Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
“Man, I could use a stiff drink,” Caleb grumbles, leaning against the head rest of the passenger seat with his eyes closed.
My heart stops. “I’ll arrange an emergency Zoom call with Gina for this afternoon, while you catch up on sleep.”
Caleb opens his eyes and looks at me blankly.
“You said you want to drink.”
“No, I said I could use a drink. It’s a figure of speech. All I meant is it’s been a long fucking night and if I were still drinking, which I’m not, this would be one of the times I’d throw back a tall one.” He pats my arm. “I’m not in any danger of falling off the wagon, babe. Don’t worry about that.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“You’d tell me, right?”
“I would. But don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“If that changes, you’ll tell me, right? You’ll come straight to me and confess and never, ever hide it, so I can help you?”
Caleb sighs. “Of course. Please, Aubrey. I’m tired. Can we just go home now?”
I exhale. “Lemme call my parents real quick to tell them the good news.” I pull out my phone to make the call, but Caleb touches my arm to stop me.
“Hang on. Come to think of it, there’s something I should tell you, before we do anything else.”
I lower my phone to my lap and hold his gaze, my heart thumping.
Caleb murmurs, “Good, bad, ugly. That’s what I promised you.”
“Ralph didn’t aim his gun at you,” I blurt. It’s what I’ve been suspecting, since the moment I saw his dead body in the bushes. If I know my man, he didn’t wait for Ralph to aim a gun at him before firing. No, I’d bet anything Caleb took his shot before letting that happen.
Caleb nods slowly. “Ralph wasn’t even holding his gun when I shot him. It was stuffed in his belt, because he had both hands on the crowbar.”
I take a shallow breath. “I had a feeling.”
His nostrils flare. “After I shot him, I used my sleeve to lift his gun out of his belt and place it in his dead hand.”
I process for a brief moment, and then take Caleb’s hand. Suspecting Caleb took his shot was one thing; but knowing it for a fact, knowing my man didn’t hesitate to protect his family, is another. Indeed, this electrifying news only makes me love and respect Caleb, all the more.
“What about the duffel bag?” I ask, barely breathing.
Caleb shakes his head. “I didn’t plant that or anything in it. That was all Ralph.”
I exhale. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”
“I couldn’t tell you last night because our neighbor was there. And then the police. But I want you to know, I think of my promise to tell you everything—good, bad, and ugly—as a sacred vow.”
My chest heaves. “It’s a vow for me, too.” I touch his cheek and he closes his eyes at my touch. “What you did was nothing but good, baby. Not bad or ugly at all.”
Caleb opens his exhausted eyes. “You’re not scared of me now?”
“Scared of you? Caleb, I’m nothing but proud of you. Grateful for what you did to protect us.”
“I knew we’d always live in fear, if I didn’t seize my chance.”
“No doubt about it. They wouldn’t have kept him long, and he would have kept coming at us, again and again.”
“That was my thinking. At first, anyway. When I pulled the trigger, I don’t think I was thinking at all, honestly.” He takes a deep breath. “Ralph said something horrible about Claudia. And then, he mentioned Raine. And the second Raine’s name left his mouth, I saw him doing to her what he used to do to Claudia. And I just . . . snapped. My body took over and my brain went into a trance.”
I nod. “If I’d been in your shoes, I can only hope I would have been brave enough—and a good enough shot—to do exactly what you did.”
“I was so scared you wouldn’t understand.”
“I do. And I couldn’t love you more than I do right now.” A tidal wave of emotion slams into me. Love for Caleb and Raine. Grief and love for Claudia.
“I’m so relieved,” he whispers.
“Honey, you should talk about this with a counselor. The stuff you can, anyway. You know, so you don’t get PTSD.”
He scoffs. “Trust me, I won’t lose a minute’s sleep over this. Not now that I know you support me.”
“I don’t think a lack of regret is the only factor in terms of PTSD. I think it’s complicated.”
Caleb shrugs. “You heard our neighbor. That fucker came after my family with obviously lethal intentions, and I did what I had to do to protect what’s mine. Honestly, I’d do it again, a thousand times over, without a single regret.”
My heart is exploding with love for him. I don’t know what to say, so I simply whisper, “I love you.”