Read Online After the Ride (Night Riders Motorcycle Club Book 2) by Kathryn Thomas - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kathryn Thomas
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glass towards her lip, Grace drank deeply and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. As Lauren watched her choke the bitter taste down with a shudder, Grace appeared to calm, and she steeled herself to continue.
“See… see, the thing is…”
Again she hesitated, and Callie wrapped her arm around Grace’s quaking shoulders.
“You don’t have to tell her,” Callie assured her. “If it’s too hard, you—”
“No,” Lauren said as she moved to her side and took Grace’s trembling hand. Maybe it was wrong; maybe she was pushing her too hard. But she had to find a way to shake Grace out of this. So what if Paul was good to her? Like her, she had to have a family desperate to find her. If she could just make her understand—
“Sweetie,” Callie started, her voice weary. “Isn’t it enough for one night? Can’t you see that—?”
“It can’t be as bad as she’s making it sound,” Lauren said. “And if someone else hurt her, she deserves the chance to face him in—”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that?” Grace asked in an anguished voice. “How am I supposed to face my father?”
With a gasp, Lauren pressed her fingers to her mouth, her body suddenly racked with horror.
“Your… your father?”
CHAPTER NINE
Grace took another sip of her drink before she nodded, and Lauren felt as if she would vomit. Her father? Bad enough that she had the misfortune to hook up with a boyfriend who abused her. But her father? Even in his most vile moments, Carter Nichols would never had done anything to her like that.
Her soul suddenly filled with a longing ache to see her father, hold him close, and tell him that she was sorry that she hadn’t been the child that he wanted and that she was grateful for the man that he was.
“It started when my mom died,” Grace muttered. “First it was just, come in bed with me. Let me hold you. Let me feel you close and safe. I thought he was lonely. Thought it was what my mother would have wanted.”
Tilting the bottle, Callie freshened her drink, and Grace took another gulp before she continued.
“Then it was touching,” she said. “Fondling. I was young.”
“How old were you?” Lauren asked.
“Eleven,” she whispered.
Eleven? What kind of sick bastard would do that to his daughter?
“First time he… he put it inside me… nothing ever hurt so much. Not even when Andy’s buddies were at their worst.”
Barely breathing, Lauren listened as Grace recounted seven long years of having lay at her father’s side as he raped her repeatedly and brought her so low that she took off with Andy when he did little more than flash her a smile and promised that he would take care of her.
“Guess I’m not the best judge of character,” Grace said with a mirthless laugh.
“Wait,” Lauren finally blurted out. “Why didn’t you tell someone what your dad was doing? Go to the cops or—”
“Like his own squad was going to take my word over his,” Grace said.
Lauren’s heart thudded rapidly in her chest as she started to connect the dots in her mind.
“You mean… you…”
“For Christ’s sake!” Callie cried. “Yes. She couldn’t go to the law because her old man was the law. This world ain’t the black and white picture that you’ve spent your whole life staring at, never once realizing that it’s a lie. So don’t pretend that you know what you’re talking about.”
Nodding, Lauren let the reality of Grace’s confession seep into her veins, and as she peered down at Grace, she fought to blink back the tears brimming in her eyes. This girl’s entire life had been a horror show, and Lauren felt a stab of guilt penetrate her heart. She had fled because she was bored, restless. Compared to Grace’s lot, it was nothing that she should have ever felt the need to run away from.
“I’m so sorry,” Lauren whispered as
“See… see, the thing is…”
Again she hesitated, and Callie wrapped her arm around Grace’s quaking shoulders.
“You don’t have to tell her,” Callie assured her. “If it’s too hard, you—”
“No,” Lauren said as she moved to her side and took Grace’s trembling hand. Maybe it was wrong; maybe she was pushing her too hard. But she had to find a way to shake Grace out of this. So what if Paul was good to her? Like her, she had to have a family desperate to find her. If she could just make her understand—
“Sweetie,” Callie started, her voice weary. “Isn’t it enough for one night? Can’t you see that—?”
“It can’t be as bad as she’s making it sound,” Lauren said. “And if someone else hurt her, she deserves the chance to face him in—”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that?” Grace asked in an anguished voice. “How am I supposed to face my father?”
With a gasp, Lauren pressed her fingers to her mouth, her body suddenly racked with horror.
“Your… your father?”
CHAPTER NINE
Grace took another sip of her drink before she nodded, and Lauren felt as if she would vomit. Her father? Bad enough that she had the misfortune to hook up with a boyfriend who abused her. But her father? Even in his most vile moments, Carter Nichols would never had done anything to her like that.
Her soul suddenly filled with a longing ache to see her father, hold him close, and tell him that she was sorry that she hadn’t been the child that he wanted and that she was grateful for the man that he was.
“It started when my mom died,” Grace muttered. “First it was just, come in bed with me. Let me hold you. Let me feel you close and safe. I thought he was lonely. Thought it was what my mother would have wanted.”
Tilting the bottle, Callie freshened her drink, and Grace took another gulp before she continued.
“Then it was touching,” she said. “Fondling. I was young.”
“How old were you?” Lauren asked.
“Eleven,” she whispered.
Eleven? What kind of sick bastard would do that to his daughter?
“First time he… he put it inside me… nothing ever hurt so much. Not even when Andy’s buddies were at their worst.”
Barely breathing, Lauren listened as Grace recounted seven long years of having lay at her father’s side as he raped her repeatedly and brought her so low that she took off with Andy when he did little more than flash her a smile and promised that he would take care of her.
“Guess I’m not the best judge of character,” Grace said with a mirthless laugh.
“Wait,” Lauren finally blurted out. “Why didn’t you tell someone what your dad was doing? Go to the cops or—”
“Like his own squad was going to take my word over his,” Grace said.
Lauren’s heart thudded rapidly in her chest as she started to connect the dots in her mind.
“You mean… you…”
“For Christ’s sake!” Callie cried. “Yes. She couldn’t go to the law because her old man was the law. This world ain’t the black and white picture that you’ve spent your whole life staring at, never once realizing that it’s a lie. So don’t pretend that you know what you’re talking about.”
Nodding, Lauren let the reality of Grace’s confession seep into her veins, and as she peered down at Grace, she fought to blink back the tears brimming in her eyes. This girl’s entire life had been a horror show, and Lauren felt a stab of guilt penetrate her heart. She had fled because she was bored, restless. Compared to Grace’s lot, it was nothing that she should have ever felt the need to run away from.
“I’m so sorry,” Lauren whispered as
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