Free Full Circle by Lisa Marie Davis Page B

system, a sofa, and a bed. And usually, he went out to eat or ordered something, but the woman
    Marcus had hired made certain the basics were around if he
    needed them.
    Dropping his keys on the coffee table, he looked at the
    stack of mail and picked it up, moving to the sofa, sitting down with a sigh.
    Humming a familiar tune, he sorted through the stack,
    smiling to find a few postcards from his mother, tossing the routine junk mail aside, finding little of any real interest, until he came across an envelope with the Ruskin DA’s
    Office listed as the return address.
    What the bloody hell?
    Ripping the envelope open, he pulled out the letter,
    scanning it, and then rereading it to make certain he fully understood, because really, it didn’t seem possible.
    …Due to various factors, including good behavior, Mr.
    Trent Miller is up for possible early release…if you would like 86
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    to speak to the panel deciding this matter you are allowed that right…please contact this office….
    The words seemed jumbled in his mind, but he
    understood what they meant—he understood that Trent
    Miller could be released from prison. He had been sentenced to twenty years, but after only seven years, there was a
    chance he could be set free. Jaylin was furious and
    disgusted as he looked at the letter, wondering how anyone
    could justify allowing Trent to escape his full sentence after what he had done.
    He wished, not for the first time, that Trent had met the
    same fate as Greg, who had died after a vicious prison fight just two years into his sentence.
    Lane and Hank had served three years each. They had
    long ago been released and Jaylin wasn’t certain where they were or what they were doing and, truth be told, he didn’t
    care. He didn’t hate them as much as he hated Trent, as
    much as he had hated Greg, but he still felt angry whenever he thought about them.
    Whenever he remembered that night.
    The night that marked the beginning of the end of the
    life he had longed for, the life he and Max had wanted to
    share.
    And now what? Trent gets an early pass? He gets to
    walk? No chance in hell! He can’t walk away. He needs to pay the way I’ve paid, the way Max paid!

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    Tossing the letter onto the sofa, he stood and crossed
    the room to the mini bar and grabbed the first bottle he saw.
    Pouring himself a glass, he tossed the amber liquid
    down his throat and poured another, well aware of his
    shaking hands and pounding heart. He felt like he was
    trapped in a nightmare. It simply hadn’t occurred to him
    that Trent could end up released early, but now, it very
    much was a possibility and Jaylin wasn’t about to stand idly by and allow it to happen.
    The letter said he had a right to speak, and he damn
    well would.
    He would go back to Ruskin and do everything in his
    power to keep Trent in jail, where the son of a bitch
    belonged.
    Taking the glass and bottle back to the sofa, he sat
    down again, trying to calm himself, trying to be reasonable.
    He really didn’t want to return to Ruskin for any reason. He had avoided it, for the most part, over the years. But this time, he couldn’t avoid it. This time, he had to face his fears and return to the town that held so many memories.
    Granted, no matter where he was, he had the memories.
    The good ones and the bad ones.
    Sitting back, he took a drink directly from the bottle,
    savoring the burn. He didn’t drink too often, but tonight was an exception. He needed something to take the edge off,
    something to dull the anger and, more importantly, more

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    desperately, he needed something strong enough to ease the
    pain that had never completely faded.
    The pain that never would fade, because he was missing
    part of himself and had been since the night Max
    disappeared, leaving only a note, asking Jaylin not to try to find him.
    But Jaylin hadn’t listened.
    He had tried to find