Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
My hand raised just in time to catch the quarter being thrown directly at my face. “Jesus Christ, Mary. I fucking told you I’d never go. Why are you being such a fucking bitch?” I snarled.
“I know you were there. Who else comes to visit them on these days besides you? You’re the only one left. Or did you forget that part?” She snarled right back.
I raised my hand and rubbed my chest, right where my aching heart lay beneath. “I made you a promise. I didn’t visit his grave.”
I didn’t tell her that it was Baylee who’d done it for me. That would just be opening that huge can of proverbial worms.
Baylee cleared her throat, drawing both of their attentions.
Mary’s head snapped around and she glared at Baylee for interrupting. “Who’re you?”
“She’s mine.” I declared.
“Of course she is. You always liked them on the slutty side of curvy, didn’t you?” She scoffed.
“That’s enough, Mary. I think you need to go back to work and leave us be.” I ordered glaring at the woman I’d once called a friend.
I hadn’t been able to admit it all those years ago, but the woman was a big bitch. At first, I’d just thought it was because Mary had been grieving, but as each subsequent year passed, and Mary continued to act like this, I couldn’t allow her those feelings anymore. Hell, the woman was even married again.
“He wasn’t complaining about my curves this morning.” Baylee smiled, pressing her breasts together for emphasis.
Hard doesn’t even begin to describe my dick when Baylee said that just then. This morning had been on my list of fantasies since first meeting the woman in her bra and bike shorts, while I was taking a piss.
Reaching down, I adjusted my dick in my pants underneath the table. Baylee caught the movement and laughed. Mary caught the movement and snarled before leaving. Her stale perfume following in her wake.
“What the hell was that about?” Baylee asked.
“Mitchell Ryan Reed, a.k.a. Hell, was a hell of a man, which was where he got his name. When I first got to the town where boot camp was being held, Mary and I had a one-night stand, and I left the next day without a backwards glance. I was 18 and going into the Marines the next day. I didn’t need those type of attachments.”
I hid my grin at seeing the silent snarl on Baylee’s face. When she made the ‘keep going’ gesture with her finger, I continued.
“Anyway, six months down the road, Hell tells me he found the most awesome woman in the world, and he was getting married. Low and behold, it’s Mary. We both acted like we didn’t know each other, but I told him I’d slept with her the very day he introduced her to us. Then we were deployed, and she became the type of woman that would whine and cry every time he spoke to her. Write him sob letters about how lonely she was. Each and every time. It never stopped. Then, when he died, she blamed me because I survived, and her husband didn’t. Been that way ever since.” I finished.
“Wow,” She said hesitantly.
“Couldn’t agree more.” I nodded.
The waiter brought Baylee’s Chicken Critters and my 72-ounce sirloin shortly after, and I’d just taken my first bite when what she said made me choke.
“At least what you do isn’t illegal. I was really worried that your MC was a bunch of criminals who did bad things. It makes me feel better that you work in the confines of the law. It’ll help me get Luke off my back, at least.”
Fuck.
I never said I didn’t do anything illegal. I only said that what we did to make money wasn’t illegal.
What the hell was I supposed to tell her now?
Chapter 13
When life feels overwhelming, remember that you will eventually die.
-Life lesson
Baylee
The tones dropped, and we immediately tensed.
This week had been absolutely nuts.
There’d been three other unexplained arsons, and absolutely every one of them had the same M.O. as the first apartment fire just three short months ago.
Luckily, this one wasn’t a fire at all.
“Medic three, please dispatch to patient home at 318 Englewood Drive. Life alert was utilized. Patient fell and is unable to move.” The dispatcher called over the radio.
Winter sighed while I ground my teeth. We received many calls on the elderly. It was actually quite sad, because the majority of the calls were on men and women that literally couldn’t do anything themselves; yet they didn’t have the money to pay for the care they needed.
“Medic three responding.” I said into my mic at my shoulder.
We pushed off the picnic tables we were eating at, tossing our half-eaten food into the trash before loading into the bus.
Paramedics wasted a lot of food. Hell, only once in a blue moon was it possible for me to finish my meals without the tones dropping. Most of the time we were able to bring the food with us, but this time it was pasta, and that didn’t travel well.
The residence we arrived at wasn’t a nice one. In fact, it was downright deplorable, and it made my heart hurt to think of an elderly man living here.
I grabbed the med bag as Winter went ahead and knocked on the door.
What surprised us both was the fact that someone actually answered the door. Usually on a fall call, we had to enter the residence by force due to the person being on the floor and unable to get up. The person was most assuredly not elderly, either. At most, he was forty. He was also juicin’ by the looks of him; he was jittery as fuck.
“Hello, we received a call that someone had fallen.” Winter said by way of greeting.
“Uhh, yeah. That was me. I pressed my girlfriend’s life alert. I didn’t fall though.” He explained, while looking around warily.
Something in my brain told me this was fishy, and we should probably call PD; while Winter stepped inside, I hit the mic at my shoulder.