Sneak Peek at Deliverance
Jolene back to a better life where those who surround Anna May love and cherish her.
“I’m almost done with my shift,” I whisper, trying to grab ahold of my emotions so I can walk back up front and do what I need to in order to get the hell out of here.
Breaking away from her, I look up into her eyes.
Sadness and pity stares back at me. I hate that look.
I’ve been subject to it one too many times over the last few years and it makes me sick.
Grabbing the strength I need from the look she just gave me, I rise to my feet and silently thank the man from the kitchen who I only just now notice made his way over during my breakdown and is picking up my mess.
“Well,” Brittany says, eyeing me suspiciously. “Someone just did walk in looking for you.”
She suggestively raises her eyebrows as the pit of my stomach turns. It is too soon. Brian couldn’t be out yet. And if he is, how the hell did he find me? Almost as if knowing what I am thinking she quickly puts me at ease.
“Trust me, there is no way this Adonis is the shithead from your past.”
Curiosity peaked, I adjust my apron and try to pull myself together.
“Who is it?” I ask, making my way back into the bus station just off the back of the house and taking a moment for myself as I grab a napkin to wipe my eyes.
“Didn’t say,” Brittany says, walking to the soda fountain and taking out two glasses. “But honey, they don’t make men like that around these parts.”
She lets out a hum of approval.
“The only place they build men like that is in the armed forces. Has to be military. God, could you imagine? He’s sexy as is. In uniform, I don’t even want to know how quickly I’d fall to my knees. If he’s got a hot best friend you better hook me up.”
She winks. She turns, loads her tray and makes her way out of the bus station.
“He’s in the bar,” she tosses over her shoulder, leaving me utterly confused and standing alone like an idiot.
I don’t know any military men. At least, not recently. The only one I know, or rather used to know, I haven’t seen in five years.
Who the hell could it be?
Probably Noah or Rex playing a sick trick. The damn bastards. Anna May will be excited to see them for a visit, though.
Taking a small walk into the bar area, I scan the room when I enter and try and make out who Brittany was just talking about.
A few of the regulars are sitting at the bar, drunker than they should be at four o’clock in the afternoon.
I look to the right and see two sorority girls sitting at one far end, giggling to themselves and surveying the room for their latest conquest. Then, my gaze scans to the other side of the bar, and locks eyes with a man I never thought I’d see again.
My mouth salivates. My heartbeat quickens. My head feels slightly dizzy. A numbness, a sudden euphoria, fills my soul.
Six-foot-five. Brown Hair. Green eyes. He’s even more irresistible than he was five years ago. God, Brittany was right. Adonis indeed.
The heat of his stare makes me nervous as I take a few steps toward him. He’s wearing jeans, a black, tight-fitted t-shirt, and combat boots.
He leans back against the bar behind him and licks his lips as his eyes dance over my body. The room fades as his gaze slowly rises to meet mine.
“Jolene,” his raspy southern drawl floats over my skin causing goosebumps and a delicious shiver to rise up my spine.
Setting his glass down, he takes my hand and pulls me a step closer. His cologne, a musky woodsy scent floats around me reminding me of the night five years ago he left without a trace. My heart has never been the same since. It’s a night I’ve tried to block out every day since.
He doesn’t say another word. His hand shakes as it holds mine. He searches my eyes. His gaze fills with a look of regret. Or am I just imagining things?
Swallowing hard, I try to ignore the pull he has over me. But it’s impossible when he raises my hand to his lips and plants a tender kiss on the inside of my wrist, just like he did all those years ago before he left home and I never saw him again.
He smiles a panty-dropping smile.
“Of all the bars in all the world,” I say.
A sexy chuckle leaves his lips.
“I can leave,” he jokes, rising from his seat.
Our bodies brush against one another and I suck in a sharp breath.
His six-foot-five muscular frame is no match for my slender five-foot-five one.
When we find ourselves at a loss for words, he wraps one of his arms around my waist, and pulls me closer.
I melt into him like second nature and surrender to a peace I haven’t felt in years.
I rest my head against his chest as he tenderly kisses the top of my head.
“It’s been a long time,” he whispers.
Pulling away, I look up at him and wonder what could have been for the first time in a long time. I would never give up the chance to be Anna May’s mother, but God, how different life could have been if the man staring back at me now was her father instead of the one I’m running from.
Releasing me, I smile, “Troy Young, what do I owe the pleasure? You’re probably the last person I ever thought I’d see again since you left me on that front porch five years back.”
