“Shit! Plan B. Okay, uh, I got it! I’ll just jump in my truck and surprise her there.”
“Solid, quick-thinking substitute for a plan B.”
“Thank you,” he said. “I’ve been told I’m quick on my feet.”
“You are. Whoever told you this did not lie to you, my friend.”
“I’m glad to hear you think so, Tuck.”
V suddenly whispered—loudly—from behind me, “Would you two stop your odd love and admiration for each other and get his ass over here?” I jumped, and my cell flew into the air.
I quickly retrieved my phone then heard Maverick say, “Love Bug? Ya there?”
Love Bug? V’s right. I’m having an affair with my sister’s husband.
“Yeah, uh, this is Love Bug, and Vixen says to get your ass here now.”
As everyone joined Viola and me in the den, I ended the call. V smacked me on the back of my head. “Love Bug? Do you hear yourself?”
I shrugged. “The man knows a good thing when he sees it.”
V kept bitching. “The only reason you two are in love is because you’re in love with yourselves! And you two are practically twins!”
I shrugged again, truly not understanding the fucking problem.
Savannah, my dad, Diesel, V, and I were chitchatting while the rain hit my dad’s windows. I didn’t think about all the time that had passed till my dad’s home phone rang. Delilah answered, and I could hear Maverick’s mother screaming on the other end of the line. Bailey, who was now ten, could also be heard screaming over the receiver. Delilah went pale. “Jessica, what happened?”
At the same time, my cell started ringing. When I answered, I too heard screaming over my phone. It was our family friend, a sheriff of our tiny town, and he was extremely upset. “Tuck, I’m at the Huttons’. I can’t get a hold of your sister—”
“She’s here, at my dad’s, with me. What’s wrong?”
“It’s Maverick. Wrapped around Kenny’s tree…”
I heard Lilah numbly stuttering to Jessica, “No, that can’t be. He’s in Houston. His flight…” Viola stood strong by Lilah’s side, listening, putting together what horrible outcome had come from a harmless surprise.
My dad quickly took the phone from Lilah. “Jessica, what happened?”
Lilah stumbled to me, looking so innocently confused. “Tucker, they’re wrong. He doesn’t come home till tomorrow.”
I thought I was going to puke. It was all happening again.
I handed V my cell. She walked away, asking the sheriff questions as I softly took hold of my sister’s shoulders. “Mav was trying to surprise you, Lilah.”
Her expression changed from confusion to disbelief to shock then to raw desperation as she shook her head. “No, no, no. Tell me this is not… Tucker? Tell me my husband—tell me…” Her hand went to her belly. That was when she really began to unravel, looking to the unborn child who might already being losing a parent. “No. No. No…”
Viola rushed back to us. “Mav’s at the hospital. We gotta go.”
A truck, a motorcycle, and my car raced from my dad’s house. My dad took Lilah and V to the hospital with Diesel’s hog on their tail. My car rushed to Bailey. I knew Maverick would want her in safe company with his mom going over the edge, again, at a rapid rate. My stomach plummeted seeing that old Ford molded around Kenny’s tree.
By the time I got to Jessica’s, sheriffs were trying to contain her in the front yard while a paramedic was trying to give her a shot of some kind of sedative. She had snapped under the pressure. Her husband… and now her son. Jessica was small—Maverick’s dad must have been a big boy because there was no other way to explain how that woman produced Mav from her fragile, petite frame. But even though she was itty bitty, she was putting up one hell of a fight.
“Uncle Tucker!” I caught the little girl leaping into my arms. Bailey was still tiny like her mama. She was breathing heavily in her panic. “My brother is hurt! My mommy…”
I squeezed her to me. “It’s going to be okay. She’s just real scared, but she’s gonna get better knowing you’re okay now.”
“Is someone helping my brother?”
“Yes. I’m going to take you to where he is right now.”
“I’m scared, Uncle Tucker.”
“I know, but I’m here, and I won’t let you go. Okay?”
Arms and legs tightened around me. “Okay, Uncle Tucker.”
I’ve got her, Maverick.
Sheriff released Bailey into my care, since we were family by law and she refused to go to anyone else. Getting into my car, I wasn’t surprised to see two Harleys pull up, ready to be my escort. When we were approaching Kenny’s tree, one of the bikers peered over his shoulder and touched his eyes before glancing at Bailey.
I could barely swallow but told Bailey, “Close your eyes, baby.”
She sniffled and asked no questions—just closed those hazels.
By the time we got to the hospital, my dad and Viola were holding Delilah, who needed help standing. She looked at us, and her eyes were haunted as she watched me approach with Bailey. On my hip and with one arm around my neck, Bailey reached her little hand to Delilah’s cheek. “Is my brother hurt bad?”
