The Season of Sin (Peace In The Storm Publishing Presents) by Stacy-Deanne Page B

down!”  He limped, reaching for her.  “Can’t let you leave.”
    “You stay away from me!” She bent down from nausea. “Just…” She saw ten of him.
    “Give me the gun!”
    “Leave me alone!” She swung. “Let me leave!”
    “Give me that gun!” He snatched it.
    “No!”
    “Listen to me all right? Just listen to me.”
    “Leave me alone!” She ran behind the garage.  “Someone help me!”
    “Shannon!”
    She slipped on an oily patch. “Oh!” Her face hit the gravel. “Uh!”
    Pain rippled through her. Her ankle throbbed. Perhaps she’d twisted or broken it.
    “I can’t let you go to the police.” His shadow loomed over her. Gun in hand.
    She’d never felt this sick in her life. Never been in this much pain.
    But that didn’t concern her as much as the man standing over her.
    And what he intended to do.

CHAPTER NINE

    “Drowning.  I feel like I’m drowning. I can take the ones I love down with me or I can lie to them forever. I feel so selfish. I don’t know what to do.  Being right isn’t always best. If it weren’t for Dylan, I could just go away. But I couldn’t live a day without her.
    I do everything in my power to make her happy but I only cause her pain these days. If only we didn’t fight every time we saw each other. She’s so angry. Why can’t she see no one will love her the way I do? After all that’s happened, this is the first time I regret what I did. The first time in my life I wished it never happened.”
    “Regret what you did?” Brianna closed Nadia’s journal with her thumb still inside the pages. Davis meowed beside her. She laid the brownish-tan cat on her chest. “What the hell were you hiding, Nadia?”
    “Excuse me.  Excuse me please!” Dylan pushed her way around the men at the junkyard the next day. They grazed in and out the garage checking out anything they could find. Swaggert sweated behind the computer at the counter. He could’ve eliminated some of the crowd who needed to check out if he could push more than one key at a time.
    “Ah, shit!” He turned and spit.
    “What now?” The first customer griped.
    “I pushed the wrong button.”
    The sixth man in line stepped out of place. “Yo’ Swag don’t you know how to use the computer yet?”
    They laughed.
    “Shut up! I just made a mistake.  You in such a hurry then do it ya’ self!”
    “Maybe we all should.” The eighth man bundled up inside his coat. “Then we’d at least get outta here before next week.”
    “Excuse me.” Dylan squeezed between the men.
    “Well hello, sweet thang.” A gap tooth man winked.
    “Hey lady can you use a computer?” Another joked.
    “I hope she can so we can get outta here.”
    “Shut up.” Swaggert punched the monitor. “You guys throwin’ me off!”
    “Mr. Swaggert?” Dylan put her purse on the counter. “Mr. Swaggert?”
    “Oh who the hell let you in? Get outta the way, girl. I’m busy.”
    “Have you seen Bruce?”
    “Bruce? Don’t even mention his name.” Swaggert plucked keys.  “I’m trying not to blow my top as it is.”
    A skinny black guy hauled a tire from the back area.
    “Roy?” Dylan ran to him.
    “Oh hey, D. You okay? I’m sorry about your mother.”
    “Thanks. I see you guys are very busy today.”
    “You don’t know the half of it.” He balanced the tire on his shoulder.
    “I’m looking for Bruce.”
    “He didn’t even show up today. That’s why we in the mess we in. I was off today. The first Saturday in months I got off and Swag come callin’ me in before I got a chance to wake up good.”
    He propped the tire over to the side then went to the back for another. Dylan jumped out of his way when he returned.
    “I don’t mean to bother you Roy but I needed to talk to Bruce about Mom. I’m grasping at straws but I think he could help me.”
    “We haven’t heard from him. Swag’s been calling his cell all morning. He’s not answering. He didn’t even clean up last night.”
    “What do you