Give Me Reason (The Reason Series) (14 page)

He pushes me inside my apartment, slamming the door behind us.
 

I can't breathe.
 

I claw at his hand over my mouth but my grip is weak and my strength is failing the longer I go without oxygen. I scratch at his arm with my nails.
 

"Bitch, please. That shit don't hurt. But I have more than a few things that will. At least before I kill you." Panic washes over me as his determination registers.
 

The next thing I know, he releases me and his hand comes away from my mouth.
 

I gasp for air.
 

He pushes me hard.
 

I bounce off the bed, and then I’m falling toward the floor. I put my hands out, hoping to catch myself before I hit the ground. There is a loud popping sound, and blinding pain races through my body from my right wrist. I cry out and roll onto my side.
 

Blinking through the pain, I look up and see him looming over me. His dirty blond hair is mussed in short spikes. He’s wearing a white t-shirt and black jeans. His eyes are dark, drawn and detached. A look I’ve seen more times than I care to remember.
 

“And here I thought this was going to be hard, though I had to deal with your nosey neighbor first.”
 

Mr. Crowley. No. That’s why his— No, no, no!
 

“But yet here you are, just like I like you.”

He reaches for my leg. I pull it back and swing hard, narrowly missing his face as he flinches away. The momentum of my kick has sent me rolling back onto my stomach and onto my broken wrist. I scream as pain stabs across my body.
 

“Bitch!” he says as he reaches once again for my legs.
 

Before I can react and swing again, he comes down hard with his knee on the back of my leg. “You’re mine, bitch! You’re going to pay for what you’ve done to me.”

In a flash all of Riley’s narcissistic words come rushing back to me. It doesn’t occur to him that his own actions put him in jail; it’s that I put him there.
 

“I’ve done nothing to you.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I brace myself for his retaliation.

Something comes down hard and heavy across the back of my skull. All I can see is brilliant white light.

SNEAK PEEK

Thank you for reading
Give Me Reason
.

Stay tuned for Book 2 in The Reason Series,
Give Me Hope
, coming November 19
th
, 2013.

Sneak peek of
Give Me Hope
.

***** Mikah *****

“Jesus, God, thank you.”

I pull myself up off the floor and take a seat in the front pew, leaning my elbows into my knees.
 

I feel a vibration along my thigh. My phone. That is about the fifteenth time in the last half hour it’s gone off, but frankly, I could care less right now.
 

Resting my head in my hands, I let the tears flow. They pool into my palms. Breathing deep, ragged breaths, I try to pull myself back together.
 

I need to go upstairs, but I can’t go in the state I’m in. I don’t understand why I’m having such a strong reaction to the news about Vivienne. Something I can’t explain is happening to me. I need to see her.
 

“You will see her soon enough.”
 

My head snaps up at the elegant, soft female voice. Nothing. I see nothing.
 

“You’ve been chosen to protect her, Mikah. Chosen to see to it that she is safe.”
 

I stand quickly, spinning around. Sharp, blinding pain bounces around my body, and I crumple to my knees.
 

“What… What is happening to me?” I say aloud.
 

No response. I ball my fists in frustration, and the pain stops as quickly as it started.

I climb back up into the pew, shaking now because it’s not just the pain that’s gone but the hum, too. My connection to Vivienne, and it’s gone. Panic seeps in.

“Relax.”
 

Relief washes through me in instant response to the command. I have no control over it.
 

“Why can’t you tell me what is going on?”

“Your answers will come in time, when you’re meant to hear them.”

I feel like I’m losing my mind. I’m hearing voices, talking to myself. Yet I can feel someone with me.
 

“I am not for you to look upon, young angel. I am here to guide you, to help you into your new life. She is ours to protect and we will. Without fail, we will protect her in the way she is meant to be protected. But we can only initiate the healing; she must do the rest on her own. When the time comes, you will be told what to do next.”

“She doesn’t want me around,” I whisper.

“You do not need to speak aloud, young angel. I know what you think and I feel what you feel. I believe that her life has taken the turn you need to keep her within reach. Do not fret.”

I sigh. With the heels of my hands, I press against my temples, trying to dispel the idea that someone is talking to me inside my head. I’m not crazy, am I?