Sweet Vengeance Read Online Free Page A

would be devastated.
    "You
can't leave."  Her rescuer's expression was earnest, concerned, but his
words threatened her.
    "What
do you mean, I can't leave?  Am I a hostage or something?"  She'd just
begun to think she could trust him.  She pushed the blanket off and rolled
until her feet hit the floor.  She was pretty good natured until people tried
to force her to do things like Aunt Rita had, and then she fought back.
    The
room tilted and her knees threatened to buckle under her.  She grabbed the
bedpost for support.  Before she could steady herself enough to move, the man
was at her side, putting a strong arm around her, his chest against her back.
    "Come
on.  Sit."  He pulled her down next to him.  "You're in no condition
to go anywhere."
    He
was right.  The spinning room made her nauseous and oh...  The helplessness of
her situation was the last straw.  Her life was a mess.  The floodgates opened
and tears coursed down her face.
    She
didn't fight him when he pulled her tighter into his arms.  There was no
holding back the painful sobs any longer.  Joey was gone.  Her life, her plans
for the future destroyed.  She couldn't go back to her aunt's now and pretend
things were okay.  Nothing was okay.  The police would be looking for her.  The
mob wanted to kill her.  At the moment, it was more than she could handle.
    At
some point, the stranger managed to hand some tissues to her.  Time passed and
her crying slowed and then stopped.  She sucked in a breath to gather herself. 
    "You've
had a bad shock."  He handed her a fresh tissue and then rested his hand
on her forearm.  He seemed to rethink his action and wrapped his arm around her
instead.  "I know how you feel."  His voice was raspy, raw with
emotion.  She lifted her face and met his tortured gaze.  "I've lost
people I loved, too," he said, tucking her head under his chin as though
to avoid her scrutiny.  "It was a long time ago.  Yours—this—it brings it
all back."
    Without
thinking, she slid her arms around his waist, ignoring the tenderness from her
wound.  She couldn't explain why, but she wanted...no, needed to hold him
close.  She would never have guessed the strong man who'd tossed her over his
shoulder like a ragdoll and had fired back against deadly bullets had a heart. 
"It's okay."  She said it, but she didn't believe it.  Nothing would
ever be okay again. 
    He
held her for a few moments more and then pulled away as he stood, his
expression once again composed.  There was no remaining sign of the angst he'd
just shared with her.
    She'd
have to learn to bury her emotions, too. 
    "It's
almost noon," he said, making a point of looking at the bedside clock. 
"You hungry?"
    "Not
really."  Her raging emotions had stolen her appetite.  She wondered if
she'd ever feel like eating again.  She tucked her long bangs behind her ear. 
"What I really want is a shower."  Cold water on her puffy eyes and
lots of hot water coursing down her body.  It wouldn't take away the pain, but
she needed to do something normal. 
    Someone
had washed the obvious blood—hers and Joey's—from her body, but she still felt
the taint from the previous night.  More than anything, she wished she could
change her clothes and burn the white tank top and skirt that still had smudges
of blood on them.  She started to wonder where her jacket had ended up and then
realized it didn't matter.  It was no good with a bullet hole in it.
    "A
shower is a definite possibility."  His gaze traveled from her hands to
the bandage on her arm, and back to her face. 
    She
tried to ignore the jolt she felt every time their eyes connected. 
    "You
can't get your bandages wet, but if you hang on for a second, I think we can
rig something."  He walked out, leaving her alone in the bedroom.
    The
crying had cleared some of the drugs from her system.  The moment he left, the
gears in her brain started to mesh again.  She exhaled and began to study