Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
It’s all hands on deck when the dispatcher tells us about the call. A young girl, frightened out of her wits, says someone has broken into her house.
We arrive and the first time I see her is when she swings a bat at me.
That’s the moment that changes everything.
This sweet, innocent little thing rocks my world.
Now, more than ever, I know I have to protect her.
It’s not just my job as sheriff. It’s what I have to do if I want to make her mine.
And she will be.
Anyone tries to hurt her, and all cosmic hell will break loose.
Her Daddy will make them pay.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
LUKE
We kill the lights and sirens just before turning onto Front Street. If there’s someone inside the house, we don’t want to startle him into doing something desperate.
The way the girl sounded on the phone, she either has a penchant for the dramatics or this is the first truly dangerous call we’ve had since I assumed the role of sheriff. The dispatcher was so thrown off that it took several minutes to calm her down enough to get the story.
Everyone began paying attention as she described the sheer terror in the girl’s voice.
Parked two houses down from the caller’s address, I pull my service revolver and approach the house. The sound of blood rushing through my ears nearly drowns out the footsteps of the deputies walking behind me. They’re panicked and maybe a bit scared. This call has everyone out of their comfort zone.
The porch light is on but the inside of the house looks dark. This doesn’t bode well. If an intruder came and left, the house should be lit up like a Christmas tree. There might still be someone inside who doesn’t belong there.
Crash!
Something fragile breaks somewhere on the other end of the house. I rush toward the sound, followed by four terrified deputies. We arrive in the kitchen to find a broken vase on the floor, two dining chairs toppled over, and the backdoor wide open.
“Go after him,” I shout and three of the deputies commence the pursuit. The other heads down to the basement, and I go upstairs to the second floor.
Why do they always pick places like bathtubs to hide? Don’t they know they’ll be cornered there? I step forward, and blood pumps heat through my veins. I don’t know what to expect on the other side, but I clutch the edge of the curtain in my hand.
As I push it open, I hear a scream and see the most beautiful girl in the world swinging a baseball bat at my head. She almost lands the blow because I’m arrested by her sight. Jesus Christ. This is her? Who the fuck would want to hurt her?
I catch the bat mid-swing and pull the girl into my arms like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like it’s where she belongs. “You’re safe now. I got you.”
I try to ignore the way my skin burns when we touch or the naked hunger roaring in my chest or the electric current zapping through the air. Of all the times…
“Are either of you hurt? Do you need medical attention?” The idea of someone harming her makes my blood boil. I don’t even know her, but my gut tells me she’s mine to protect.
Mine, mine, mine.
The words echo inside my skull, and I shake them off. Now’s not the time, buddy.
“No, I think we’re alright,” the girl replies. “Are you sure he’s gone?”
“I’m sure, sweetheart.” The fuck? Sweetheart? What’s wrong with me and why am I still holding her in my arms? I can’t explain it, but I just can’t seem to let her go until she starts to pull away.
She’s so tiny against my six-foot-five frame that if I wrap my arms around her, she might disappear. The idea of her being so terrified when she made the call makes me grind my teeth.
Why would anyone want to scare this girl? She’s so perfectly fragile that she should be kept behind a wall of glass where no one can touch her. No one but me, that is, because I can’t imagine ever hurting her or being the cause of her pain. I’d rather gnaw my arm off than do that. On the contrary, I want to spend the rest of my life making her feel good.
Yep, this is totally normal behavior for me.
I carry the old woman down the stairs and sit her on the sofa beside her beautiful caretaker. I like nothing more than to take the girl back in my arms and console her, but I have to get the lights on and find my bumbling deputy.
“Stay right here. I’m going to fix the power. I’ll be right back,” I tell her. She nods but peers from side to side as though she’s expecting the boogeyman to jump out when I turn my back.
“I told you, baby girl. You’re alright now. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.”
That’s not just a promise to her but to myself as well. I won’t rest until I find the asshole who’s behind this.
“I found them. You can stop pretending to look now,” I tell the deputy at the bottom of the basement stairs.
“I was just trying to be thorough. This basement is like a maze of boxes and covered old furniture.”
“Well, did you see a breaker box?”
“Yeah, over by the washer and dryer.” He points to the shiny Maytag, which are the only things down here less than one hundred years old.