Ride Hard by Evelyn Glass Read Free Book Online Page B

preferred if Nick was inside. He made her feel safe. No one else had the power to quiet her frazzled never, but this wasn’t the time to make a fuss.
     
    She nodded, as she attempted to be brave. “I’ll be fine.”
     
    Gabby had expected a great deal of questions and doubtful glances. She expected to be treated like a criminal, or perhaps a liar. But much to her amazement, the police were respectful, kind even.
     
    After the first few basic questions were over, they began to probe into her background. “How old were you when Joseph snatched you off the streets?”
     
    “He didn’t exactly snatch me. I ran away from home. And when I ran out of money, I sat at a bus station where I waited for someone to take me back home, or perhaps…I don’t know why I sat there, except that there were people there and it felt safe.” She moistened her lips with her tongue, hating the flood of memories that threatened to choke her. “He offered to give me food and said he would call my father. I went with him. It was stupid. I should’ve been wary.”
     
    “You were ten,” said one of the officers. “He was an adult. The burden of responsibility was on him.”
     
    Gabby blinked. It was so unexpected to hear a police officer utter something that made her feel as if this wasn’t her fault. All her life she’d struggled with the guilt that she did something wrong. If she hadn’t run away, if she was more careful, if she didn’t trust Joseph, none of it would have happened. His words touched her heart, eased the burden of guilt she carried for so long. “I…went to his house, or the safe house where he kept the girls.” As she described the initial days, the first few months, and then the long years in which she humped one man after another, Gabby felt the tears well in her eyes.
     
    The grief was ever-present; the pain of saying goodbye to her childhood too young, the anguish of living in such demeaning environment, and the constant agony of knowing that she wasn’t loved ate her alive, but this was the first time that she spoke about it. Much to her surprise, they halted the interview to give her time to collect her thoughts. One of them bought coffee and cake. They were kind, attentive, and caring. Most of all, they believed .
     
    It was more than what she’d hoped for.
     
    The interview lasted for four hours. She gave all the basic information. As they were wrapping up, one question startled her. “Have you had any contact with Joseph ever since you came here?”
     
    What was she supposed to say? Gabby dared not even breathe as she thought furiously about the answer. If she told them that he called her, it would open a Pandora’s Box. She would be forced to tell them about the threat he delivered. Her lawyer, James, might tell Nick. She couldn’t bear the idea of involving Nick in this sordid affair. As it was, he was in it knee deep. If he discovered that Joseph was hounding her, he might take action himself and it would put his life to risk.
     
    She couldn’t take that chance.
     
    “No, I never called him…and he doesn’t know where,” she lied.
     
    They didn’t ask any more questions. Evidently, they trusted her. The concept was alien, strange, but it was very much real. Once she stood, Gabby half expected them to shout that she was a liar and made up the whole story. But instead, they smiled politely, assured her that they would begin their investigation soon, and led her out.
     
    Nick was still waiting outside. Seeing her, his lips lifted in a smile. She melted into his arms without a thought. It felt good to be held by a man who loved her. It felt amazing to be surrounded by people who believed in her.
     
      It was such a heady feeling that she actually felt dizzy with the sheer joy of it.
     
    “Are you alright?”
     
    She smiled. Her heart burst with love for this man who made it possible for her to overcome her past and sail past the pain of it. “Never better, love.” His eyes