Chapter 50

CHAPTER 50

“ N othing worth mentioning,” Jill said on a bored sigh.

“And yet, I remember you mentioning that you planned on killing him,” Logan pointed out, watching her closely as she did her best not to react, knowing that he would be able to feel it.

“I have anger issues, Logan,” Jill pointed out with a sad shake of her head, refusing to say or do anything that would force Logan to go after Pierce. She wouldn’t do anything to risk losing him and if that meant keeping her mouth shut so that he stepped back and allowed Gray to make Pierce pay for what he did to him, then she would happily keep the fact that he had a feeding tube rammed down her throat before having her arms broken and shocked her every chance he got to herself.

“I have noticed that,” Logan murmured absently as he searched her gaze. “Why were you so different at the compound?”

“I believe I already answered that question,” Jill said as she pulled her hand free and climbed off his lap, deciding that they’d talked enough for one night.

“Is that why you’re running away?” Logan asked as she grabbed her shoes and made her way into the bedroom.

“I’m not running away,” Jill said, pausing by the bed to pull her shoes on.

“What would you call it?” Logan asked, stumbling into the room as he pulled his shoes on.

“Strategically avoiding a conversation that I’d rather not have,” Jill said as she finished pulling her shoes on and headed for the door.

“Then, tell me about the ID,” Logan said as he caught up with her.

“That would be part of the conversation that I’m trying to avoid having at the moment,” Jill said as she headed down the stairs, hoping like hell that he let it go.

None of it mattered anymore.

“Angel,” Logan said, grabbing her hand when they reached the foyer and-

“How did they find out about me?” Jill asked when he used his hold on her hand to turn her around to face him.

“I don’t know, Angel. We’re still trying to figure that out,” Logan said, releasing her hand so that he could reach up and cup her face in his hands as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. He-

“Let this go, Logan,” she said, closing her eyes as she swallowed hard.

“I can’t,” he admitted.

“Why not?” Jill asked as she reached up and covered his hands with hers.

“Because someone hurt you.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Logan,” Jill said, pushing his hands away as she stepped back out of his reach.

“Is that why your heart feels like it’s breaking?” Logan said as he reached for her again.

“I don’t want to talk about this, Logan,” Jill said, shaking her head as she turned around and-

“Why were you so different at the compound, Angel?” he asked, making her close her eyes as she released a shaky breath.

“Let it go, Logan,” Jill pleaded.

“Why were you so different at the compound, Angel?” he asked more firmly.

She opened her mouth to tell him to drop it again only…

“I heard his voice.”

“It had been more than ten years since I heard it, but I would recognize his voice anywhere,” Jill began as she moved around the foyer, taking in the tools and boxes he’d stacked against the wall.

“I walked into the living room one night and there he was being interviewed on the ten o’clock news,” Jill said, running her fingertips over the ladder he’d leaned against the wall as she made her way around the foyer.

“High School teacher teaches students the importance of conservation,” she said dryly while Logan stood there, watching her move as a wave of sadness washed over him. “That’s all it took,” she said with a sad shake of her head as she ran her fingertips along the wall while she moved. “In a flash, I was five years old again, scared out of my mind and barely hearing a word while Candy alternated between telling me just how lucky I was that Mr. Kitchener liked me so much and telling me everything that she was going to do to me if I didn’t make him happy so that he wouldn’t raise our rent.”

“Jesus Christ…” Logan said hoarsely as he felt her words like a physical blow.

“After he’d inherited the trailer park from his uncle, he decided to introduce himself and brought candy for all the children,” Jill said, shaking her head in wonder as she slowly made her way around the foyer, running her fingertips over the walls and the banister before dropping her hand away and crossing the short distance to the wall to do it all over again. “Candy quickly figured out what kind of man he was and started making sure that I was playing alone outside when he came to collect the rent every Friday.”

“She started calling him instead of the manager to complain about everything from the front door squeaking to the roof leaking and always made sure to step out of the trailer and leave him alone with me while he worked,” Jill explained, still fucking walking while rage slowly took over as his eyesight sharpened and his fangs ripped through his gums.

“It wasn’t long after that that she started dropping me off at his house after school. When she abandoned us a few years later, I thought the visits would stop, but he showed up one day while Madison was at work and let me know that he could only help us if I continued visiting him every day. We had no family and there was no one to help but Mr. Kitchener. I knew that Madison was struggling to take care of us and I didn’t want her to leave, so I kept going.”

