no one ever again.

Rachel confided in me tonight with something she’s kept buried and tonight she let it all out, a hand reaching out from the grave, skeletons rolling out of the closet. She’s trusted me with this and I can’t break her trust, even when I know I should. Even when I know I have to.