Victory Lane (Shady Falls #1) Read Online Free Page B

him continue. He leaned into me and lowered his face to mine. He didn’t say anything, and his heinous smirk was the only indication that the pain I felt was just the beginning. My stomach roiled as bile rose in my throat. What would he do if I puked on him?
    I tried to separate myself from what was happening. I closed my eyes tight, trying to block out his cold dark eyes and his heinous sneer. I tried to pretend I was somewhere else, safe instead of having my body torn apart.
    When he finally untied me from the headboard, I immediately leapt from the bed and raced to the garbage as bile exploded from my gut. My entire body ached as it heaved and shook. I was hoarse from crying out, my face ached from the tears, my head hurt from being beaten, and my entire being throbbed from his assault. I should have left, I should have gone running from his house, but I didn’t. I fell back his bed, curled into a ball and continued to cry silently. I couldn’t go home, what would my dad think?
    “Next time you won’t fight me, understand? You’ll do exactly why I tell you. You can never give this to another man, it’s mine.”
     
    Toni—almost four years later
    I ran out into the bitter cold mid-January morning to warm my truck and get ready for the day. The welcoming burst of frigid air stole my breath and cleared the last vestiges of last night’s nightmare. I was already on edge when sleep finally took me and that horrible nightmarish memory didn’t help my current mood. Lack of sleep and nervous energy filled my insides, making my blood run cold. I hated remembering what he did to me. I wished I could make the nightmares go away, for good.
    Today was a big day for me. Today would set the rest of my life and my career in motion, or bring it all crashing down around me. The nightmare I had took my excited, anxious energy and turned me into nervous wreck. My hands trembled and my mind turned over and over in the aftermath of my frightening visions. Through the years, the nightmares of my time with Todd had dwindled and were almost manageable. But last night’s was one of the worst. I hated reliving what he did to me. I hated remembering how weak I was, and how I was so naïve that I didn’t get help when I should have. My father has never forgiven himself for not seeing what Todd was doing to me. He still blames himself when in reality it was me. I let it happen; I didn’t ask for help, I didn’t let anyone know how Todd hurt me.
    Sucking in breath after breath, I tried to steel myself for the day to come. I had to have all of my wits in order to make it through the day. I hated going to class after a nightmare. The guys in my class could always tell when I was off. They would try to talk to me about it, but I always shot them down. Their concern was sweet, but unnecessary and unwelcome. I didn’t want them to see how weak I truly was. I didn’t want them to know about the trauma of my past. They would pity me, and pity was something I wasn’t willing to accept.
    I drove quickly through town, knowing if I screwed around too much I would be late. Traffic through Mooresville sucked sometimes, but it was worth it, especially on a day like today. The extra time in the car would allow me to settle my nerves. Today was the first day of classes for my final semester in school and the most important semester of my entire educational career. Today I would find out where my semester internship with an actual race team would place me. Todd destroyed my life once, I wasn’t about to give him power over me again. I had to be ready for whatever they threw at me today. I had the potential to learn from some of the best mechanics in the business and hopefully I’d have the ability to get into an actual pit on race day and see how it all worked first hand. I couldn’t let my past screw up this chance. I had to get a grip.
    Sometimes I couldn’t believe I was finally free to do what I wanted with my life. Thinking back a few years, I