Dillon-
She was lifeless, she was gone, I knew it. I'd lost her. My world was crashing down again and the darkness was invading me...
Josilyn-
Something awoke within. Something I buried deep after Wade. With all we've survived, can he still love the monster I'm sure I'll become?
Find out what happens in the stunning sequel to Burdened Souls.
Dillon
I couldn’t breathe as my phone powered up and her name flashed on my screen.
I’m sorry. I will always love you. I quickly dialed, but it went straight to her
voicemail. A car was waiting for me as I exited the airport. I handed my bags to
the driver and jumped in the back.
“Where to, sir?” he asked, sliding into the driver’s seat. I gave him the
address.
Panic rose as I called the security company and confirmed that Wade had been
at the house and they had already informed the police.
“Why didn’t you intercept him?” I screamed into the phone. I hung up. I
didn’t have time to listen to their excuses. They would feel my wrath later. I
called a friend on the police force, Xavier. “Xavier, it’s Dillon. Do you have any
information on Wade and Josilyn yet?” I asked, putting him on speaker.
“I am working on it, Dillon. Give me time. I’ll meet you at your house.”
Twenty minutes later, I was on my front porch pacing. Caleb had called into
work and was on the phone with basically everyone he knew trying to spread the
word.
“We’ve tracked the car,” Xavier shouted as he approached the house. “She’s
about an hour away in an abandoned warehouse district.”
“Great, let’s get moving,” I demanded.
“Dillon, I think you should wait here,” Xavier said. “We don’t know his
intentions, and you may not like what you find.”
I walked up and glared into his eyes. “I’m either going with you or on my
own, but I’m going.”
He put his hands up in surrender. “Okay. Get in, but please let us handle this.”
It was the longest hour of my life. I couldn’t imagine the things he was
probably doing to her. “Can we drive any faster?” I growled.
“We are driving as fast as we can in these conditions,” Xavier said with a
growl.
The rain was pouring, and I couldn’t help but feel sadness seeping into me.
Was someone trying to tell me she was already gone? No, I knew better. She was
a fighter. She wouldn’t go easy, which meant we had at least a little time
We finally entered a cluster of buildings, but we had to wait for the dogs to
locate the right one. I paced, waiting to hear from the other officers. On my third
lap around the cars, I could hear the barking, and we all moved. Slowly, we crept
into the building, listening for signs of life.
“You bitch,” we heard being yelled from overhead. My heart stopped in those
three seconds as we breached the door. What was I walking into? Would she be
alive? Could she be dying? I wasn’t ready to give her up yet.
My world slowed as we walked in on the scene. The rain pounded on the
windowpanes that were still intact and flowed through the ones that weren’t. The
dogs Xavier had brought had caught her scent quickly. I was sure he could hear
their barks echoing throughout the building and he knew we were closing in. My
heart raced, and my blood boiled. “I need her to be okay,” I said, looking up into
the sky. If anything happened to her, I knew I would spiral out of control. She
was my light in the darkness. Of course, I knew I deserved the darkness that my
soul held tightly to, but the light she filled me with was so sweet. Xavier held my
arm as we walked into the room. found the bastard holding her seemingly
lifeless body to his side with a knife pressed to her neck. I tried to reign in the
anger bubbling inside me. I wanted him dead and her back in my arms for even
just one more moment. He was surrounded, but the look in his eyes told me he
had no intention of going quietly.
“Mr. Courtney, we are only going to ask once,” the deputy beside me yelled.
“Release her and put your hands up.”
I knew he wouldn’t. He planned to kill her, and I wouldn’t let that happen.
“Fat chance,” Wade called, looking around to all of us. His eyes brimmed with
rage as he looked directly at me.
“You’re him, aren’t you?” he said, moving the knife to point at me.
I didn’t respond.
“How’s it feel to know she never truly loved you? I killed the love in her some
time ago.” He began sliding the knife across her belly. “She’s a dark one, this
one. I’m doing you a favor right now. You’d never be able to satisfy the beast
that lives inside her.”
A deputy to my right called for his attention, and slowly I moved to the side
and into the shadows. I could hear the officers mumble but blocked them out.
She was my only focus. I crept along, my body burning with anger and fear,
something I didn’t like feeling. Flashes of my childhood stopped me for a
moment.
“Do you think you’re so tough because you almost killed someone?” an older
boy said, walking me into a corner. “You’re nothing but a little bitch, and I plan
on showing everyone.”
I blinked, regaining control. It had been a long road, but I had learned to
control my emotions over time, at least until she came in my life. She’d turned
my world upside down, and I wasn’t about to lose her. I stalked around, minding
my footsteps so as to not draw attention to myself. I’d perfected this art. One had
to learn to be invisible or stand above the rest in jail. Thankfully, the deputies
kept him talking, and he never saw me coming. In a flash, I ran up behind him,
slid my hand under his blade, and pulled Josilyn to me. One of the deputies fired,
hitting him in the shoulder. The sounded echoed off the walls.
I pulled her to my chest and held her as I sunk to the floor. The dogs barked
and snapped at Wade lying on the floor close by, but I didn’t care. A breath I
didn’t know I had been holding released as I heard her shallow breaths. My love
was alive and fighting for her life.
“I’m here, Josilyn. Come back to me, love. I need you,” I whispered, kissing
her forehead. I held her tight. I was never going to let her go.
