Annihilate Me (Vol. 3) (The Annihilate Me Series) by Christina Ross Read Free Book Online Page A

it
have, when some drunk fool stood in front of me when I was six and struck me
with a belt across my back for no reason?   All this happened while my mother looked on, and she never intervened
because she also was frightened of him.”
    “Jennifer—”
    I stopped for a moment to collect
myself.   I closed my eyes before I
looked at him again.   He certainly
didn’t need some emotional wreck to deal with now.  
    Get it together.
    “Blackwell and I had a wonderful talk
earlier today,” I said, pressing on.   “I’ve really come to admire her and respect her.   I consider her a friend, which she
doesn’t want to hear.   But I guess
we all have our hang-ups, don’t we?   She thinks she’s unworthy of friendship.   I think I’m unworthy of love.   We’re two peas in a pod.”
    “You are worthy of love.   I love you.”
    “I know you do.   And I’m grateful for that.   As for Blackwell, she told me what I already know.   And that’s that somehow, I need to
learn to trust.   I promise you
this, Alex.   I plan on giving all
of myself to you—not just physically, but everything I have within
me.   It might not come as quickly
as you want, but it’ll come.   I’m
working on it.   I know I sound
pathetic right now, but if you knew what he did to me, and how frequently he
did what he did to me, then maybe you’d understand.   It won’t be easy.   But I’m committed to moving through it and having a loving relationship
with a good man—you.   I said
I’m your girlfriend.   I said it
because I meant it—not because you wanted to hear it.   And you know what?   I’m happy that I said it because this
is officially the first time I’ve had a boyfriend.   You have come to mean so much to me.   Please, just give me a little more time
to work through whatever it is that I need to work through—to throw that
bastard aside and realize my own self-worth.   Because if and when I do tell you that I love you, you will
know for certain that it’s the truth.”

 
 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER
SEVEN

 
    When I left Alex, I slung my handbag over
my shoulder and met Blackwell, who was standing just outside the door and
talking with one of the guards.   She stopped when she saw me.
    “Are you all right?” she asked.
    “I’ll be fine.   I’m very lucky.”
    “So is he.”
    I glanced at the guard.   He was a good-looking man.   He had short brown hair, stood well
over six feet, and was nothing if not a muscular brute.   “Do we know anything yet?” I asked him.
    “Unfortunately, nothing of significance,
ma’am.   The man who fired shots at
you is dead.”
    “I understand that.   We killed him.”
    “Out of self-defense,” Blackwell said.
    I looked at her, but didn’t respond.
    “He carried no identification, though the
FBI is using their Facial Recognition Technology to see if they can match his
face with anything in their files,” the guard said.   “If he ever was arrested, they will be able to match his
face with his identity, which will give us something to work with.   If they fail, because he had no
previous record, then we have nothing because the car he used was stolen and
obviously not listed in his name.   We’re working every angle, but we might not ever know who he was or whom
he worked for.   I need you to be
prepared that.”
    “That’s what Alex said.”
    “Alex is correct.   Whoever is behind this might already
have accomplished what they set out to accomplish—terrify each of you and
keep you on edge going forward because of what happened the other night.   We’re not going to stop investigating
this—that’s far from the case.   I just need you to be prepared in case they have already pulled back
their team and gone underground.”
    “I doubt that.”
    “Why?”
    “Because of what was written in the email
I received.   They’re playing with
us now.   If they wanted to shoot
Alex or me, they would have.   I
come from Maine.   I know