Page 24 of Hope and Country

My stepbrother threw something against the wall, and the sound of the shattering glass startled me. But I didn’t stir. I would never give him the pleasure to see me alive. No. If I did, he’d jump on me again. And this time he would never stop. Until my last breath left me.

A shiver ran through me.

My heart bled. Would it ever heal?

After seconds, minutes, or hours, I couldn’t tell, Robbie grumbled something and let himself out, the door vibrating as he left me there for dead, not even caring to see if I was still alive.

9

RILEY

“Devon? Is that you?” A fresh wave of acid made it to my mouth, and I swallowed hard to push it back down.

Without thinking further, I closed the gap between us and tipped her chin up with one finger.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, sobs drowning her words.

Bruises covered her cheeks, and her lips and jaw were swollen. She looked nothing like the woman I’d met at that party a year ago. But more like a street fighter.

“Who did that to you? Talk to me.”

My mother wasn’t the only one with the power to sober me up with just a glance or words. Devon had that capability too.

Adrenaline shot through me, and all the remnants of the alcohol marinating my organs disappeared. Poof. All gone.

“I can’t move. It hurts too bad.”

“I’ll call for help, stay still,” I said as I wrapped an arm around her heaving shoulders.

“No. No cops. Please.”

She used the hem of her shirt to dry her soaked face.

“You’re sure? You are pretty banged up. You need medical attention.”

“Please.” She was begging me now. “No cops. No one can know I’m here.”

I ran a hand through my hair, unable to decide what to do.

Devon’s teary eyes locked on mine. I saw the despair in them. The distress. The pain. The fear.

“Fine, I’ll help you in. You can’t stay out here.”

“I did it.” I pivoted my upper body to face her. What was she talking about? No way could she have beaten herself up. That made no sense. “I threw rocks at the lights. I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing me here. In case he— Never mind.”

The lights. I’d forgotten about them.

With newfound energy and a clear mind, I unlocked the front door, turned on the light in the entryway, and went back outside to lift Devon, careful to be gentle. She weighed next to nothing in my arms. Once inside, I settled her on the L-shaped black sofa and switched on a reading lamp in one corner of the living room.

The extent of her injuries looked far worse in the light.

A black eye, dry blood under her nostrils, a scratch on the side of her face, bruises on her cheeks and around her neck—Did someone strangle her? The idea sent cold chills down my back—swollen bottom half of her face, and a rip in her mint-green sweater.

Whoever did that to her was a dead man. If nobody else killed him first, I’d be the one doing the honor.

Rage lashed out from my pores.

My hands clenched at my sides.