Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Something changed. Something about the way the woman looked at her with almost sympathy. Like she knew.
A cold chill—far colder than the early fall air—swept across Kala’s skin. She stood, realizing what she should have before. Situational awareness. Her father preached it, but she’d been all in her feelings and now she was alone with someone she didn’t know in a park no one could see from the roadway. What had seemed like a sanctuary moments before now felt a bit like a trap.
“I should go. Good luck with the scary people thing.” She would go home and face the freaking music. Hell, Tash might feel so bad for her she made cookies or something and she could eat all her feelings, and she wouldn’t think about how she’d put herself in this position.
The one with the weird chick in the dark of night. Not the one with Cooper. She’d be thinking about Cooper for a long time.
The woman stood, stepping on the paved trail and suddenly blocking Kala’s way.
“Kala, I’m sorry. When I took the job, I didn’t realize you were a kid,” she said with a long sigh. “She’s crazy, by the way, but I really do believe she’s not going to hurt you if you comply.”
Fuck. What the hell was going on? How did this chick know her name? Why was she looking at her like she felt bad about what she was about to go through?
What was she about to go through?
Someone had been watching her family. Someone had been looking for a weak spot and it turned out she was it. There was only one real threat she could think of right now. “How long has Julia Ennis had you following me? And by the way, I hope the payday was worth it because my parents are going to kill you, and they won’t do it slow.”
A pinging sound sent Kala’s heart rate sky high, and then she felt a hefty dose of panic as the woman’s eyes went glassy and a hole formed on her head. It took a moment for it to register. Shot. She’d been shot.
They weren’t alone. This woman had led Julia Ennis straight to her, and now her parents wouldn’t get the chance to avenge her. Not against this chick. She was dead.
She was dead. Fucking dead.
There were times when her perpetually dark and dramatic soul questioned whether life was worth the misery, but it was obvious now her body’s answer. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, training took over and she brought her elbow up and back, hitting whoever was behind her in the gut and earning her a hearty woof.
She immediately brought her boot down where the guy’s foot should be and managed to twist enough she could see her attacker.
The panic was so hard to control. She was fifteen. She was going to die and she was only fifteen, and Cooper hated her and no one would miss her. She punched out as another man dressed all in black moved from the trees, prowling toward her like death on two legs.
She didn’t want to die. She didn’t. She would miss Lou and her sisters and her mom and dad. She would miss her brothers and Bud.
She would miss Cooper so much.
“She’s a tiny fucking girl. Someone take her down,” a deep voice said.
The words did something magical. She wasn’t actually tiny. She was way too tall according to a lot of insecure guys. The only thing Cooper seemed to like about her were her already generous breasts and hips.
Sometimes you let the crazy flow. Sometimes it’s the only thing that can save you.
Her mother’s words. She might not be tiny. She might be a girl. She might be weak compared to these… How many? Five at least…assholes, but what she was—her superpower lay in her darkness, and she let it flow.
She let go of the panic. She could do this. She didn’t have to go down. The guy she’d punched pulled up his balaclava, and she realized she’d drawn blood.
He cursed and held up his weapon, pointing it her way.
“Hey,” one of the guys to her left shouted. “No killing the target.”
So Julia wanted her alive. Likely to make Kyle come to her without too much of a fight. Or to get MaeBe to turn herself over. She wasn’t going to allow it to happen. She could do this. She was a freaking Taggart, and she wasn’t about to be the weak link.
Years of martial arts training came back, muscle memory proving an efficient barrier to panic. She couldn’t panic if she was busy kicking ass. The guy she’d drawn blood from reached out and grabbed her wrist.
She twisted and got a good hold on his forearm. He was heavy, but she could use his weight against him. She’d flipped her dad before, and he tended to not allow her to win when they sparred. A thrill went through her when she managed to get that asshole on his back, hitting the ground hard enough the air whooshed out of his lungs.