Beneath Blackwater River Leslie Wolfe (me reader txt) 📖

She wiped another tear and looked at Kay briefly. “I screw things up sometimes,” she added, sounding guilty, apologetic.

“No one screws up badly enough to deserve this, Nicole,” Kay said firmly. “No human being deserves to be treated like that, no matter what they do.”

The woman stared into the distance, biting on her index fingernail.

“But then it got bad again, and I sent a letter by mail, also to the sheriff,” she continued, her voice fraught with mixed emotions. “He came back wielding that letter a couple of days later, and punished me for destroying his professional reputation. I was, you know… He was right. But I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Before Kay could answer, a car passed by on the road and Nicole jumped out of her skin, rushing to the window to look outside.

“Will you do something for me?” Kay asked. Nicole nodded, her eyes large, her pupils dilated. “Take a seat with me here, on the sofa, close your eyes, and see yourself on that hospital bed, a year ago.” She obeyed, moving slowly, hesitantly. Kay reached for her hand, holding it between hers. “Now, imagine what you would say to the Nicole back then, the one bleeding and hurting, the one who couldn’t breathe because her ribs were broken.”

Her face scrunched and she wailed, letting out a guttural, deep cry that rattled her entire being, ending in heavy sobs. When she quieted down enough to speak, she whispered, her words carried on a shattered breath, “I’d tell her… Hang in there… You’ll survive. You’ll be free one day.”

Kay gave her frozen fingers a squeeze. “Exactly. Are you ready to take control of your life?”

Nicole stared at her, slack-jawed. “I—I can’t… He’ll kill me.”

“Have you ever spoken to the sheriff in person about this?” Kay asked, holding her breath and hoping her supervisor wasn’t among the precinct’s scum.

“I never dared… Herb always drinks with everyone, including the sheriff, and he’s everyone’s best friend. That’s why I contacted the FBI. I didn’t know who else to call.” A wave of sorrow jarred her again. “He’ll kill me if he finds out, and he will, won’t he?”

Kay stood and wrapped her arm around the woman’s thin shoulders. “He’ll find out at some point, but when he does, he’ll have handcuffs on him and won’t be able to do anything about it.”

Wiggling free, Nicole stepped back. “I can’t testify, please don’t make me. He’ll get out in a couple of years, and he’ll come after me. He’ll kill me, I swear he will.”

Kay hesitated. What were her options, really? Without Nicole testifying, there was little she could do. “We could subpoena your hospital records, get testimony from other people who have witnessed the abuse or the marks on your body.” The more she talked, the more Nicole protested, shaking her head and stepping back until she hit the wall. “Or we’ll present him with evidence, and he’ll take a plea. Part of that agreement will be to never speak with you again, never look for you or your child, and never come within a hundred feet of you.” Kay looked at Nicole, wishing she could convey to the woman how personally committed she was to keep her safe. It felt as if she were protecting her mother from her father, all those years ago. It felt vindictive and righteous at the same time. “He’ll take the plea; I promise you that.” She smiled, and saw Nicole’s shoulders relax a little. “He’ll have no choice.”

Another car drove by, and she had the same reaction, rushing to the window, hand at her chest, panting, scared out of her mind. A pizza delivery sedan slowed and stopped at the house across the street.

“Come with me today, Nicole. I’ll take you someplace safe, somewhere he’ll never find you.”

“Where?” she asked. “There’s no such—”

“At my house,” Kay replied. “You can stay there for as long as you need, until we lock him up and you get your life back together again. But we have to leave now.”

Nicole stared at her for a long moment, weighing her options. “He’ll come after me hard,” she whispered, starting to gather a few things. Then she stopped and looked at Kay, her eyes welling up again. “Thank you… No one’s done anything like this for me before.”

A few moments later, they left the house carrying a duffel bag with a few changes of clothes and toiletries, and walked briskly to Kay’s SUV. Then, after a twenty-minute drive, Kay introduced Nicole to Jacob, bringing him up to speed. She swore her brother to secrecy, and assured a frightened and shy Nicole he would die before letting any harm come to her.

23Morning

Four Days Ago

It was light when he finally left.

The sun’s rays pierced through the window, filtered through barren tree branches, sending dancing flickers of light and shadow on the wall as the wind stirred up the woods.

She lay on her side, curled up, still whimpering, shaking, her entire body aching. The cold was settling in the house once again, as she’d come to know it did in his absence, as if him being there was the only way she could have light and heat. As if to teach her to eagerly expect him, to regard him as a caregiver, not as the monster he was.

In the dappled sunlight, the satin sheets shimmered, their fabric exquisite, at odds with the house fallen in disarray, with dust-covered furniture and antiquated fixtures. Kirsten’s eyes lingered on the blood smudges staining the cream-colored sheets, the memory of that moment sending a shudder through her entire being.

He’d promised he’d soon be back, and to soon set her free. She believed the first part, and only hoped the second would be true.

Please, let it be true.

But she wasn’t going to lie there, waiting for him to return. She wasn’t just some piece of property he’d shelved somewhere among other time-forgotten objects, ready for the dust to settle on her until he wanted to toy with her