Forever We Fall: Broken #4 (The Broken Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

up to her elbows before bunching her hair together and securing it with a hair-tie from her wrist.
    The moment she stepped into the hallway I had to force myself not to flinch. She was paler than her usual self and I knew why. My girl was battling her demons again, and the sight of her frail, scar-covered body confirmed to me that the foreboding feeling of dread inside my heart was dead on the money.
    Shaking my head, I inhaled deeply and forced all the horrible images out of my mind, choosing to focus on the here and now instead. "I didn't know she was coming here, princess," I told her, needing Lee to know I would never fucking ambush her again.
    "I know you didn't." Cupping my cheek with one of her small hands, she stepped towards me. "You were twisting and turning all night," she whispered as she traced light circles on my cheek with her thumb, her gray eyes wide and full of concern. "What were you dreaming about?"
    Clearing my throat, I smiled to ease her worry and pulled her into my arms. "Can't remember, baby," I replied, my tone thick. I couldn't exactly tell the girl who was afraid of her own damn shadow that I was worried about her safety. That I was fucking petrified her father would make good on his promise and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it.
    "You're sure?" Lee whispered, pressing her cheek against the skin over my heart and I inwardly shuddered. "Kyle, you know you can talk to me, right? If you're worried about my father…" 
    "I'm not worried," I mumbled quickly, cutting her off, lying through my goddamn teeth. "Are you sure you wanna see her?"
    "No," she sighed as she stepped out of my arms and brushed the front of her shirt down nervously. "But I know that I have to."
     
     
    ****
     

 
    Chapter Two
    Lee
     
     
    Sweeping my hair off my face, I smoothed down my shirt and followed a very puzzled looking Kyle down the staircase. "You're sure about this, Lee?" Kyle asked as he looked over his shoulder and gave me his best lost-puppy expression. I guessed he wasn't faking it. He genuinely looked confused. 
    I nodded my head.
    "You're absolutely certain you want to speak to her?" Kyle asked. Turning around to face me, his fingers trailed over my cheek. I shivered from the light contact of his hands on my body. I felt that. Thank god… "Your dad called her, Lee. She's afraid to go home. I can send her to the hotel first thing in the morn…Lee, baby, are you okay?" His eyes searched my face. "Are you in pain?" he asked in a gruff tone.
    "I'm okay," I replied, my tone of voice even and controlled. I wasn't okay though. I wasn't anywhere close to being okay. My life was becoming more bewildering by the minute and I had a feeling that I'd surpassed my limit of fear and worry for one day.
    I supposed my father's phone call had a lot to do with my inner turmoil. But I guessed the phone call I'd overheard Kyle having with Kelsie earlier –when I was pretending to be asleep – had much more to do with it. Perry's accusations paled in comparison to my daddy's threats and my daddy's threats paled in comparison to Rachel Grayson's actions. And in eight weeks I would be facing my best-friend's murderer. In eight weeks' time the fate of one woman and the retribution of another would rest in my hands. Kyle had said it. I'd heard him. I had exactly fifty-six days…
    "I want to hear what she has to say," I told him and I realized, surprisingly, that I was telling the truth. "That's why I suggested having dinner with her." Talking to Tracy in the grand scheme of things seemed infinite. I could do this. I could face her. One demon at a time. 
    Stopping in front of the downstairs bathroom, I tugged on Kyle's arm and said, "But I have to pee first," before rushing inside the bathroom and locking the door.
    Deep breaths…
    Deep calm breaths…
    Don't think about him…
    Don't think about her…
    Striving to keep my emotions in check, I completed my – earlier than usual – morning ritual of testing my