Page 96 of Drifter’s Heart

My heart⁠—

No longer works.

I stare down at her and take a step closer.

Brad says nothing.

Another step. And one more before I reach her and sink down at her side. I don’t look at him for permission, as he no longer matters. My hand drifts across her side, not rushing anything, because with Brad’s games, panicking and throwing myself at Sally’s side is the reaction he needs. That’s the sort of energy he feeds off. It takes everything I am not to scream at him. That might still happen. I don’t know yet. First, I do need to know something.

The most terrifying thing.

I slide my hand beneath her hair, as though I’m straightening it. My fingers rest on her skin, where she’s⁠—

Warm. Pulse.

There. Faint, but steady.

“Just a light sedative to keep her quiet. She got very noisy when I sent Mrs. Rand away. It looks like you’re not Cordell’s favorite any longer.” He talks at me like that’s a big deal.

Fuck. You. I try to keep my calm, anything to maintain the status quo, but my hands tremble as I scoop Sally into my arms. Everything inside me shakes, my adrenaline already pumping, as I push hard at my thighs and rise, my heart thrashing in my chest.

Don’t let him see it. Don’t let him see it. If my terror is obvious to him, he’ll tear both of us apart in a second. Staying calm, outwardly, is my only option. I go with my next best option: cold fury. It’s not quite calm, but for a few minutes, it might just do.

“Thank you, Brad, for all the harm you’ve done, and more. You really have proved yourself to be an utter ass over the years.” I nod to him, Sally already heavy, a dead weight in my arms, and walk.

Back the way I came.

“You’ll stop.” Surety coats his voice in arrogance and command.

The brainwashed version of Winnie Hamilton from ten years ago listened. Today, she no longer cares.

Not for you.

I’m in the hallway with its white walls that remind me of the hospital. Sterile and lifeless.

“Winnie, put her down right now. She’s my child.” Desperation charges the air around us, the sort that I felt hours ago and that still roils inside me like a nest of parasites, all bearing little Brad heads.

Nothing you say will make that happen.

The bedrooms doors are closed. I wonder if they are empty, like his heart.

“Don’t you want to know why?”

I know why. It’s power. In some form. The millions in inheritance and gifts that Cordell gives to Sally each birthday. The birthday that’s coming up for her shortly. The two-million-dollar baby.

No, the actual why doesn’t matter.

The foyer. I’m so close.

Three steps.

Sally is so heavy in my arms. Pushing my adrenaline high. I will myself not to run because he’ll chase me.

And then it’s all over.

To the door. My foot right next to it.

His breath spreads its humid tendril over my ear. So close. “Did you think I’d let you go?”