Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
“How bad is it?” Fletcher asks.
“Not… lethal…” Charles wheezes. “But need… hospital.”
“I’ve got a first-aid kit.” Fletcher looks into the woods, teeth gritted. “It would’ve been easier to execute those bastards.”
“Are any dead?” Charles asks.
“One, maybe. I had to. The one who shot you. He was going to kill my…” His what? His woman? “Samantha.”
I hug Loki close to my chest, wishing I’d been more capable when the mayhem went down. I could console myself with the fact that I’ve never been in a situation like this before, but that feels like a weak justification for how I behaved: the screaming, the running, the absolute inability to think, plan, or anything at all. I’m still on the edge, my breath coming fast.
“Samantha,” Fletcher says a few minutes later after patching Charles up. Though he still looks terrible. His face is pale, with blood dripping down it. “You need to drive Charles’ car. Can you do that?”
I sit up and nod.
“But you have to focus,” he says fiercely. “After everything, I can’t lose you. You can’t crash.”
“I can do it,” I say, gritting my teeth. “I promise. I won’t mess up.”
Loki sits on the passenger seat as Fletcher guides us back to the city. I expect him to drive to a hospital. Instead, he takes us to what looks like a garage from the exterior. I focus on driving, the familiar movements feeling almost alien. When we get inside the garage, there are no cars, no tools, just a big, seemingly empty room. Fletcher leaves the car and gestures for me to follow.
“Come on, boy,” I whisper, feeling numb and distant, as though all this has happened to somebody else. It’s difficult to convince the panic screeching through me that all of this actually happened to me.
Fletcher helps Charles into a door off the side, leading to what appears to be a surgeon’s table.
“Whoa…” Charles doesn’t sound good, his voice raspy. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Yeah,” Fletcher snarls. “This is the only way to avoid problems with the cops. Trust me, Charles. You’re a good man. You protected my girlfriend. I’m not going to hurt you.”
When he says girlfriend, Loki whines as though he approves. Fletcher looks up at me and smiles tightly. I can read the message in his intense blue eyes. I mean it. You’re the only woman I want. Is that what we are now, officially a couple? Considering everything else, it should be a minor concern, but it feels so freaking significant, so right.
“What about the dogs?” I ask, sitting on one of the small chairs that line the walls.
“Called in from the road, then ditched the cell,” Fletcher says, setting Charles up on the table. “They’ll find the dogs, the zip-tied men, and the body.”
“Is he dead?” I asked. “The man who was shooting me?”
“I’m not sure,” Fletcher replies. “I caught him twice—once in the leg and the other in the shoulder. He may be alive.”
“Cops aren’t going to be launching an investigation into him,” Charles says, groaning as Fletcher peels away the temporary bandage he applied at the scene. “Scumbags like that, they ought to give you a medal.”
“I’m not taking any chances,” Fletcher replies. “I’m wrecking both our cars.”
“Better reimburse me,” Charles says, laughing gruffly.
Fletcher laughs just as darkly. “I think a bonus is in order, too.”
“Amen.”
Fletcher glances up at me with a tight look of emotion. His eyes are filled with purpose. I get the sense he wants to keep staring at me, just like I want to keep staring at him. If Charles wasn’t here, I know I’d be in Fletcher’s arms right now. He’d hold me tightly, and I’d press myself against him, feeling his powerful heartbeat and profound sense of protection and support.
Loki clambers up onto my chest, licking my cheek. I’m not sure why, but then I realize I’m crying. It feels like a delayed response. With the shock gone, I’m able to fully experience the terror and the doubt, knowing it all could’ve been taken away.
“It’s okay, boy,” I whisper. “I’m okay.”
Loki clearly doesn’t believe me. He whines and licks me as if he wants to take away some of the pain.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Fletcher
I stand at my apartment window, looking out on the east side of the city, the skyline, and the sea. It’s been several hours since the craziness in the woods. The apartment has two bedrooms. Charles is currently recovering in one, dosed up on strong meds, with an IV in. He was lucky. The bullet hit his side but went straight through, and the second hit his leg and might give him some trouble, but nothing that time can’t fix.
Behind me, I can hear Loki chowing down on his food. I’ve fed him several small portions so he doesn’t get overwhelmed. In the reflection of the window, I can also see my woman. She’s changed into the simple T-shirt and sweatpants I gave her, a couple sizes too big.