Jace Read Online Free PDF

the
gritty details, okay.” She laughed, but he could see the painful glint in her
eye. “You’re cute, but not that cute.”
    And there was his stupid smile
again, pulling up his lips. Hell, he was starting look like Kyle with the grin
he wore.
    “I’m going to need the details
of your case, Ms. Colgen. Tell me your history with this guy. You don’t have to
leave anything out, but try to keep it brief, point by point.”
    Her face scrunched up. “Why’s
that?”
    His gaze slid to her mouth. He
jerked it away just as fast. He couldn’t be going there right now. “Otherwise,
people can find themselves reliving the old memories because they’re
remembering how they felt in the situations instead of stating the events as if
they were facts. It will help us both to keep the details straight. Now go.”
    At the command, Mara jumped to
her feet and started ranting the horrific events of her ex like she was reading
a grocery list.
    “I met Corey at a car repair
shop. At the time, he was working as a mechanic, doing oil changes and fixing
tires. Stuff like that. My car had a flat. I got it towed to that shop because
it was the closet. Corey worked on my car; he was adorable, cute, and flirty.
We started dating. The first six weeks were fun, perfect. I took him to meet my
mom. Everyone liked him. Funny, sweet, good looking and he doted on me. What
wasn’t to like?” She took a deep shuddering breath; tears dotted the corner of
her eyes.
    Naturally, Jace’s body tensed.
He knew what was coming. He knew, because he’d seen his mom do it with his
father over and over again. He didn’t say anything, just waited and listened.
    “I made him mad, okay? The
first time it happened, it was six weeks in. I…I didn’t know what to do. I’d
never been told what to do when you’re lying on the ground crying after being
punched in the face by your boyfriend. I suppose that would be a weird school
that taught those kinds of lessons in school.” She let out a nervous laugh.
    He smiled at her, needing to
hear the rest.
    “Let’s see…where was I? Her voice
shook. “Right, after the first time it changed. Everything changed after that.
Like something was let loose in him. He wanted to move to New York, not the
city but in a smaller, rural area. I didn’t understand completely why he wanted
to move, but he had me scared, in love. Yeah, I know, stupid.
    “In New York, he got worse. I
think being away from my mom and his family gave him more freedom. I walked on
eggshells for a long time after that. When I finally grew strong enough to get
out, it didn’t happen all neat as I’d planned it. And it all started because I
was sweaty.”
    Jace couldn’t help but laugh at
how ridiculous that sounded. She laughed with him and some of the tension left
her shoulders. When she continued she sounded much more normal.
    “It was in December, not of
last year, but the year before. We were at home, as usual. We never went out,
because he didn’t like it. It was a cool thirty-eight degrees outside. It
hadn’t snowed much that season so the scenery was sadly devoid of snow. And
Corey was in a mood. I remember just wishing I could be gone already, but I had
to wait for the Greyhound that would take me back home to Florida. I had two
more days to wait and put up with him, sleep next to him.” She stopped and
looked away, tears being held steadfast with a clenched jaw.
    Damn, he wanted to pull her
into his arms and fix it, make her feel better, make things right. She had him
thinking crazy. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.
    “I was a little cold. We had an
old house with shitty installation so every little breeze could be felt inside.
I’d complain that I was cold and I go to get a sweater.” She paused, staring at
some random point on the floor. “Cut to sometime later and he’s putting the
thermostat all the way up to ninety-three and…”
    “And what, Mara?”
    He tried to catch her gaze but
she refused to look at him.