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A few minutes later, the rat poison pellets were mixed with the coffee grounds, and it was ready for Dan to turn on and brew in the morning. I slipped my other arm through the strap of my backpack and glared at him. I prayed that bastard would suffer. I would have to rely on word of mouth to see if he lived or not, but after what he did, I hoped like hell he died.
My nostrils flared as I headed toward the door. I was almost home free when the floor creaked beneath my weight.
“River? Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Dan growled.
Chapter Two
Dan’s callused fingers wrapped around my arm, and I slammed into him with my backpack, using his weight against him. The moment he landed on his butt, I hauled ass out of the trailer. My long legs propelled me forward, my arms falling into an easy rhythm. I’d been born with a body built for long-distance running and had excelled at track in school.
“You bitch! Get back here, River!” Dan yelled.
“Fuck you, asshole!” The cold air nipped at my exposed skin as my tennis shoes smacked the road and little clouds of dirt kicked up behind me. I chanced a look over my shoulder, and to my surprise, Dan was hot on my heels. How that bastard ran while he was wasted was beyond me. I’d anticipated he’d be slow, but I’d obviously miscalculated.
Suddenly grateful for the lights from the other mobile homes, I spotted the trail I loved to walk in the summer. I took a sharp right and started my descent down the steep hill. Hopefully, Dan wasn’t familiar with the path, which would give me much-needed lead time since he’d have to run farther down the road to enter the heavily wooded area.
A yelp escaped me as my foot slid on a rock. I landed on my ass with a thud, but I had too much momentum built up to stop. Digging my heels into the hard ground, I attempted to halt myself before I was launched into the ditch, but it was too late. My body bounced, then rolled to a standstill when I smacked into a tree. The impact had knocked the wind out of me, and I clutched my chest, struggling to breathe.
Dead leaves crunched nearby, alerting me that Dan was gaining ground. I had to move, and fast. Fumbling around in a ditch in the middle of the night wasn’t how this was supposed to have happened, but at least the moon was bright enough to light the path, and I didn’t need to give myself away by using the flashlight.
Swearing under my breath, I gained my footing again and did my best to disappear behind the trees. Once I reached my favorite oak, I grabbed the lowest branch and shimmied up the side of it. I continued to crawl more than halfway up when I finally arrived at my spot. The rough bark cooled my clammy palms as I found my balance and plastered myself against the trunk. I steadied my breathing, grateful for my years of cross-country track in high school. Who knew that it would one day save my life?
“You think you can hide from me, River?” Dan stood near the oak, searching for me on the ground. “I know you’re here. I can smell your fear.” He lifted his nose in the air and sniffed like he was a dog on the hunt and laughed. In a way, he was, and I was the prey.
I tilted my head and peered through the darkness below when the sound of raindrops splattering against the dried-up leaves caught my attention. Plop … plop.
Dan stared at the ground, then up at the inky black sky. He knelt and picked up something I couldn’t see. “Oh, you’re close, all right.” He stood and glanced up, searching.
I jerked back and hoped that he hadn’t spotted me. Dammit. Nausea swirled in my stomach as I tasted blood in the back of my throat. It wasn’t raining. My nose was bleeding again. I cupped my hand beneath my nostrils while I focused on Dan. I doubted he could climb the tree, which is what I’d counted on. But even drunk, the asshole was resourceful.
“Haven’t you figured this out yet, River? I’ll always find you, and you will come home with me.”
I wanted to open my mouth and remind him I was nineteen. I no longer had to live with him, but if I said anything it would give away my location. He already knew I was above him, but he hadn’t spotted exactly where yet.
A low growl broke through my thoughts, and my eyes widened. Leaning over enough to see what was happening below, I stifled my laugh when I discovered our neighbor’s Doberman Pinscher, Killer, advancing on Dan. He hated dogs, but especially Killer because he was trained to do just that. Kill. Good ol’ Logan, who lived a few trailers over from us, was a known meth dealer, so having attack dogs around to warn him of strangers approaching was a necessity. No one messed with Logan, he was pure evil, and I wasn’t stupid enough to poke my nose into his business.
Tension snaked down my neck and traveled between my shoulder blades as Killer began to snarl and bark at Dan. I wanted to encourage that monster to run just so he would understand what it felt like to be hunted, but I needed to let Killer deal with the situation instead. Mentally, I cheered for my neighbor’s dog to shred Dan to pieces. He fucking deserved it. I was sick of the beatings, too. I swear, it seemed like I spent more of my paycheck on makeup to hide the bruises than I did groceries.
Dan backed away and talked to Killer in a soothing tone. It wasn’t working on the dog any more than mine had worked on Dan. Trying to reason with insanity had gotten me nowhere. Killer bared his teeth, and then, with one powerful leap, the Doberman jumped on his chest and knocked him to the ground with a loud thud.
I sucked in a sharp breath as Killer tore into Dan’s throat, muffling his screams. Tears welled in my eyes as the sounds from Dan became garbled, but Killer didn’t stop. I reached above my head and clung to the branch above me. I couldn’t fall, or my fate would be the same.
My heart ached as Killer backed away from Dan’s body. It was one thing to put rat poison in his coffee and hope he died. Another to witness a violent death.
Blood dripped from Killer’s jowls as he licked his snout. Forcing myself to look at the son of a bitch that had hurt me for years, I slapped my palm over my mouth, willing myself not to scream. I cringed as blood ran down his neck. His throat was ripped open, and his eyes stared into nothingness. Dan was gone. Dead. A wave of relief washed over me while a ball of puke lodged itself in my esophagus. I swallowed several times and tried to calm down, but my brain was struggling to process what I’d witnessed seconds ago.
I buried my face in my hands. The man who had beaten and raped me more times than I could count was lying on the ground, his blood soaking the leaves and brush beneath him.
Killer finished cleaning and ridding himself of any evidence, then trotted off as though killing a human being was all in a typical day’s work for him.
A sudden chill traveled through me. I needed to move, or I’d wind up with hypothermia. If I descended the tree too soon, though, I’d end up dead along with Dan. Killer hadn’t made it up the hill yet, which meant that if he heard me, he’d be back in seconds.
I forced myself to take deep, long breaths. The monster below me couldn’t hurt me again. Ever. I allowed the truth to seep into my soul, setting me free from the abuse and danger I’d lived in for years. “No more. It’s over, River,” I whispered out loud, my throat parched.
I trained my focus on Killer until he was up the hill, then I stayed in the tree for another fifteen minutes. At least I could head back to the trailer and wash up without fear of Dan coming for me.
After what felt like an eternity, I left the safety of my hiding place and made my way back to the ground on the other side of Dan. I shivered beneath my worn hoodie and thin shirt. At least I could start moving and warm up.
Carefully, I began to walk home. My achy and weary legs mocked me as I climbed up the hill. A deep voice carried through the night, catching my attention before I reached our dirt road. My mouth gaped open as I spotted Killer, his owner Logan, and two other men in front of my house. Dan’s name reached my ears, and I ducked behind the slope, hoping I’d stayed out of sight.
