Free Easy Sacrifice by Anna Brooks Page B

the cigarette out of his mouth and closes his eyes.
    “Later, brother.” I stand and clap him on the shoulder.
    “Next week.”
    “You know it.”
    I nod at the bouncer and head outside. Once I get around the corner, I dry heave against the brick wall. My truck’s just around the alley, and when I reach it, I get the fuck outta here and head back to my place.
    I have my clothes off before I even reach the bathroom. I scrub my skin and allow the hot water to wash away some of the nastiness. Nothing seems worth dealing with this shit anymore, but I don’t have a choice. I wish I did, but that night six years ago took away my choices. Hell, before that, really. I don’t think my life was ever my own.
    Marco likes control … He likes to feel like the fuckin’ king of a pretend palace. And even though we’ve had our … differences, he thinks he still has power over me, and for that reason, he keeps me alive.
    Jessa’s the only pure thing in my life. Her sheer beauty is enough to make my dirty heart clean again. Shit, the last time I remember having a clear conscience was when I was, like eight. Growing up with a hooker for a mom skewed my perception of reality.
    I was dragged into her world and haven’t been able to get out of it.
    As I’m drying off, I hear my phone ringing. I walk out to the kitchen with a towel wrapped around my waist to answer it. “Yeah?”
    “Seventh and Prospect. Midnight.”
    The phone clicks off. I run my fingers through my hair and take a breath before getting dressed. I grab the duffel bag full of cocaine on my way out and slide the burner phone in my back pocket.
     
    * * *
     
    By the time I’m done, it’s almost 2:00 a.m., but I need to see her. I need to touch her and remind myself why I’m doing all this.
    I park around the corner two blocks down. When I get to her house, I pick the lock on her back door and head straight for her room. I toss treats at the dogs and take my shoes off before I go up the stairs.
    When I open her door, my dick turns to stone just by the smell of her room. Lavender.
    Chucking off my sweats, I pull the covers up and slide beneath them while I pull her against me. I thrust my hips and press my dick between her ass cheeks.
    A startled gasp leaves her mouth, but I whisper against her neck, “It’s just me.”
    “Jesus. Don’t do that. You scared the shit outta me.”
    “Sorry.”
    She nestles back further into me and sighs. “I’m out of commission tonight.”
    I continue rubbing my lips along her skin. She tastes so fuckin’ good everywhere. “It’s okay. I just wanna hold you.”
    Her weight becomes heavier against me, and I flex my arms a little tighter to get her closer. I bury my face in her hair and close my eyes to sleep for a couple of hours.
    When you’ve lived your entire life watching your back, sleep becomes a luxury. Good sleep is unobtainable, so when I wake up four hours later and the sun is starting to rise, I know I’m getting too comfortable with her. She brings me so much fucking peace that I don’t think straight when I’m around her.
    The cool air hits my warm skin when I slide out of bed. I leave through the back door, feeling more rejuvenated than I have in years, after getting that much sleep.
    Instead of heading home, I walk the seven blocks to the cemetery and sit on the grass in front of my mother’s grave.
    I didn’t get to go to her funeral. Marco at least had the decency to call an ambulance so she could be buried properly. She died from an OD right after I was arrested, but Marco laced her drugs, so technically she was murdered. When I got the news, I nodded at the guard and ashamedly felt relief. Not only for her, but also for me. For the little boy who knew nothing other than drugs and thugs. For the kid who tried his entire life to protect a woman who didn’t want to be protected. For the teenager who learned about life the hard way. And for the adult who lost the only family he ever had.
    Mom had run away