Lilah’s eyes closed as she held the little palm to her face. “Yes, baby.”
“Was it the scary road? Uncle Tucker told me to close my eyes there.”
Delilah’s eyes opened and were honest. “Yes, baby.”
“Delilah, don’t be scared. My brother promised never to leave me like my daddy did. That means he won’t leave you either.” She reached down to touch Lilah’s belly. “And he loves my niece. He loves us, Delilah.”
Tears as thick as blood fell down my sister’s face. “That’s right, baby. He loves us very much.”
A biker quietly approached Diesel and whispered into his ear. Diesel nodded then told us, “She’s here.”
I guided Bailey’s face to my neck. She tightened her hold on me and hid. A drugged-up Jessica was wheeled into the hospital. As she rolled by, she weakly reached to Bailey. Jessica looked so awful I was glad the little girl in my arms couldn’t see her. Dad went to her and grabbed the outreached hand. He whispered, “We’ve got her. Just rest.”
Jessica was admitted. Everyone was so concerned about her state of mind and Maverick’s condition. Bailey stayed with V and Diesel while Dad and I supported my sister. “That’s the unknown about comas,” the doctor explained as Delilah, Dad, and I stood there staring at Maverick. “We just don’t have answers on the ‘whens’ after severe head traumas like this. We are tending to the burns on his legs and feet.” He touched my sister’s arm. “Mrs. Hutton, all we can do now is monitor him and let his body try to heal itself. He has two broken ribs…” The doctor continued to list the vast number of injuries, but Delilah wasn’t hearing a single one of them. She had swollen eyes and was practically gnawing on her fist. “But he will wake up, right?”
The doctor looked at me and Dad, realizing not a word was sinking into my sister’s ears and that she only wanted to hear one thing: she wasn’t going to lose Maverick. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as I nodded to Dad. He walked the doctor out, letting him know he would take it from there and listen to the list of other injuries Maverick had experienced. Lilah reached out as the doctor walked away. “Wait.” But I pulled her to me. Her voice stayed muffled against my chest as she pleaded to anyone who was willing to listen. “Please, just tell me my husband will wake up.”
“Lilah, Mav survived the crash. He’s a fighter—in more ways than one.”
Refusing to let me go, Lilah prayed. “Please, please, please God. Oh, how I beg of you…”
The beeping machines monitoring Maverick’s status were a constant reminder of the severity of the situation. His bandaged head and legs told us how critical his injuries were. My buddy was fighting for his life, and if he survived, he’d be permanently scarred—possibly worse. Lilah watched as nurses changed the bandages on his battered le
gs. “I don’t care if he never looks the same from the thighs down; I just want him to open his eyes.”
The nurse looked incredibly sympathetic. “We know you do, sweetie. I believe Maverick knows too.” My sister just nodded her head nervously, almost on the verge of losing her sanity.
Jessica came as much as she could but refused to fail Bailey this time. Maverick’s mom kept crying, “He would want me to put her first.”
It must have been hard for her to see her son looking so… damaged. She seemed to be working hard not to tumble into another depression. I hugged her. “You’re right. Now, go home and get some rest. V already fed Bailey in the cafeteria.”
Lilah never left Maverick’s side. Eventually, while still in a coma, Mav was moved from ICU and into a private room. Being a professional boxer, he had impressive insurance. I brought my laptop to keep up with work and keep in touch with Maverick’s manager. All booked fights were cancelled indefinitely. If Maverick were to survive, it would be years before he’d be ready to take on boxing again—if ever.
Over the next month, his hospital room began to look like a room Lilah lived in. Her cot was covered with blankets and pillows from home, which V thought would bring some comfort. A small table had items to entertain us when I stayed with her. We had lots of quiet times. Lots of Go Fish. Lots of takeout brought by V. Lots of time to think.
One day, Lilah stared out the hospital window. “Do you wish it was Kenny lying in this bed?”
I studied my exhausted sister. Her belly was even bigger, and Maverick was missing it. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and even though we kept her fed and hydrated for the baby’s sake, she was awfully pale. It was simple: she was madly in love with a man who was no longer holding her the way she needed him to. It was like watching her die along with him. “Instead of Mav?”
“Yes.”
I inhaled deeply. “I miss Kenny… but no. I wouldn’t trade Maverick for him. Would you?”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save Kenny, Tucker. I wanted to… for you.”
I glanced around the hospital room, wondering what was triggering those thoughts, but suspected my sister was going to finally let me in after all those years. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to move too quickly and spook her, but I didn’t want her alone as she searched old memories. Slowly, I got up from my chair and walked to her. As I stood next to my sister, we both just looked out the window till she was ready to say more.
“Layers, Tuck. He had so many layers.”
