They Protected My Murderer, So I Walked Away from Them All Chapter 06

They Protected My Murderer, So I Walked Away from Them All Chapter 06

Damian ran every red light up the mountain.

Before the headlights swept the turn, the stench hit them–burnt rubber, gas, and roasted meat.

He threw the car into park.

They tumbled out and froze.

No one was calling it a scam anymore.

Against the jagged rock wall sat the blackened frame of a car, smoke still rising into the dark.

Damian’s vision tunneled.

Three years ago rushed back like a blow to the teeth. The blood. The glass.

Aurora broken on the pavement.

Beside him, Mrs. Gambino grabbed her husband’s sleeve, shaking.

“She’s still up on the mountain, right? She stayed.”

Nobody said a word.

When Bianca ran, they all ran. Nobody stayed. Nobody checked.

Valerie grabbed her phone, hands shaking, and hit redial.

The phone rang until the line clicked dead.

By the yellow tape, a state trooper waved a light at them.

Damian forced his legs to move.

He searched the black road for blood, for a body.

Nothing. Just soot and foam.

He let out a sharp breath.

The investigator holding a clipboard crushed it with one sentence.

“The tank blew on impact. The body is burned beyond recognition.”

He pointed to a plastic evidence tray sitting on the cruiser’s hood.

“We pulled personal effects off the remains. See if you know them.”

Damian looked down. His chest went dead.

First item: three surgical pins.

Recovered from the leg they had to rebuild three years ago.

Second item: a warped sapphire cuff.

Nico started shaking. He had saved his cash for six months to buy that for her when he was ten.

Third item: a blackened St. Christopher medal.

The Donna broke, sobbing against her husband’s coat.

Damian reached out, but his hand froze before touching the silver.

They had burned candles in front of that medal for three years while she lay in a coma.

When she opened her eyes, Damian had locked it around her neck himself.

To keep her safe on the road.

And they had driven her off a cliff to baby a mistress.

The investigator watched their faces and snapped his folder shut.

“I’m sorry for your loss. We’ll sign off on the paperwork and release the remains to your funeral home.”

The Donna’s knees buckled. Nico and Valerie scrambled to hold her up, trembling.

Damian hit the dirt.

He grabbed the charred medal and crushed it in his fist. The jagged silver tore deep into his palm.

Blood dripped through his fingers into the black ash. He felt nothing.

Staring at the smoking steel, only one thought was left in his head:

He had to follow her.