Page 7 of The Promise Of Rain

I saw the exact moment my words registered.

His face darkened like thunder, the ice in his eyes giving way to volcanic rage.

My fingernails dug into the soft skin of my palms as my heart skipped a beat.“He did the same to Baxter.”

I hesitated to give more detail, but I was tired, so tired of carrying the horror of it all on my own.

And at one time, I’d been able to pour out my heart to this man.He was the only one with whom I ever truly let my guard down.

I’d written letters to him for years.

I wish you were here.

Perhaps it was that habit that prompted me to continue.I swallowed my trepidation and carried on, my voice shaking.“But first he tied him to a chair and pressed his cigar into his back over and over and over.”

“Fucking hell,” Deacon muttered, roughly rubbing his hand over his jaw.

Gritting his teeth until the muscle in his jaw popped, he shook his head.“I can’t believe I left—” He cut himself off.

Deacon, please.

God, how I’d prayed for him to come rescue me.

I blinked the flashback away.

I saw you.

“And the whole time that was happening?”I continued softly so no one could possibly overhear.“Baxter threatened his father with death if he laid a hand on me though he could barely speak or even hold his head up.”

“You pressed charges?”he demanded.

I shook my head.“When did you see me?”

“I went looking for you around midnight when you didn’t come home and didn’t answer your phone.”

Deacon, please.

My legs began to shake.

“Was I awake?”I whispered, stricken.

If only he’d come earlier.

If only I’d let him drop me off.

If only I hadn’t gone in the first place.

He shook his head sharply.Fury rolled off him in waves though he continued to study me with suspicious eyes.“Does he still live here?”

Whether he chose to believe me or not, there was a certain amount of peace in telling him the truth.

I saw you.

“I didn’t press charges because Bax nearly killed his father when the shit hit the fan with Maggie.”

“I am going to kill him myself,” he stated, the hinge of his jaw flexing.He stared into space as if the plan unrolled in his head even now.

“He’s dead,” I stated baldly.