Read Online Her Only Salvation by J.C. Valentine - Free Book Online

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    “Terri?”
    The deep, smoke-roughened voice of the man Randy knew from the bar came through the thin wood causing a growl of hatred to bubble up his throat. He just barely kept himself from wrenching the door open and pounding the guy’s face into the floor.
    Balling his fists, he listened as the man continued to speak.
    “Terri, I forgot something in the car. I’ll be right back.”
    The water shut off in the next room and Randy felt that familiar, ridiculous urge to duck and hide. He held his ground, though, his heart pounding in his ears, waiting to see how this would play out.
    The door to the bathroom opened a crack, shedding a thin line of light into the room. “Luke? Did you say something?” Terri called out.
    Luke? It even sounded like a rich boy name.
    “I’m going to run out to my car for something,” Luke repeated.
    “Okay.” Once it was clear that Luke was gone, Terri turned the water back on, not bothering to close the door again.
    Randy waited until he heard the front door open and jumped on the opportunity. On quick feet, he darted past the open bathroom door and out of the bedroom. At the end of the hall, he saw that the front door was standing wide open, but knew the man, Luke, would be coming back through it any moment. Retracing his steps, he went in the opposite direction, leading him through the kitchen and out the sliding doors onto the patio. He was just about to close the glass panel behind him to cover his tracks, but at the last minute chose to leave it open—just one more reminder to let her know that she was his and he would never let her go.
    Dropping his hand, Randy ran around the side of the house. Luke was just closing the door to his flashy car when Randy spotted him. A brief vision of his hands wrapping around the guy’s neck, his eyes bulging as he gasped for breath, flitted across his mind, but he held himself in check until the guy was back inside, the door closed and locked behind him, before jogging across the street and into the shadows where his truck sat waiting.
    Taking once last glance back at the house, Randy fired up the engine and tore off down the street. Soon, he promised himself. Soon they would be together again, and he would show Terri what happened to women who cheated on their husbands.
     
    ***
     
    She could have sworn she heard something. Shutting off the water, Terri stood bent over the edge of the sink, beads of water dripping off her chin and nose while she listened once again to nothing but the steady drip drip drip on porcelain. Shaking her head, she reached for the towel she kept hanging next to the sink and blotted her face dry. After smoothing on a little moisturizer, she swung open the bathroom door and froze. The distinct smell of smoke tickled her nose and called up memories she would rather not acknowledge, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come, like a phantom called up from her subconscious, designed to torture her.
    Suddenly, she didn’t feel so safe, despite Luke’s close proximity. Hugging herself, she just stood there staring out from the doorway into the room. The only light came from the globes over the sink behind her, casting a towering shadow of herself across the center of the bedroom. All of her senses told her she was alone, her ears picking up the sound of Luke moving around in the front room, but she shivered anyway, a feeling deep in her core telling her that something wasn’t right.
    Outside, the sound of a powerful engine roared, tires squealing in protest. She had lived in the neighborhood long enough to know that it was a quiet area, and so the noise was out of place. Crossing to the window, she parted the curtains and pried one of the slats in the blind down so she could peek out the window.
    Already halfway down the block, she caught the tail end of a dark pick-up truck speeding around the corner, disappearing into the night. She didn’t recognize it, but uneasiness crept down her spine and she backed