Free Sarah Mine by Riann Colton Page B

surprised when I said you were sober. That asshole knew. All along. Why am I just finding out now, Sarah?”
    “I–”
    “As opposed to three years, one month, and three weeks ago!” He yelled it out as he faced me. “What the fuck, Sarah?”
    I swallowed and fought the urge to go to him. “Would you have come?”
    “Fuck. You.”
    “Would you have come, William? Would you?” I was shouting too, fear that telling him was a bad idea. “Be honest. Right now. Right here. In my room full of truths, would you have come if someone had said I had overdosed? Because between the bouts of all our fucking, there wasn’t a lot of wondering about me. Even when you were here it was fuck Sarah, pretend she doesn’t exist. Fuck Sarah, walk away. Fuck Sarah, walk away. No thoughts of me, no concerns. Just got an itch, let’s see Sarah. Would you have come, William?”
    “Yes,” he shouted. “I always do. You will not lay all our shit on my door, Sarah. Because I’m pretty sure you were in that bed with me. I would have come and that’s why you had Jax keep it a secret. You died! Sarah, you fucking died! Had someone called me to tell me you were in pretty bad shape, I’d have hauled my ass out of that jungle to get here.”
    My shoulders sagged as I looked at him. “No, Hill. You wouldn’t have. I have to go to work.” Not that I wanted to work. I just wanted to escape.
    “No. This is not done. You are not running away. You must think I’m total shit to think that. Yeah, I’m selfish and was shitty to you, but give me some fucking credit, Sarah. You know me. Good, bad, and the asshole, you know me.” He stalked across the room and lowered his face to mine. The storms were alive in his eyes: anger, fear, hurt. All because of me. “You know I would have come back for you. You think about that as you’re pouring alcohol for that fucker who slapped you around. Because I always come back for you. Though at this moment I’m kind of asking myself why. Had you died would Jax call me? Or would I have found out knocking on your door a few nights ago? But I guess we’ll never know. Fuck you for that, Sarah. Fuck you right back.”
    When my front door slammed behind him, I wondered if I’d ever see him again. As I walked over to the picture, I stared down at it. Jax’s words that I’d underestimated Hill rippled around in my head, chased by the look in his eyes. I had hurt him. Badly.
    Just once it would be nice to not fuck up my life. Once.
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Hill
    Overdose.
    Lethal combination.
    Cardiac arrest.
    The words banged around in my head and made my chest tighten. I stopped in the middle of her lawn, hands braced on my knees to catch my breath. I felt all wobbly from Sarah’s words. I had seen her. I had been with her months before her OD. I should’ve seen something in her. Right?
    “Breathe.”
    I shook my head as Jax appeared beside me, the hand on my neck was more welcome then I’d admit. I was mad at hell at him for keeping this from me, but so thankful I wasn’t alone.
    “She overdosed, Jacky.”
    “Yes, she did. Breathe, Billy. Breathe.”
    I sank down to my knees, gravity winning. “Was it bad? Tell me.”
    “They lost her twice. Ten years of hard abuse had taken its toll on Sarah mine’s heart and body.”
    Twice? Fuck. I lowered my head, bracing my forearms on her lawn. “Why didn’t you call me?”
    “She didn’t want me to.”
    “You should’ve called me anyway.” I’d have sauntered up to her door and found out from some stranger, or worse her damn sister, that she was dead. Nausea churned in my stomach. “You should’ve told me.”
    “I promised her. She was at the end of her rope, Hill. She had nothing left inside her. What do you think it would’ve done to her if I went against my word?”
    “I had just seen her. She was… Tell me about the guy.”
    A sharp bark came from Jax. “You just learned she died and you want to know about the guy?”
    I nodded. I wanted to know