Page 34

Chapter 34

April

I don’t realize my knee is bouncing until Ford’s hot palm covers it.

“It’ll be fine. Wade is a good guy, just a bit of a jackass sometimes.” Ford’s lopsided grin doesn’t ease my fears.

But it helps that he’s here with me.

The part I’m most worried about is that he will finally hear everything.

It makes me queasy to think about.

His gray whiskers over his jaw twitch as the muscle below clenches.

I wonder if he’s worried about that part too?

Maybe I should ask him to wait outside.

That makes me even more nauseous.

Ford rolls the truck to a stop in the parking lot in front of the county building and turns it off, but doesn’t get out.

“You alright?” He squeezes my thigh and watches me, his gray eyes pinching at the corners.

Biting the inside of my cheek helps to fight back the tears as I nod. I’m terrified that I have to relive that week of hell.

“I’ll be right there with you.” He hops out to reappear outside of my door, opening it to lift me down from his tall Dodge.

“You don’t have to—”

“I’m not leaving your side unless you tell me to,” he says firmly, threading his fingers into mine.

“Are you sure you want to hear all of it?” I let him guide me over the slick parking lot into the concrete entry where a blowing heater sends my hair flying around my face.

He turns to me and smoothes down a wild lock. “You’re helping me fight my demons, let me stand with you against yours.”

Fuck, he’s gonna make me cry.

“Okay.” I try to straighten my shoulders.

I can do this. This is how I get back at those fuckers.

Make my statement. Be done.

Move on.

I have to.

My guts roll as Ford twists the handle leading into Sheriff Rowland’s office.

A muscular man with shaggy red hair pressed over his head like he just took off his hat sits behind a heavy desk.

“Ford? Thanks for bringing her down.” Sheriff Rowland stands, running his hand over his thick copper colored mustache before gesturing to a chair next to him. “April, if you’d like to have a seat? Ford, you can wait out—”

“Not happening.” Ford doesn’t let go of my hand, but reaches out to drag another bench next to the one Wade pointed to.

Wade looks at me. “Are you sure you want him here? It isn’t protocol.”

“I’m sure.” I’m glad they know each other well enough that I can keep Ford in here.

“Alright.” Wade’s lips thin, but he sits and pulls out a worn binder. “Don’t mind me, I can’t type for shit.” He gives me a lopsided grin, which fades when he glances at Ford.

Ford’s scowl makes me second guess my decision to let him stay.

But as the questions start flowing, that nidge of doubt disappears.

He sits stoic and quiet as I start revealing the details of my capture.

Wade keeps gritting his teeth while he writes, and always manages to keep one eye on Ford.

“So, you said that—” Wade checks his notes. “—Dave told his brother to wear a condom because he got caught before?”

A flash of the leering face that haunts my nightmares flickers through my vision. “Yea, he said he did time before.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Ford whispers, his fingers tightening in mine.

“Well, that might be good news.” Wade slaps the space bar on his keyboard to wake up his computer. “That means he has priors, and would be in the system.”

He toggles the mouse in a wave of clicks. “Val gave us the footage from the bar.” Wade shakes his head. “She really needs better damn cameras. You’d think with the shit that has happened at her place…” His voice fades and he swallows hard before clearing his throat. “Sorry, Ford. It’s true though. My job would be a lot easier if the angle wasn’t on the floor and the quality is worse than the moon landing.”

“We are still waiting on forensics to do a DNA match from all of the—” Wade pauses, then clears his throat. “—bodily fluids left at their shack.

I remember Dave yelling at Doug for leaving the used condoms on the floor.

And the times I soiled myself because they wouldn’t let me go to the bathroom.

The blood.

My fingers rub over the pink scars on my wrists.

Cold sweat dimples on my lip and the icy grip of the terror I felt drags me into its hole.

I wanted to die.

Squeezing Ford’s hand tighter reminds me to be grateful I didn’t.

“So, this is what I found.” Wade flips the screen around to reveal a grainy image.

Bile bubbles into the back of my throat.

