Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
I waited a long time while she stared into the box blankly, and when she finally stood up, I decided it was time to leave.
My arm was throbbing from the lacerations I’d received in the wreck, and I was already filled with dread at the thought of having to drive all the way home, some forty-five minutes, on the back of my bike in the middle of winter.
They’d cut my leather jacket off in the ambulance, and it was by sheer force of will that they didn’t use the scissors on my cut.
If it wasn’t for the fireman who was there while they were strapping me in, they would have, and I’d have had to kill them. There was a female EMT who was only doing her job, but she should have known not to destroy my cut.
Injured or not, a cut was sacred.
I really was going to leave, too, when I saw her start plugging lights in, but then a dog ran out of her house and directly to me.
He started barking and carrying on, and I backed away until I was on the street, making it look like I was just out for a walk.
She followed her dog into the road, completely unaware that I was even there.
My eyes caught on the ‘For Sale’ sign on the house next door to hers, and I had my excuse when she asked why I was outside her house.
“Oh! It’s you!” Freya cried. “You scared me! What are you doing out here?”
I blinked, looking over at her.
“What?” I asked, feigning confusion.
“Wow, you’ve had a busy day!” she said, sounding like the cheer in her voice was forced.
“Yeah, real busy,” I confirmed, studying her. “What are you doing?”
She smiled sadly at me.
“I’m going to put up my Christmas lights,” she replied softly. “Do you like the house?”
She didn’t ask, only assumed that I was looking at it.
Good.
So I wouldn’t have to lie.
“Yeah,” I said honestly. “It’s a nice house.”
She cleared her throat.
“That was my brother’s house,” her voice cracked. “I know for a fact that it’s in good condition. He fully remodeled it a year ago, then he got hired on at the Sheriff’s department in Harrison County and moved over there, leaving this one as a rental property. The renters just moved out of it last week. I haven’t even had a chance to clean it out yet.”
Not wanting to deceive her about knowing who she was, who her brother was to me, and why I was there, I was about to explain everything when the dog started barking again. This time it was at a car down the street, idling on the side of the road with its lights off.
The dog’s bark was different, though – more of a growl instead of a bark – telling me that whomever was in the car down the street, the dog didn’t like.
“That’s our neighbor, Aaron. He owns almost all the houses on this street except for this one and my brother’s…well, mine now, I guess,” she whispered softly.
My heart hurt for her and the pain I heard in her voice at the mention of her brother.
I was just about to tell her who I was when the dog chose that moment to take off down the road, barking ferociously, in the direction of the car.
Well, as ferociously as a Shar Pei could, anyway.
He barked loudly, stopping a few scant feet from the front bumper, hunching his wrinkly self down into the attack position as if he were going to bark whomever was inside the car to death.
“Sharpy!” Freya yelled loudly. “Come!”
‘Sharpy,’ might I add, was a pretty funny name for this particular the breed of dog. Fitting.
But Sharpy didn’t come, he stayed right where he was, barking his fool head off.
The car’s headlights flipped on, and the engine roared to life.
And I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the driver of that car was about to take that dog out.
I also knew that if that happened, Freya would’ve lost more than just the dog.
The look of pure horror on her face told me everything I needed to know.
She would lose what was left of her heart, as well.
That look on her face was enough to spur me into action, and I started to run towards the car as soon as I heard the engine turn over.
I heard the car shift into drive, and I pulled my gun, pointing it right at the motherfucker because I knew I wasn’t going to make it there in time.
The car inched forward, but at the sound of my voice, it lurched to a stop, rocking back and forth with the momentum of the driver applying the brakes.
“Motherfucker,” I growled. “Sharpy!” I commanded forcefully. “Come!”
Sharpy, startled by the demand in my tone, stopped barking and came to my side, but I didn’t take my eyes off the man in the car.