Heart of the Mountain by Frankie Love & C.M. Seabrook

Author:Frankie Love & C.M. Seabrook [Love, Frankie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-28T16:00:00+00:00

The next morning a weight has been lifted in the cabin. The rain still drops on the metal roof, but the sun is breaking through the clouds and a stream of light filters through the window. Banjo is at the foot of the bed, and Lily is nestled between James and me, her tiny body swaddled in a pale pink blanket that someone gave her at Wild Ride. Not sure who and I wish I knew. Because it is one of her only possessions.

“What are you thinking?” James asks, tucking a strand of my curly hair behind my ear.

“Lily will never know her mom. It breaks my heart.”

“What happened to her?” he asks softly.

After making love several times last night, we showered. A barrier dropped after we lost our virginity and smiles covered our faces as we stole glances at one another, washing up with soap and warm water, our hands exploring every inch the other had to offer. We dressed in clean t-shirts and underwear, then gave Lily a new bottle and a diaper change. We fell asleep with this angel between us.

“The guy who was in charge of her - the leader of the pack. A man named Clay, he basically owned her.”

James sucks in a deep breath and I wonder what he is thinking right now. Probably that he wishes he knew Clay so he could beat him to the ground. James would do that - anything in his power to protect me from a man like that.

“Anyway, Amy was his property and he didn’t want anyone to touch her. Not even doctors. He had one of the women at the club come in when she went into labor, this girl had gone to nursing school for awhile before dropping out, so she knew more than the rest of us about childbirth ... but she still didn’t know enough.”

I get choked up thinking about Amy, how vulnerable she was. How all the men at Wild Ride had the women under their thumb. We couldn’t go anywhere, couldn’t run, couldn’t get help - we were under their control. Guns have a way of keeping even the strongest person down. And those men had plenty.

“After Lily came into the world, it was clear Amy was losing too much blood. She was weak and pale, hemorrhaging. We begged Clay to call 911, but he refused. He was scared, I saw it in his eyes. He knew Amy wasn’t going to make it and he decided losing her was better than losing the entire community he built. If the police stepped one foot on his compound, he’d be locked up for good.”

“And if anyone spoke out against him, they would be dead and buried, too.”

I nod. “Exactly. Clay was the boss. Is the boss.” My breathing shallows as I consider what he will do to me if he finds me. “I never want to go back there.”

“You won’t,” he tells me. His words last night flood my heart, I love you, and they make me brave, help me tell the rest of this painful story.

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