“That’s him,” I stammer.

Ford leans over me, his gray eyes squinting as he pours over the still frame.

“Motherfucker,” he whispers.

But then stands so violently his chair topples backwards. “That’s Nicholas David Powell, Wade.” His voice grows louder and his finger stabs towards the monitor. “That piece of shit went to jail for Sarah. What the hell is he doing out?”

Ford’s shaking palm finds my shoulder. “I knew I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance.”

Wade rolls back in his chair and looks up at Ford.

I’ve never seen Ford look this angry. His face is red and mottled, and his other hand is curled into a tight fist that taps against his thigh.

“Easy, Ford. You know I don’t have anything to do with them once they’re behind bars. I just put them there, I can’t keep them there.”

Ford reaches out and grabs Wade by the front of his shirt. “You stopped me from putting him in the ground. And now he’s hurt two—” A pair of his fingers flies up, nearly poking Wade in the eyes. ‘—women I love. Who’s next? Huh?” Ford glares down at Wade.

He loves me.

I fixate on those words. They’re a tiny life raft in this turbulent storm.

To his credit, the sheriff stays calm. “I won’t talk you out of it again, I swear.”

“You better not,” Ford growls, straightening away from Wade. “You and I, we’ve got too many fucking skeletons. I don’t mind adding more.” His chest heaves with deep breaths. “Get a hold of Blue. We’re going to find these maggots.”

He digs his knuckles into his temples, then glances down at me. After a long exhale, he holds out his hand to me. “Come on, Frosty. We’re done.”

“Ford, I still need to finish her statement.” Wade’s chair rolls across the tiled floor, but stops when Ford turns to him.

“No, you don’t. They won’t make it to court.” As furious as he seems, Ford’s touch is gentle when he cups my elbow.

Wade nods. “I hear ya. I’ll see if I can nail down their location.” His jaw clenches under his thick copper whiskers. “And I’ll fill Blue in,” he adds quietly.

I can feel the rage rippling from Ford’s body as he lifts me into his truck.

The fact that one of those monsters had a part in Sarah’s death haunts me.

It could have been me.

An ache forms in my belly, a crippling memory of the pain they caused.

Fear, agony, desperation. Everything I went through could have still ended with an even worse fate.

Ford’s steering wheel squeaks from the vice grip he has on it.

His neck pulses as he drives in silence.

It’s like we’re both locked in our own versions of hell.

Halfway to the ranch, he veers off onto a snowy road, cutting through the drifts before he slams the truck into park and jumps out.

What is he doing?

I’m too numb to ask.

He wades through the ice pack to a thick tree, his roar echoes through the cab as he starts hitting the craggy bark.

Blow after blow lands until I can see blood fly from his knuckles.

Oh God, no.

When I jump out, I sink nearly to my thighs, but push through the crusty snow as if it’s water.

“Ford? Please don’t?” I manage to grab his arm before he lands another strike.

His eyes are red and glassy when he looks at me.

Hollow.

“It’s my fucking fault, April. He hurt you because I didn’t stop him.” His voice is so hoarse it’s almost a whisper.

My palms cup his teary cheeks. “No, it’s not. He did that because he’s an animal.”

He falls to his knees in front of me, his head bowed, and wraps his arms behind my thighs. “He could have killed you.” A shudder runs through Ford’s shoulders as he pulls me so close it knocks his hat off.

Threading my fingers through his hair, all I want to do is hold him.

Letting myself slump, my legs frame his hips to sit on his lap. “I wanted him to,” I admit. “I was in so much pain, I wanted to die.”

Ford’s hands spread over my back to hug me tighter. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Me too. I’d have never found you.” I let my lips press against his brow, hoping he can hear the truth of what I’m saying.

“I hate that you had to go through hell first.” Agony tinges his words. “And I sure as fuck haven’t made it easy for you.” His bloodshot eyes focus on me as he traces my chin with his thumb. “You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, Frosty. The thought of anyone hurting you just rips me apart.”

