Page 115 of The Promise Of Rain

An hour later, I bowed my head against the rain and jogged across the slick parking lot, full of plans I couldn’t wait to share with Jenny.

Rain pounded down, leaping off the windshield before the wipers could sweep it away.

I flipped on the defrost, watching my speed even as something inside urged me to go faster.

Driving past Buns and Biscuits at 3:15, I expected to see the lights down and the closed sign flipped but it appeared just as it did when it was open.

I didn’t see Jenny through the window.

That didn’t mean anything.With the rainstorm picking up, I couldn’t see much of anything.

But my heart raced just the same at the minor anomaly

Pulling up to the curb, whipped my door open, and jogged across the street under the roar of the heavy downfall.

I swung the door open and stepped inside.Rain streaming off me, I took a moment to shake off.The door swung shut, muting the sound of the storm.

I was just about to call Jenny’s name when I heard voices coming from the kitchen, one of them a man who sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him.

I frowned, listening hard.Was it a break-in?

Where the fuck was Jenny?

I needed to get to her before calling the Sergeant.

Was she upstairs?

Not knowing if she was safe unlocked the ice-cold beast that slept inside me.I flipped the lock on the outer door and set him free.

“You need to stop calling me.”

Who was she talking to?

“Then stop playing hard-to-get.”

I froze.

“I’m not interested in you.”

She was here.

I began to make my way around the counter, still not recognizing the voice of the man in the kitchen.

Then she screamed.“Deacon!”

Her terrified voice propelling me over the counter and through the kitchen doors.

“When you were with Deacon, you were giving it away for free to Baxter Martin and Miller O’Leary.Everybody knows it.”He sneered.“Even Miller’s wife knows it.”

In less than a second, I took in the whole scene.

Adam fucking Baker had Jenny pinned against the counter, his hands on her upper arms, dragging her up to her toes as he pressed his mouth to her throat.

Her face was red, her eyes screwed tight, as she turned her face as far away from him as she could.“Deacon,” she cried.

I roared like an animal.

Her eyes flew open.Wide and terrified, her fear only doubled when she took in the look on my face.