Page 112 of Broken Halo
Eli yells at Dustin.
And me, I try to catch my breath as I feel a hand on the back of my head. It slowly slides down my spine, circles my waist, and rolls me. He gathers me up and pulls me into his arms, pressing my face into his neck. “Fuck, baby. It’s over. It’s finally over.”
“Quinn?” I wince, pain shooting through my abdomen as I try to push away to look for her—my cousin, his sister.
He keeps me where I am. “She’s good. Eli’s with her.”
Finally, I breathe.
He puts his lips to my ear. “Picking up where we left off before he ruined our lives the first time. Like the last ten years never happened.”
I’m not certain, but I think no truer words have ever been spoken.
I burrow into him tighter, or as much as I can with the pain.
He presses his lips to the side of my head. “My angel.”
I am. I’ve always been his. I might look different than I ever have, but I’m better.
And I’m not broken anymore.
35
The Other Side of Hell
You can’t fix stolen time. Move on and your happy will be waiting.
Trig
Kipp Montgomery, leaning over and holding his head in his hands, looks like a cocktail of regret, guilt and anger, shaken and served with a twist of tragedy.
I’ve gotten over my own resentment toward him. It was easy—he doesn’t matter. Not to me. My only focus now is Ellie, Griffin, and our future. The man who did everything he could and succeeded in putting a wedge between us so long ago is insignificant. Will I forget? No fucking way. That shit will stick with me until the day I die.
But he’s Ellie’s father. I can’t deny that nor can I hold it against him for trying to protect his family. I get that. And right now, I even feel sorry for him because that guilt is weighing on him heavier than dead weight—specifically, the sheriff’s betrayal.
The man I’ve had to come to terms with shakes his head as Hattie sits huddled next to him, consoling her husband as he contemplates, “How could I not have seen it? Ron had a hand in Silvie’s death. And he called me his friend.”
I’m anxious to get back to Ellie, who was being seen by the doctor for bruised ribs when I left her. If I could kill my fucking father all over again, I would. I cross my arms and look down at Kipp. “He was working with my dad to distribute—he said it himself in front of Ellie and Quinn. My dad said he fought with Silvie first, but Logan helped. It was both of them. Then Logan didn’t run my dad’s DNA when he was arrested ten years ago—which is protocol—because he knew it would match up to the evidence in your sister’s cold case. I guess my dad going to jail for cooking and distributing meth was a consolation prize for not getting pinned for murder.”
“You couldn’t have known, honey,” Hattie consoles him. “He was the sheriff. Why would you think he could be involved in such a mess or capable of that evil? That man broke bread at my table more times than I can count—none of us suspected.”
Kipp sits up and I see it all in his dark eyes—repentance and shame. “Trusted the wrong man, Trig.” He stands and holds out his hand to me for a second time in a matter of days. “Won’t happen again.”
I take it and his apology. “Your niece, my sister, wants to know her family, but go easy on her and her parents. From what I’ve seen, I think the Montgomerys will be a shock to their systems.”
“Are you calling us overbearing?” Hattie asks, but does it with a small smile playing on her plump face.
I narrow my eyes. “Seeing as how you’ll be my mother-in-law as soon as I can swing it, I would never insinuate that.”
“She’s beautiful,” Kipp says. He and Hattie met Quinn earlier, who was being coddled by Aleron and Tommie after the night’s events went down. They took their daughter home after Quinn made sure Ellie was okay. She was the only one Ellie wanted to see other than me. “Besides her eyes, she’s a spittin’ image of Silvie … before we lost her to her vices.” Kipp shakes his head. “We lost out on knowin’ our niece all these years. I wish Silvie would’ve come to us but she’d cut us out.”
“Don’t do that shit, Kipp. She had the Toussaints and my mom. She looks like she’s had a good life.”
Kipp nods. With that, I’m done. I need to get back to Ellie. I’m not letting anyone in to see her, not now. This time is for her and me.
“We left Griffin with Jen and Eli,” Hattie explains. “She called and already got him back to sleep so he’ll stay there for the night, but I think he’s ready to get back to his mama.” She hesitates and then adds, “And you.”
That’s good because after tonight, I’m anxious to have him back. I’m used to having both him and Ellie close—I’m ready for us to fall into something normal. “I’ll get him first thing in the morning and have Ellie call you. I promise, she’s fine. Shaken up but good. It’s been a long night and she wants to go home.”
