Invincible(10)

I couldn’t stop it from happening… but I could check on things tomorrow. Maybe she was smart enough to somehow survive.





5.


(Rose)



“Someone tried to kill you last night.”

I swallowed hard, pulling the blanket tighter around my body. I sat across from Luke. He looked half drunk or high or something. He had dried blood under his nose and at the corner of his mouth, but I didn’t dare ask about that.

“Why?” I whispered.

“I think we know why,” he said. “Do you want to go down that road again?”

I lowered my head. “No, Luke, I don’t.”

“I got word about it and I stopped it from happening. Well, your car is gone, but you’re not.”

“My car?”

“It was wired to blow up,” Luke said. “Don’t worry though. You weren’t the one inside when it went up.”

“Who was then?”

Luke half smiled. “Let’s just say Marco served out his purpose…”

My stomach felt sick. Luke had sent poor Marco to my car to blow up. He knew it was going to happen and he let it happen. That’s why Luke was evil. That’s why Luke was a murderer.

I had to get away from him. From this life. From everything I knew.

But how? Where would I go? Any little mess up and Luke could pull the trigger. Not just literally with his gun and kill me, but he could come after me in another way. For something I didn’t do… that I was blamed for.

“So what do I do now?” I asked.

“First off, everything is cancelled for you. You’re gone. You need to act like you don’t exist.”

“So I’m stuck in this apartment?”

“Exactly. You don’t leave. You don’t do a damn thing. You need food, call someone. You need a drink, drink water. Got it?”

I nodded. “For how long?”

“Until I f*cking tell you,” Luke yelled. “I have to go, Rose. I can’t babysit you anymore. You disgust me sometimes. Everything built in this family and you f*cking ruin it.”

“What did I do?” I asked.

Luke slammed his fist on the table and jumped up, sending the chair flying. He pointed right at me. “You f*cking killed him. He was heartbroken after Ma died. You were supposed to take over. But you never did. I had to carry his ass. I had to carry your ass. And you killed him. You broke his f*cking heart.”

“He drank himself…”

Luke opened his suit jacket and showed me his gun. That was my cue to shut the hell up. “Don’t,” he growled. “Don’t you ever. Someday… you’re going to get it for real, Rose. And I won’t be there to help you.”

With that in the open, Luke left the small apartment.

I was trapped again.

I changed my clothes, living out of another suitcase. That was how I had lived since a kid. Some girls had closets. Some women had bigger closets. Me? I had a dozen suitcases. All packed with enough outfits to last a week or two, with all the feminine stuff I’d need to get by.

After I zipped the suitcase, I started to pace the bedroom.

It was fight or flight time in my heart, but what could I do? I had no car, obviously. It had been blown up.

Blown up?

Who would blow up my car? Who would want me dead like that?

My mind raced. I started to feel jittery.

I needed a drink.

I rushed to the kitchen and started opening and closing the cabinets. I even resorted to the silverware drawer, wondering if there was a small bottle hidden. The only thing I found was a pack of cigarettes. I had no idea how old they were. I hadn’t smoked in a long time. The only reason I ever did was to look cool in front of people, like an idiot. But the cigarettes looked good.

I licked my lips and grabbed them.

When I left the apartment and went down the back emergency stairs, I knew I was defying Luke. All I wanted was one smoke. Maybe two. I’d probably end up with a headache and stomachache but at least that would give me something else to focus on for a little while.

Outside, I huddled behind the restaurant like a teenager sneaking their parents cigarettes. I put the cigarette to my lips and flicked the lighter. My hand shook, making the flame dance. I put the flame to the tip of the cigarette and started to suck.

“You know, those will kill you.”

I yelled, dropping the cigarette and the lighter.

I spun and saw a guy standing a few feet away. He wore jeans, black boots, and a leather jacket. As I scanned up and met my gaze with his, I lost my breath.

That hair.

That build.

It was him. The sexy monster from the fight.

“Who are you?” I asked. I reached for the door to the restaurant but didn’t open it.

“Just checking on you,” he said. “You’re alive.”

“Yeah. I’m… alive…”

Does he know? What does he know? Why is he so f*cking sexy?

“You’re Rose, right?”

My face burned red. “How do you know my name?”

He took his hand from his pocket. He had a picture of me. “I found this. With this address on the back. Look, I know it’s not my…”

The sexy guy stepped toward me but then jumped back like he’d been punched in the chest.