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.I waited forhim to look at me, and when he finally did, I saw the conflict in his eyes. But you don t. His eyes closed, the rage still rolling off him. I m going to get locked up for good one day, and I can t imagine a better reason forserving a life sentence than for taking out a bastard like him.I don t care, Luce. Lifting one hand to his cheek, I tilted his face towards mine. But I do. He looked at me, thunder rolling through his eyes, and then down at Sawyer.His entire body stiffened again. I want to kill him, Luce.Iwant to kill him more than I ve wanted anything. A ripple ran down his back. I don t know how to walk away. Let me help you, I said, waiting.I d wait however long it took I wasn t walking away until he walked away with me.Below Jude, Sawyer chuckled, spitting another spray of blood. The felon and the slut riding off into the sunset together, he laughed. We won t have to hold our breath for that happily ever after. Jude flinched, but I wouldn t let him go. Don t waste your life on this bastard, I said, refusing to look at Sawyer because I was good if I never had to look at that face again.Ismiled at Jude. Why don t you waste it with me instead? The lines smoothed from his face as he held my stare.And then finally he smiled. I ll take that deal. Nodding towards the door, I pulled on his hand.Another laugh came from Sawyer. At least someone s going to be getting a piece of that ass tonight. I groaned Sawyer had no sense of self-preservation.Grabbing him by the shirt collar, Jude pulled him up. You just don t know when to shut up, Jude said, drawing his fist tight. Let mehelp you. He drove his fist square into Sawyer s mouth, sending him crashing back down on the floor. Luce. Jude looked back at me, his face composed. Wait for me in the hallway, he said. I m not going to kill him, he added,answering me preemptively. Jude. I wasn t going to leave him alone this Sawyer. Look at me, he said, waiting for me. I m fine.I won t kill him. And then, he looked all meaningful at me. Trust me. This was my chance.My chance to show him the trust I d denied him.The trust he d deserved that I d felt he hadn t.How could I sayno and expect us to ever have a fighting chance?I didn t want to, I didn t like it, but it was necessary. Okay, I agreed.That grin I hadn t seen on his face in so long I thought had disappeared for good appeared. I ll be right out, he said. Could you sendHolly in? She s waiting in the hallway and I think she s going to want to see this. Trust.Trust.Trust. Okay.I ll wait outside, I said. Don t keep me waiting too long. Heading for the door, I smoothed my dressback into place, trying to do the same with my hair.Propped against the wall, Holly had obviously been placed there to make sure no one tried to interrupt Jude and the ass beating hedealt Sawyer.Her eyes ran down me, her face shadowing. Are you all right? Yeah, I answered, coming up to her. Jude s asking for you in there. She nodded, shoving off the wall.Turning to me, her hands found mine. Are you all right? she asked again as a silent exchange tookplace between us.On a very base level, I got it, I got her, and she got me too.We were like the sisterhood of girls Sawyer preyed on and,although it wasn t a common denominator to be proud of, it was a bond to be proud of. Yes, I answered, looking her in the eye.Giving my hands a squeeze, she headed for the bedroom. You are one tough cookie, Lucy Larson, she said, looking down at mefrom the doorway. I get what Jude sees in you. Going against every urge to run back into that room, I didn t.I hadn t trusted Jude, I hadn t given him the benefit of the doubt before.Iwould now.I earned a few sideways looks from a couple of girls sitting at the top of the stairs, but the second floor was mostly empty.Either theparty was winding down or Holly knew how to redirect traffic.Fiddling with the conundrum that was the dress I had on to pass time, I gave up.No amount of tugging and smoothing would magicallycreate more fabric to cover the parts of my body I preferred to keep covered, and it looked like I owed Taylor a new dress because,thanks to Sawyer, it had a slit up front to match the one on the back.Another minute went by and I assured myself everything was fine because no blood-curdling screams or gunshots had gone off in theroom down the hall, but I was still anxious as all hell.So I grounded some of that nervous energy by pacing the hallway like a caged lioness.On my fifth turn at the stairs, Jude and Holly marched out of Sawyer s room, Jude s expression unreadable, but Holly smiled to herself. Is everything all right? I asked, rushing down the hall to meet them. Jude glanced over at Holly. It is now, he said, opening his arms for me.I curled into him, feeling like parts of me were melting intohim.Six months of not feeling right went up in smoke. What happened? I asked against his chest. Vindication, Holly answered, patting her oversized tote. I m out of here.I ve done what I came to do and mom s going to be pissedif I stay out all night. We are too, Jude said, tucking me under his arm and steering us towards the stairs. I need to get Luce home. Wait, I stopped. I drove with Taylor.I m her DD tonight. Jude groaned. Hey, Holl, you mind hunting down Taylor Donovan and giving her a ride home? Her face twisted. If you re referring to the woman who called me every name in the female book of cattiness, then yes, I do mind, Holly called back at us, winding down the stairs. But since you re the one asking, I ll put on my big girl, very not bitter panties and drivethe bitch home.I m not walking her to the front door though. You re a saint, Jude said, guiding me down the stairs, shoving a guy who almost spilled his beer on me to the side. Has anyone seen a raving bitch with nice hair? Holly shouted at the bottom of the stairs.Everyone who heard her pointed a different direction
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