“Angel…” Logan said hollowly as she kept moving.

“When I turned ten, he started noticing Joshua and made me a deal. When he came over after school when Madison was at work, he could either start spending time with Joshua or I-”

“Stop,” Logan bit out as he stood there, struggling not to lose his fucking mind.

“You wanted to know,” Jill murmured softly with a careless shrug as she continued making her way around the foyer. “I took option B and he left Joshua alone.”

“You don’t have to do this, Angel,” Logan said, turning his head to watch her move.

“We’re going to finish this,” Jill said, shaking her head as she watched her fingertips glide over the peeling wallpaper. “I didn’t think it could get worse, but then Candy showed back up when I was fifteen and realized all the possibilities. She found men that were willing to give her money, drugs, and anything she wanted and all she had to do was make sure that Madison never found out.”

“Stop,” Logan said hollowly, but she simply ignored him and kept going.

“When I refused to do what Candy wanted, she threatened to hand Joshua over instead and just to make sure that I didn’t tell Madison, she made sure that I knew exactly what would happen if I told her. To make it easier, she started sneaking me water bottles filled with vodka and when that wasn’t enough, she gave me every drug that she could get her hands on.”

“I stopped caring. Stopped trying and just drowned myself in whatever she gave me until I was numb, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough and when I found out that it was finally going to stop when my grandmother decided to take us in, I felt hope for the first time in my life.”

“It was finally over, but Candy had other plans,” Jill said with a humorless chuckle as she kept moving. “She decided to start messing with Madison, taunting her and making her believe that there was still time to save me and I played along, angry at the world, at Madison for not knowing what was happening, and letting me know that nothing was ever going to change. I snapped. I became a bitch, angry at everyone and everything.”

“When Madison found out about the drugs, I thought that was the end of it. Candy kept her distance to protect herself and I was supposed to get a fresh start, but it was too late by then. I couldn’t escape the memories, couldn’t be near a man without feeling my skin crawl, but none of that mattered when Ephraim came into the picture and I knew that Joshua was finally safe.”

“Angel…” Logan managed to get out as intense sadness nearly dropped him to his knees.

“After Candy died and I found out that all those things that go bump in the night were real, I focused on my family, taking care of Chris, helping with Joshua and Marc, and when that wasn’t enough, I started working at the shelter. That all went away when you sent Kale after us,” Jill said, looking up to meet his gaze as her eyes turned silver.

“I’m sorry, Angel,” Logan said hollowly.

Nodding absently, Jill said, “Then, one night, I overheard my father arguing with Madison about which one of them was going to turn me to keep me safe and I realized that they were about to doom me to my own personal hell. When they sent me packing, I started making plans. I got a fake ID and prepared to start over only I never got the chance.”

“Angel, I-”

“I’m thirsty, Mommy,” Caleb mumbled sleepily, forcing Logan to close his mouth as he watched Jill force a warm smile as she made her way over to the little boy waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Grinding his jaw, Logan forced himself to stand there and watch her as she picked Caleb up.

“Now, you know,” Jill said, kissing Caleb’s forehead as she made her way to the kitchen, leaving him standing there, rubbing his hands roughly down his face and-

It was time to go.

New Mexico

“They can’t be this fucking stupid,” Jeremiah said, shaking his head in disgust as he stopped reading the test and simply wrote a large F in the middle of the paper before moving on to the next test.

Two tests later and he needed a drink. Wondering how anyone could be this fucking stupid, Jeremiah tossed the test on the coffee table and made his way into the kitchen. He grabbed a beer and a bag of chips before he headed back to the couch and debated just flunking everyone for the hell of it.

It was tempting, Jeremiah thought, sighing heavily as he dropped down on the couch and-

“For fuck’s sake,” he bit out as he glanced back at the front door only to sigh when they knocked again.

Praying that it wasn’t one of his tenants with another fucking sob story about why they couldn’t pay the rent, Jeremiah placed the beer and chips down and made his way to the front door when they knocked again. “I’m coming,” he bit out, ramming his fingers through his hair as he reached over and opened the front door and stepped onto the porch only to forget how to breathe when shimmering silver eyes met his.

“Oh, my God…” Jeremiah managed to get out on a hoarse whisper as he raised his foot to step back inside when a large hand wrapped around his throat and-

“Invite me in.”