Chapter 34
“She lay in a crumpled heap, Jacob. She’d hit her head on the china cabinet and she was just…gone.”
Jacob wrapped his arms around Luka, letting him rest his forehead on his shoulder. He stroked his hair as the tears came.
Luka sniffled and pulled back. “It was the worst moment of my life. At least I thought it was, but then my dad started ranting. He said it was myfault and that he was going to call the police and tell them.” He shuddered. “I believed him. My dad had friends on the force. He always befriended the crooked cops in whatever crappy town we landed in. He swore he was going to blame me and I would be arrested.”
Jacob’s stomach rolled. “Oh, my God, Luka! How could he?”
“I ran, Jacob. I grabbed a few possessions and ran. I just ran. Like a coward.”
Jacob cupped his cheeks and stared into his eyes. “You are nota coward! You were eighteen and you ran to save your life! It’s what your mother would have wanted.”