I said nothing, just stood patiently and listened. V had told me once that sometimes silence was all a girl needed. Lilah’s eyes closed. “I dreamed of escaping.” My brain quickly went into overload as my imagination went wild, trying to think of what my sister needed escaping from. She turned to look at her husband in his hospital bed. “And now that I have someone I don’t want to ever escape, I’m losing him.”
Machines beeped, daring me to argue with her truth. Maverick wasn’t waking up. The hopeless situation found its way to my guarded heart. I’m losing another best friend. I’m losing another brother. I suddenly was choking on tears. “No, Lilah. He has to live.”
She grabbed me, gasping through her own raw tears, almost as if relieved someone else was feeling her torture. “Make him wake up!”
We were breaking.
Hope was finally depleted, and Lilah and I knew we had to face facts. He’s not waking up.
The thought of Lilah about to bury another love—before I even knew what happened with the last—was going to throw me over the edge. I was going to be lost in oblivion with her. That had me squeezing my sister in my terrified arms. “Lilah… please, please tell me what happened with Kenny.”
She tightened her hold on me. “Please don’t hate him.”
I lost it! Completely sobbing, I held her to me. “I—I can’t promise… but I’ll fucking try… for you—for you, my light.”
Her body went limp in my arms as she hysterically cried. “He… he…”
Oh my God! Kenny did what to you, my light?
“Lilah?” a lost, scruffy voice weakly called out.
My sister’s and my arms loosened of their own accord. Our feet forced us to face the hospital bed. We couldn’t believe what we were hearing. We both looked to see… Maverick, awake.
Author’s Note
Okay, so, you’re probably yelling at me right now, but I had no choice! The book was just too long—over 95,000 words! I was forced—yes forced—to split it into two parts.
Scar Me, the second novel in The Haunted Roads series, will be yours to purchase December 1st, 2018. Still love me?
Oh, and remember: #DamagedSoulsAreWorthSaving
About the Author
India R. Adams is an author/singer/songwriter who has written YA and NA novels and novellas. She was born and raised in Florida but has also been lucky enough to live in Idaho (where she froze but fell in love with the small-town life), Austin, Texas (where she started her first book, Serenity, and met wonderful artists), and now Murphy, North Carolina (where the mountains have stolen a piece of her heart).
Being a survivor of abuse has inspired India to let others know they have nothing to be ashamed of. She has used her many years of professional theater experience to build characters and stories with dark undercurrents that stem from her personal life. She says, “I’m simply finding ways to empower perfect imperfections.”
Another thing India feels needs to change is the problem of sexual slavery. She has joined forces with jewelers to design beautiful ways to raise money for nonprofit organizations.
Even though India writes about serious subjects such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, she has a magnificent sense of humor, as do the characters she creates. Her novels are perfectly balanced between laughter and tears, letting readers see how to empower their own perfect imperfections.
www.indias.productions.com
Books by India R. Adams
My Wolf and Me,
a novel
Tainted Water
Blue Waters
Black Waters
Red Waters
Haunted Roads
Steal Me
Scar Me
Stranger in the Woods
Rain
River
Forever
Serenity
Destiny
Mercy
India’s Thank Yous
This novel was written in 2013 and has become what it is today because of editors, but especially because of a few beta readers who inspired such wonderful insight with their loving opinions of Steal Me’s first draft. So, a special thank you to Vicki, Christi, and Jessica. Since then, I’ve turned to other betas and great friends for more input. I am deeply indebted to you all! Much love to everyone involved. For those of you who know where this story is headed—before Scar Me was born— shhh! Don’t tell! And to my family, again, another book has been made possible because of you. I love you… infinity.
NEW EDITION NOTE!
Jay Aheer, thank you for your endless talent and my beautiful new cover.
Andrew Chastain, thank you so much for taking a chance and saying yes to being the cover model. It is an honor to work with such a musician.
Nathan Baerreis, thank you, thank you for letting me use you gorgeous picture of Andrew. Your pictures blow me away. I can’t wait to see what you create with me and my books!
Songs That Inspired India for Steal Me
“Oklahoma Breakdown” by Stoney LaRue
“I’ll Drive Your Truck” by Lee Brice
“The Freshmen” by the Verve Pipe
“Better Man” by Pearl Jam
“Two Princes” by Spin Doctors
“Wasting My Time” by Default
“Pontoon Boat” by Sunny Ledfurd
“Crash This Train” by Joshua James
“Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Bad Company
“She Talks to Angels” by the Black Crowes
; “Where Rainbows Never Die” by the SteelDrivers
“Dogs of War” by Blues Saraceno
“Far Behind” by Candlebox
Eric Church and Chris Stapleton (Need I say more?)
The song that best represents Mave
rick and Tucker’s turmoil, is “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors.
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