Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 74898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
One drunken night, over a bottle of wine and some pizza, Audrey and I had compared stories, and then we’d questioned why a company that specialized in electronics would need a nurse at all. We’d come up with the fact that the parents were just trying to look out for us.
Now, I didn’t have such tame ideas. More likely it was due to them being into something they shouldn’t be, and needing a medical professional to help them or someone who worked for them if shit hit the fan.
“So what happened then?” I questioned.
“Then I told them no and drove home. After I arrived back home and got unpacked, I was woken in the middle of the night. When I went to investigate the noise, it was to find the guy who I helped breaking into my house.”
“What?” I screeched.
She started to laugh.
“I shot someone.”
“What?” I screeched again.
“Yep,” she confirmed. “I did. But the guy was wearing one of those vest thingies, and he ran away before I could get another shot off at him.”
“And?” I pushed.
“And now I’m packing all of my shit, and moving the hell away from here without giving two weeks notice on my job because my parents want me to do their bidding, and I don’t want to.”
Audrey wasn’t moving with her parents. She was moving away from them.
I was sure she didn’t even realize that her parents were moving, too, or she might not be bothering.
But I wanted her here. Tunnel wanted her here.
So that was what I did.
“I have a suggestion” I said, diverting from the plan. “How about I send out some help, and you come here?”
I heard her inhale. “That’s where I was going anyway, but I’m glad to officially have an invite.”
I started to chuckle. “I’ll send some muscle. You pack the small stuff, and leave the big shit for him.”
“Him?”
Now she sounded nervous.
“Him,” I confirmed. “He’s a sweetie.”
And he was. Fender was great and he was very personable. He had that good ol’ boy demeanor that made him come off like a man who would do just about anything to make you comfortable. And hopefully that continued to hold true with Audrey.
“Okay,” she said. “But just make sure he’s not cute.”
I snorted. “I’ll see what I can do. But the men down here aren’t ugly, that’s for sure.”
Tommy snorted at my side.
I rolled my eyes at him.
“Don’t you have anything else to do?” I suggested.
He shook his head. “Nope. This place is q…”
“Don’t you dare.”
You don’t say ‘quiet’ in a hospital. It’s just not done. And Tommy damn well knew it.
He held up his hands. “I gotta go, girl. If you need anything, let me know. Otherwise,” I paused, and covered the phone.
“What’s Fender’s real name?” I asked.
If Audrey knew that Fender was a biker, she might very well freak out.
She could handle professional looking men—men like Josh – had he not had that undercurrent of assholeishness to him. He at least looked normal.
A man like Fender, well, he just looked rough. Like a biker.
He had tattoos. He wore a motorcycle cut. He was just a typical biker in all ways.
And Audrey couldn’t control them, which made her nervous around them.
Hence the reason for the lie.
Tommy Tom looked at me. “Tobias.”
I uncovered the phone. “…Tobias will be there tomorrow.”
If not tonight, I thought.
However, Audrey didn’t need to know that part. She just needed to think this was me helping her out, not Tunnel protecting her.
Plus, I thought it would be better for Tunnel to explain to his sister himself why he had to die. That wasn’t something that you allowed someone else to share for you.
And Tunnel knew it.
He just didn’t want to deal with his sister’s anger, which he wholly deserved.
He got off lucky with me.
When I’d made those promises late at night, it was a vow between me and the universe. Something I wouldn’t break.
Audrey hadn’t made those vows. She needed to yell and scream at him for the both of us.
My smile grew.
My husband was in for it, that was for sure.
Chapter 21
My momma didn’t raise no fool. A psycho, yes, but not a fool.
-Ghost’s secret thoughts
Ghost
It took my sister and Fender two and a half days to get to Mooresville, and the entire time, I was waiting for the next shoe to drop.
My parents would realize rather quickly that Audrey was no longer there.
Fender had taken his time getting Audrey here due to the massive amount of shit she needed to pack, and I’d spent the last two days worrying.
How the hell was I going to tell my sister that I was alive? That, all this time, I’d just been in hiding because our parents were assholes.
Audrey had been through too much. She’d experienced way more than what was fair. She was all sunshine and happiness before my parents used her so viciously for their own sick purposes.