He tilts my face, and crashes his mouth over mine. Squeezing me so tightly I can barely breathe, he consumes me with his fiery kiss.

My thoughts begin to haze as I get lost in him. He drowns out the memories, makes the terror fade away until it’s only him, and the passion of his touch.

I wish this is all I could ever think about.

Plunging my hands down between us, I find the button of his jeans and pull it open.

“April,” he pants, holding my wrist. “You’re sore.”

“I’m aching for you. I don’t care if it hurts, I need you. Please, make me forget everything else but you.” I manage to lower his zipper while he pauses.

He gasps when I wrap my fingers around his hardening cock and knead the piercings through the thin fabric of his boxers.

“I’m begging. Fuck me so hard I can still feel it in three days. Because then every thought will be of you.” I can feel tears slicking my own cheeks. “I don’t want them to own any piece of me. And right now, they still have the pain that keeps them alive in my head.” I thread my hand into the gap in his underwear, freeing his throbbing hard on to the cold air. “I want to give everything to you, Ford.” My voice chokes from the raw emotion coursing through me.

I know he understands. The metal bars in my grasp are a testament to him chasing his own tortuous path in his pursuit of peace.

“I have you. That’s all I could ever want. You tell me to stop if I get too rough,” he growls.

His silver eyes fall to my mouth before he pulls me to him. Sucking my lower lip between his teeth, he nips me enough to sting as his hand rushes down my side to dive beneath my leggings.

With a cold finger, he pushes into my hot pussy. The shock of it forces a moan out of me, making my nails dig into his scalp.

His whiskers burn down my jaw as he nibbles and bites his way to my ear, then follows the arch of my throat.

All while he pumps his hand into me, rubbing my sensitive clit with the rough calluses of his palm.

In a single movement, he lifts me and stands, spinning me to face the splintered bark of the tree.

Tugging down my pants, he knees my legs wider before the heat of his body presses me from behind.

His hot breath tickles against me as his lips find the shell of my ear. “I’ve been hard since this morning in the shower,” he grunts, rubbing the firm head of his cock along my wet seam. “Making you come is my sole purpose in life. Fast. Slow. Screaming or whimpering. I want them all.” He grips my hips, sinking himself into me in a single movement.

Those little steel balls roll across that spot in a delicious staccato, instantly driving a cry from my lips.

He doesn’t wait, but pulls back and rams into me again.

“Yes,” I hiss with another thrust.

He’s pummeling me from the inside, and I crave it.

Every time he moves, it’s like a rapid fire machine gun rattling through my pelvis. I can already feel the tightening in my belly as he pounds me into the pine.

My fingers dig into the craggy fissures, clawing for purchase so I can push back, matching his rhythm to rock my body against his.

All of my nerve endings are ablaze as the first wave of ecstasy explodes through me. My legs nearly give out with the intense quiver running through my thighs.

His arms loop under mine, bracing me against the thick trunk, pinning me with his chest.

“That’s it. Give me more.” His words vibrate into me as his palms wrap over my shoulders to drive himself even deeper.

He’s nearly holding me up, our skin slapping like shotgun blasts with every hammer of his hips.

I can feel another orgasm building, faster than the first.

“Oh God, Ford,” I mewl against the back of my hand. Squeezing my eyes shut, stars burst in my vision as another coil of pressure unleashes, rocketing my body into spasms.

With jerky movements and a low groan, his legs tremble before he launches his burning release deep within me.

We both lean against the stoic tree for support, panting and sweating in the snowy cold of a Montana December.

“April,” he whispers between heavy breaths. “I’m never going to fail you again.” He lets himself slip out, then bends to pull up my snow-soaked leggings.

When I turn around, he’s already buckling his belt and pulling his hat off the ground.

“You haven’t, though.” My knees are still weak, but all of my limbs are light as the air.

“I have. But I swear I’m going to get rid of all of your demons, one way or another.” He holds out his palm for me, leading me back to the truck.

His lips purse watching me wiggle in the seat to get comfortable.

Yep, I’m going to feel this tomorrow.