SCARRED - Part 3 (The SCARRED Series - Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

weirder and sicker every time and sometimes he would be rough and beat me and other times he would act like I was his lover. I hated those times the worst. I’d rather be beaten than have him believe that I enjoyed any part of being with him. I hated him with a passion and I hated my mother and my sister even more for not saving me.”
    Chloe was shaking even harder now and Derek looked like he couldn’t stand it any longer. Tears were rolling down his face and he took a chance and put an arm around her shoulders. It seemed to surprise him when she didn’t pull away...she surprised herself. She didn’t want to pull away. She wanted him to wrap her up and hold her and never let go. She let her head rest on his chest and he pulled her into them and they cried together. They cried for Kelly...the little girl that nobody saved.

Chapter 4
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    B urning rage hissed through Derek’s body like deathly poison. He knew what Chloe needed right now was for him to be strong and hold her and make her feel safe. But what he wanted to do was release that rage into the kind of wrath that would completely engulf his morality. He wanted to find Tom Ward and kill him with his bare hands...slowly. He wasn’t a violent man, so the intensity of that feeling almost frightened him. It took every ounce of energy he had in his body to keep his focus on Chloe and off of how satisfying that act would be right now.
    “Hey,” he said softly after a while. “I don’t think you need to be out here in the cold any longer. Can we go to a hotel? I’ll get you your own room. It’s late and you need some rest.”
    “What about the rest of it? I thought you wanted to know about my connection to Jesse?”
    When she said Jesse’s name her whole body quivered. Derek had a really bad feeling that what she had to tell him about the other man was as shocking if not more so than what she’d had to say about her childhood.
    “That can wait. Let’s get you somewhere warm and at least get a cup of tea in you. Please.”
    She nodded and he pulled her in one last time and pressed his lips to the side of her head. He suddenly realized why he wanted so badly to focus on the rage towards her father. That was because the way he felt when he tried to imagine the pain and agony she had gone through was almost unbearable to him. She had to be the strongest person he’d ever met to be able to handle it herself...alone. He helped her into the car and then he drove them, in complete silence, back towards the city.
    When they got there, he found a nice hotel and as she was getting out of the car she said, “Just get one room, please. I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
    Derek was relieved. He would have had a really hard time leaving her alone. He registered them and arranged for them to bring up their bags as well as a pot of hot tea.
    “Are you hungry?” he asked her. She looked like the very thought of food made her feel nauseous.
    “No thank you,” she said.
    The elevator ride was silent and while Derek let the bell hop in with their bags and then took care of room service, Chloe sat silently on the balcony and looked out across the city. He poured her a cup of tea and took it out to her. “Thanks,” she said, taking it and wrapping both of her hands around it. He could see the Goosebumps on her arms. She was cold. Likely the myriad of emotions ripping through her at the moment were blocking the receptors in her mind from even realizing it, but he was worried that she was going to get sick.
    “How about I start a hot shower for you?” he asked. Chloe actually managed a smile as she looked up at him.
    “You don’t have to do that,” she said.
    “I know,” he said, “But I need to do something. Let me take care of you tonight, Chloe. I know that you’re more than capable of doing that yourself, but for me...let me help you somehow.”
    She reached her hand out and he took it. He felt her squeeze his and she said, “Thank you.