Free Beyond Revenge (The Ransom Series) by A.T. Douglas Page B

able to get something from it.”  He glances to the side, picking up a framed family picture sitting on
the end table as he looks at it intently.  Without seeing it, I already know they look like such a cohesive
and happy family in that picture.  I’ve studied it for
hours in the downtime I’ve spent in this house .
    He sets the picture back down on its stand, and I can’t help being drawn to Morgan’s smiling face
there.  A wave of chills runs through my body at the thought of how far she
must be from smiling at this moment.
    I need distraction, and looking forward
is the only direction I can face right now.  “What’s our next move?”
    Robert leans back in his chair and
kicks his feet out in front of him.  His brow furrows slightly as he thinks. 
“We’ll have to come at this from a different angle.”  He holds that position
for just a moment longer before abruptly standing up and walking to the dining
room.  Within moments he returns with our glasses and the bottle of bourbon. 
“For right now, we drink. ”  
    He pours some in each glass, handing
one to me and the other to his wife before taking the rest of the bottle up in
the air in a silent toast.  We all know who we’re toasting to.  It doesn’t need to be said out loud.
    It’s all for Morgan.  Every single
thing we do and everything we try is all for her, even when it fails and all
we’ve done is caused her more pain and plummeted ourselves further into
darkness.
    I suck down the bourbon, the alcohol almost instantly caus ing that
perfect warmth and fuzziness within me again.  I extend the empty glass to
Robert for a refill, but he’s still drinking straight out of the bottle.
    The moment the rim of the bottle leaves his lips, I see the flash of fear on his
face, the tiniest moment when the strong and hopeful detective is gone and
replaced by the grieving father who is desperate for his child.  It’s
comforting to see the truth behind the facade, to know that I’m not the only
one crumbling internally with each passing day of her absence.
    Robert pours the liquid numbness into
my glass again, and I drink.
    I drink and let the darkness take me.
    I drink until I’m no longer here, and
in th e se moments I can temporarily forget.

9
     
    His Pain
     
    ∞
     
    I’ve seen it in
him.
    Through his
silence, beyond his strength.
    He portrays to the
world
    what he would have
it see,
    but he holds the
truth inside.
    The pain that
clenches his heart.
    Eating away, piece
by piece.
    Destroying that
which is beautiful.
    Leaving nothing.
     
    ∞
     
    My racing heart finally slows, but the uncontrollable
tears still spill down my face.  I’ve rubbed my wrist raw on the metal handcuff
holding me to the bed.  No matter how hard I pulled on it, there was no
reaching him, no intervening.  I was only feet away from him yet completely
helpless.
    He looks so fragile sprawled out and unconscious on the floor.
    The man who has done so much to support
me these last few weeks, the man who tried to save me from this fate, the man
who is destined to deliver my baby , is lifeless on the
cold cement in the corner of the room .
    I’ve been watching the rise and fall of
his chest, confirming that he still draws breath.  Making sure he’s still
breathing is a good distraction from the large welt on his cheek and the blood
dripping down from his forehead.  He was clutching his side when the final blow
knocked him out cold.  His hand still rest s there.
    I gasp as Jack’s head lulls to the side
to face me, but his eyes remain closed, one of them swelling considerably.  He
starts mumbling something behind the duct tape over his mouth, and in him showing th e se signs of life again , I breathe a small sigh of relief.
    “Jack?”  No movement.  My voice turns
forceful, more out of fear than anything else.  “Jack?  Please tell me you’re
okay.”
    There’s a flicker of an eye opening, more
signs of life.  He’s barely coming out of it now,