Chapter 52 - Hayden
HAYDEN
My headlights bounced as I rolled over the broken asphalt that was the Refuge’s rear parking lot. Fixing it would cost too much, and might not be worth it in the long run. Especially since, over the past few weeks, none of Carter’s lawyers had reported anything but bad news.
On top of everything else, the sky was darker for this hour than it had ever been. It was cold, dreary, and pouring down rain. It transformed the mud-strewn parking lot into a minefield of hidden, ankle-deep potholes, all filled with frozen water.
Even so, nothing could shake me out of my amazing mood.
Swinging the car door open, I steeled myself against the wind.
So far I’d had the most amazing holiday season of my life.
The boys and I had shared the most thankful of Thanksgivings, followed by several weeks of shopping, event-hopping, and wandering around the well-decorated malls.
We’d gone Christmas tree shopping, and had even driven around town to look at various holiday light displays, with nothing more than a thermos of hot chocolate spiked with Bailey’s.
This had been my favorite night of all, perhaps due to all the Christmas music we played, but more likely because the three of them took turns ‘riding’ with me in the back seat.
The wicked things we’d done back there, behind the safety of our well-steamed windows, would live in my memory forever.
Tonight however, was Bodie’s birthday. The guys were celebrating, and the bar was shutting down early. And beneath my trench coat, dressed in the original devil’s outfit I’d worn when he first laid eyes on me, I planned upon giving him the present of his life.
“Hayden.”
The low, gravelly voice brought me to a complete stop. I’d been walking half-speed, my heels clacking as I picked my way carefully across the wet pavement. But now, recognizing the person behind the voice… I started to run.
“WAIT! DON’T!”
A hulking figure came rushing at me; from out of the darkness. I didn’t need any of the dim light from the distant street lamp to know who it was.
“I just want to talk!”
I felt the heel from my right shoe sink. It disappeared into a muddy hole, then snapped off mid-stride.
“HAYDEN!”
A hand clapped over my wrist, huge and wet and offensively thick. I tried pulling away, but it might as well have been a hydraulic steel clamp.
“Get the hell off me!” I shouted.
Cole’s expression was a marriage of frustration and suppressed anger. He smelled like body odor and alcohol; rum, most likely. A pair of deep, dark circles under his eyes told me he hadn’t slept in days.
“Hold on, goddammit! I just want to—”
I swung my arm around and struck, as hard as I could, wherever I could reach. My eyes were closed, but I felt my fist connect with a giant ear.
“Ow! You BITCH!”
The hand on my wrist loosened slightly, even just for a half-second. But it was all the time I needed to pull away.
“Hayden, wait—”
I kicked my heels off and ran. The gravel and jagged asphalt ripped at my tender feet, but I never broke stride.
“HAYDEN!”
Cole finally found his legs again. It took a while for him to get his great bulk moving, but when he did, it was absolutely terrifying.
I stopped looking back and instead focused on my goal: the Refuge’s back door. It was cracked just enough to stay open. Light spilled forth — a thin strand of yellow against the darkness of the parking lot.
“Just… want… to… TALK!”
My whole body jerked backward as Cole’s fingers found my hair. He pulled hard, and without mercy. All I could do was scream…