He swallows hard. Remorse, shame, guilt fills his eyes.
When he doesn’t say a word, I timidly ask, “What brings you to Nashville?”
He sits back on the stool.
“Business,” he grins. When I look at him curiously, he asks, “What, you didn’t know?”
I arch an eyebrow, letting him know I have no clue what he is talking about.
Picking up his glass he says, “I’ve been working for Rex and Michael for a while now.
Just got through with opening a club in New Orleans.
When Rex wanted to follow Gwen to Knoxville, I was elected to come here and clean up the mess in Nashville. ”
He takes a sip of his drink and eyes me over the rim. “You don’t look very happy to see me,” he jokes anxiously.
I shift nervously on my feet.
Behind me, James says, “Jolene, you’re cut for the night. Take out the trash in the back and get the hell out of here.”
Troy’s smile grows. “You got plans later, beautiful?”
I smile, and playfully swat his arm as I walk past him towards the back of the house. “In case you didn’t know, I have a little four-year-old that needs her mommy tonight. Sorry big guy. A lot has changed since that last time you walked out of my life.”
I wink at him playfully and he grabs his chest.
“That hurts, ya know,” he says. But I see it. The pain just behind the surface of his eyes as my words hit home. “Well, what if I walk you out? I’ll wait.”
I nod in understanding, and push my way through the double doors into the back of the kitchen. Making my way towards the back, I notice three large trash bags and roll my eyes.
Punching the code into the box for the back door to open, I grab all three and push my way out into the night.
There is one spotlight at the back door, but the dumpster is a good walk across the parking lot.
The night is cool against my skin as I quickly make my way across the concrete and take the time to throw one bag at a time over the wall of the dumpster.
Troy Young.
He is the last person I ever expected to see today, tomorrow - or hell, ever again.
How long is he back for this time, I wonder.
Troy is what they call a lifer. There is no way he gave up the military and is now a permanent civilian in Nashville.
He pushed me away five years ago because of his duty to his country.
The pain of his rejection still stings, even though I know I shouldn’t take it personally.
It’s just that I would have followed him anywhere if he would have just let me.
Turning around after throwing the last bag into the dumpster, I look down and fix my apron as I slowly start walking back towards the restaurant.
An eerie feeling creeps around me like a fog. I look up and see a man standing in the shadows. He takes a pull on a cigarette and steps towards me into the light.
“Hey, JoJo,” he seethes.
His old nickname for me makes me take a step backward.
He steps closer and takes another drag off his smoke.
Exhaling, the white fog circles around him in the darkness adding a layer of terror to an already horrifying encounter.
I take a few more quick steps back until I bump into the dumpster behind me. He chuckles sinisterly.
“Did you really think you could run from me?” he asks.
He takes a few more steps until he’s caging me in against the hard-cold metal behind me.
“Where is my daughter, Jo?” he demands, grabbing my hair and smashing me back against the dumpster.
I cry out as a sharp pain fills the back of my head. He smiles wickedly.
“It’s been a long time since I have had a woman, Jo,” he taunts.
His hard dick thrusts against my lower stomach. I look over his shoulder, at the door to the restaurant, and pray someone realizes I’ve been gone too long and comes to check on me.
“You should know that since it was you who put me away two years ago.”
He flicks open a pocket knife. I try to scream for help, but he covers my mouth with his free hand.
“You always were a good fuck,” his hand with the knife drifts low between us, and he brushes the cold metal across my inner thigh.
Paralyzed by fear, I whimper against his strong grip.
“Tell me where my daughter is, JoJo, or I might just have to remind you what a real man feels like.”
I try to break free, but he presses the knife against my stomach. My knees buckle in fear as I cry out against his palm.
He releases my mouth, and I scream, “Fuck you, Brian!”
His hand viciously grips my neck. I struggle against him trying to break free but it only makes his grip tighten. His sick twisted laughter floats around us as tears fall from my eyes. I grab ahold of his hand gripping my throat in an attempt to make him let me go.
“Now, I like the sound of that,” he seethes. “Don’t mind if I do fuck you. You backstabbing, lying, dirty little bitch.”
Suddenly, the back door to the restaurant flies open. Releasing the grip around my neck, Brian drops me to the floor. Turning, he pins me against the dumpster, allowing me no room for escape. I look over his shoulder and take in my savior.
Troy Young.
READ NOW