AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I just breathed through it.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Sam suddenly put more effort into his apology, rapidly repeating the words until they became meaningless again. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
“I’m sorry, too.” Mercer pulled Sam’s head back, his fingers pulling out chunks of hair. Subconsciously, mine were doing the same, and that only pissed Mercer off more. All his anger showed in his tight expression, staring down at Sam’s ghostly face.
“Sorry that she’ll suffer from nightmares for the rest of her life. That she won’t be able to smell a fucking lemon without getting assaulted by bad fucking memories. Sorry that she won’t be able to think of her father because when she does, she scratches at her skin because he looks like you in every memory.”
Mercer’s hair was just as wild as Sam’s when he looked at me, sweat dripping from his brow. “Say goodbye to your uncle, Feebee.”
I blinked twice, my dry mouth unable to say anything as my eyes fluttered closed, not wanting to witness another death...even if I wanted this person dead.
“No, wait! You said if I apologized—”
“I lied. No one fucking hurts my girl.”
I heard the keypad hit the floor and then the snap of Uncle Sam’s neck ricocheted through all my bones, my teeth grinding to dust as I prayed with all I had that he wouldn’t haunt me as a ghost, no more than he had as a real-life monster.
His body fell to the floor...
And then, it was over.
A gentle touch landed on my knee, covering the tear of blood. The only tear I had shed for Sam.
“You okay?” Mercer mouthed, his body blocking the image of death from my eyes now that they were open.
I nodded again, taking my time with my breathing. “What are we gonna do about him?”
Mercer reached for the keypad and his fingers whizzed over the letters. “I have connections.”
“Then take me home.”
Chapter 27 –Three Months Later -
Feebee
Soft bristles dipped in the orange-red shade I made by mixing colors. I wiped off the excess paint against the white palette he held for me. Mercer. My Mercer. He sat on a bench next to my chair, a lazy fox making strange noises slumped against his thigh. Trouble, who’d enjoyed tummy rubs and grew bored with the berries at his side, rolled and wriggled for more attention.
A breeze picked up, blowing the pretty red maple so hard that snow fell to the ground, exposing more of the leaves that shared their color with the cold flush on my rosy cheeks.
I blew out an icy breath, taking in the changed scene as my brush dotted the canvas.
“Too cold?” The words came from his jacket speaker, the expensive little gadget immune to weather damage.
I was glad about that.
I still liked that sexy voice best.
I was also glad I wasn’t cold, thanks to him making sure I was snug before bringing me out into the backyard.
The furry boots on my feet and the blanket meeting them at my shins prevented the cold from assaulting my body, even as snowdrops danced from the sky, landing on my nose and Trouble’s as we looked up in harmony.
I thought snow would have been a painful reminder of my mother’s death. But I could feel her presence and joy over the art I was creating. And it changed how I felt as the snow landed on my skin.
“Just right.” My head angled to Mercer, my cheeks round with happiness.
He smiled back. A smile so hot that the snowflake on my nose melted, and my heart burst into flames.
This was my life now.
