Free A Fighting Chance by Annalisa Nicole Page B

flows and binds each and every member. May you always shine bright and feel the unquestionable love from each and every member of this family. To family,” he says and wipes a tear from his eye.
    Lies. It’s all miserable lies! The only thing he’s right about is that we don’t have any control over destiny. Some may have won life’s lottery of good fortune, but for those who haven’t, we lead a life of aimless wandering and drifting in the black darkness, just waiting for it all to mercifully end.
     
    Max
    It’s completely gone. There’s not even the slightest glimmer of light or hope in her eyes. As much as it kills me to see her hurting like this, and it’s obvious she’s given up, I still can’t get over this feeling that surrounds me with this family. Just about every member of this family has been through hell and back, they’ve been through so much and yet they still believe in the power of love and have these outlooks on life that give even me hope.
    Samuels’s speech spoke to my soul. I know he was speaking more about Adrian and Shay adopting Micah and Makayla when he said family is not limited by blood. But it was like he was saying it to me, and he was making sure I knew that I was a part of this family, too.
    I think Chloe has completely tuned me out, and I don’t think anyone else notices her slip out of the restaurant. I excuse myself from the table and follow her outside to a waiting taxi, and then follow it back to her condo. She doesn’t even hear me come into the house. I slam the door behind me and wait for her reaction. Nothing. She wasn’t even startled.
    Without turning around she says, “What do you want, Max? Have you come to kidnap me again? You have absolutely nothing to say that I want to hear. Do me a favor, hah funny choice of words there, and close the door behind you when you leave.”
    She walks over to the window, pulls back the sheer white curtain, and stares out into what seems like nothingness. She places her forehead on the glass and slowly shakes it back and forth. I can’t stand to see her like this. I walk across the room and stand behind her. I question whether or not I should even touch her. My hand hovers over her arm as the hairs stand on end, begging me for my touch. Her mind is telling her no, but her body is crying out to me, begging me for help. Ever so softly I touch the back of her arms. She jumps and picks her head off the window, but doesn’t shrug it away. I run my hand down the back of her arms and bury my nose in the crook of her neck. I feel the goose bumps forming on her arms and I hear her breathing increase. I know she’s still in this broken shell. I know if I don’t do something now, I risk the possibility of never freeing her from her demons. And I know just what I need to do.
    I spin her around and heft her over my shoulder. She shrieks and kicks and screams all the way out to my truck. I don’t even waste my time with the passenger door this time. I open the driver’s side door, toss her ass in as far as I can, scootch in my seat, start her up, and drive away.
    “Seriously, this again?” she asks smacking her hands on her thigh.
    “Not exactly. I have something else planned for you,” I tell her.
    After about an hour drive toward the mountains and not another word from her, she starts to panic as I head up the mountain.
    “Where are we going? Max this isn’t funny, take me home.”
    I have a small secluded cabin up in the mountains that I use for a safe house. Sometimes I use it to get answers from less complying suspects, but mostly it’s a safe house. It takes about another hour through winding narrow dirt roads to get to the house.
    I pull up in front of the house and shut off the engine. I take a deep breath and grip the steering wheel. Pushing my shoulders back into the seat, I take my chances and look her in the eyes. She looks pissed and scared out of her fucking mind, all at the same time.
    “I wish we could do this a