Thicker than Blood Read Online Free PDF

just disappeared, and then back to me. “I’m going to get you
out of here. Out of Fredericksville.”
    Bewildered, I widened my eyes as my mouth
fell open. “What?” I whispered.
    He wiggled his fingers, beckoning me again to
take his hand. Somewhat in shock, I took it, allowing him to pull
me up and gently help me back to my bench.
    Not another word was spoken as he turned away
from me and crossed the cell, once again locking me inside. He did
a full sweep of the hallway before turning around to face me.
Through the bars, he stared deeply into my eyes, revealing so much
emotion, more than I’d ever thought him capable of. But then again,
I’d never really thought much of him before.
    “Because, Leisel. I want out too.”

Chapter Four
    Evelyn
    “Mason, please,” I begged, clinging to my husband’s
leg as he attempted to walk away from me. “I’m begging you. Please,
do something.” I continued sobbing, my tears creating a damp spot
on his pants. “Don’t let her die.”
    “ Evelyn, there’s nothing I can do for her.”
He bent down, struggling to pry my fingers from his ankle, then
huffed in frustration. “She killed Lawrence. He was my friend, you
know. She couldn’t have killed anyone more important if she tried!”
Throwing his hands up in exasperation, his double chin wobbling, he
looked down at me with pity in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Eve. I know
how much you cared for her.”
    I looked down at the floor. My eyes were
burning fiery holes into the wooden floorboards and I had to wait
several seconds, breathing through my anger before I could manage
standing.
    “ Cared?” I asked, seething. “I care for her, Mason. She’s not dead
yet.” Turning my back on him, I stormed out of the room. Behind me,
I heard him huff again in annoyance.
    Now standing by the kitchen sink, I leaned
forward, gripping the counter top with both hands as I stared out
into the dwindling daylight. One day had already come and nearly
gone; tomorrow I would lose her, and I couldn’t lose her. I gripped
the counter harder.
    She didn’t deserve any of this, and Lawrence
had gotten exactly what he deserved. He’d been a bastard until the
bitter end, and now he was going to take her down with him. My
breath came in short, ragged pants, my anger and frustration
threatening to swallow me whole.
    Slow, deliberate footsteps shook me free from
my thoughts as Mason attempted to stealthily enter the room. Only
there was nothing stealthy about my husband, his slippers dragging
noisily across the floorboards, his heavy breathing a telltale
giveaway of his approach. A moment later his hands fell heavily on
my shoulders, and as usual, I had to fight the urge to shrug him
away.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, his hot breath on my
neck.
    In front of me the setting sun was a burning
golden sphere in the sky, casting a fiery heat across the front of
the house. The other houses didn’t get as much sun as mine, and I
had chosen it for that very reason. After our wedding, Mason had
given me the option to choose whichever available home I wanted.
I’d chosen this one for two reasons—it was close to Leisel, and the
sun…my God, so much sun. It was always the last house to lose the
daylight, and while the rest of my life consisted of so much
darkness, I needed the sun, needed its warmth.
    Mason pressed his lips to my neck, leaving
sloppy, clumsy kisses. He was such a selfish man, only ever
thinking of himself and his needs. Both disgusted and annoyed, I
felt a shudder slither up my spine and across my arms, yet I did
nothing. There was nothing I could do. He owned me in a way a
husband should never be able to own his wife.
    “Not tonight,” I managed to say, somehow
managing to not sound as repulsed as I felt. “I can’t.”
    Slipping out from beneath his grip, I moved
quickly to the other side of our small kitchen. When I chanced a
glance in his direction, I found him red faced, embarrassed by my
casual brush-off. No other woman in