Hustle (Book 1 in The Hunted Hearts) - SYTYCW Winner #action #comedy #romance

Hustle | Chapter 20

Copyright 2013 - All Rights Reserved

Hustle By Claire Chilton

20

Enemy of My Enemy

Ellie was finding it difficult to breathe. The idea that her father was some kind of killer had shocked her to the core. She tried to think rationally, but her world had just fallen apart. Everything she thought she knew was a lie.

Dad was worse than Meyer. Is that why Meyer didn't move in on his territory until he was dead?

She wished she could talk to Jimmy, but for all she knew he was dead, or worse. Was Jimmy like her father? Did he know about all of this?

There was a hollow ache in her chest. She felt as if she'd lost everyone she cared about: her father, Jimmy. She glanced back over her shoulder at Jacob's grim expression.... Jacob.

Any illusions of romance had died the second she found Jacob's father. Okay, there hadn't been much chance of this ending happily, but she'd be lying if she didn't admit that on some level she'd flirted with the idea of...something with Jacob. It was too late for that now. There was no going back from this. For a while there, when he'd given her the towel, she'd almost believed he still cared—almost.

It was strange. Her encounters with Jacob had never been romantic, not really, but there had been a connection that in the end, even she couldn't deny.

Like an audible snap, she'd felt that connection break the second he found out his father was dead. He was a stranger to her now.

Just like my father is.

She'd never felt so alone before.

She stared at the craggy slope, not really seeing it. It all felt so empty and hopeless.

It is hopeless. When he gives me to Meyer, I won't be alive for long anyway.

She shook her head, trying to shake off the numbness that had settled over her brain.

I can't just let him hand me to Meyer.

Irrational guilt clouded any ability she might have had to get away.

Why not? What makes you worth saving?

That was the question that haunted her. Was she any better than her father? She'd grown up idolizing the man. She'd wanted to be just like him.

What if I am just like him?

During the shock of finding out her father had killed a man, Ellie had suffered some kind of automated survival instinct. When Jacob found her, she'd pulled a gun on him.

If he hadn't taken the gun, would I have shot him?

She didn't want to think she would have, but the calculated coldness that had settled over her mind had torn her apart inside. She didn't even know who she was anymore. Was it a reaction to the shock, or was it her inbuilt nature?

The idea that one day, she too would become a killer was too much to bear. There was nothing worth fighting for if it meant becoming someone she hated.

She slowly inhaled, trying to clear her mind as she reached the top of the slope. Jacob nudged the gun into her back, guiding her into the narrow passage that led out of the cave.

She glanced back at him to try to talk about this, but one look into the stormy clouds in his dark eyes was enough to silence her. His thunderous stare sent a shiver down her spine. His nostrils flared as he breathed, and his expression was one of barely contained rage.