Beyond the Past by Carly Fall

Author:Carly Fall [Fall, Carly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Westward Publishing
Published: 2014-12-13T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

After she finally calmed down, Lucas said nothing to the others gathered in the living room, but led Gabby down the hall to his bathroom and ran a hot bath. She kept her arms wrapped lightly around his waist, and he held her as he seethed inside, wanting to shoot, knife, and skin whoever was responsible for her wounds.

Then, he wanted to do it all over again.

When the bathtub filled, he slowly removed her blanket. She didn’t meet his gaze as he helped her undress, and he winced at the sight of the black and blue bruise on her torso. She stepped into the water and slowly lay back, closing her eyes. Silent tears cascaded down her battered face, and he took note of the nasty dark marks on her ribs and collarbone. Rage welled within him as his gaze traveled down the rest of her familiar body, and he wondered what else had been done to her.

“Don’t look at me,” she slurred, slowly turning her back to him and facing the wall.

He didn’t know what to do or what to say, so he shut the toilet lid and sat down, resting his head in his hands. Oh, how he’d failed the one person in life whom he loved, the one person he’d tried so hard to protect.

A few moments later, he heard water sloshing, and he looked at her. She sat up, wrapping her arms around her shins and laying her cheek on her knees. Saying nothing, she stared at him.

“I’m so sorry this happened, Gabby,” he whispered, kneeling by the tub. “Who’s responsible for this? Just tell me, and I promise you I will hunt them down and—”

“Don’t say anything else,” she murmured, and he wondered again if she’d been drugged as he could barely make out her words. “Just don’t. Not now.”

He slowly reached out and took her hand, unable to hold back his tears of rage and hurt while she stared at him, her eyes finally dry.

“Where have you been, Lucas?”

He shut his eyes. He remembered that New Year’s Eve night in the convenience store twelve years ago. He’d made a promise he’d never intended to break, but then again, he’d never thought he’d return home from the call of duty with a threat of death hanging over his head if he ever told anyone what had happened in the jungles of Guatemala. Nor did he ever think he’d have the curse of watching people die. “You need to sleep,” he whispered.

“Did you leave me, Lucas? Or did someone take you, like they did me? How did you get away? Why didn’t you contact me?”

It would be best to talk when she’d be more coherent. “Gabby, let’s get you settled. We have plenty of time to talk tomorrow.”

“Who’s that man in the wheelchair, Joe? How did Garrett find me?”

Her thoughts seemed to be all over the place, reaffirming his suspicion she had been drugged.

“I promise I’ll answer all your questions, Gabby, but not now. You need to rest, honey.

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