Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
When she abruptly stops laughing and focuses on me, the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. “This was fun but now you’re boring me, A-cup. I’ve got someplace to be after this. Poor Meghan’s been tied to a bench in my mom’s attic for a few hours. I’ve got to get back before she dies of natural causes and ruins all my hard work.”
I’m out of options, so I take a giant step back. Rita reacts quickly, coming at me with the knife held high. Ducking to the left so she misses me, I grab the meat tenderizer from the counter. I let out a scream when she stabs at me again, this time making contact with my arm. Holy shit. She just stabbed me. I’ve been stabbed.
Raising my leg, I kick her in the stomach. It isn’t hard enough to make her lose her balance and fall, but it was still worth it. All I needed was a second to get a firm grip on the meat tenderizer. When she lunges for me again, I bring it up and slam it into her face. There’s a sickening sound of something cracking, and the blood curdling scream she lets out, nauseates me. “My face!” she wails.
My arm is bleeding and it throbs like a bitch, but I can’t look at it. Losing focus could mean death, and I won’t risk it. When she drops the hand covering her face, there is blood spurting out of her nose. So that’s what I hit. I broke her nose. When she lunges for me again, I dodge right and hit her arm causing the knife to hit the floor. Just then, the front door flies open. Rita doesn’t hear it, though.
When she bends down and desperately grabs for the knife, I kick her square in the chest. She falls back hard, screaming. I barely notice because the most beautiful sight in the world is right in front of me. Tyler, Ben, Jana, and Riley Dowd, one of the officers who works the shifts I’m never around for, have their guns drawn and trained on Rita.
“Put your fucking hands up!” Ben bellows.
Rita tries, but apparently I jacked up her arm when I hit her with the tenderizer. Realizing that I don’t need to hold it anymore, I drop it onto the tile.
Now that help has arrived and I know I’m going to live, I’m woozy as hell. “Ashley!” Tyler yells as he sprints toward me.
Digging my fingernails into my palms, I force words out of my mouth. “Meghan. She has Meghan at her mom’s house. Attic. Hours. Hurry.”
And then I faint.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
____________________________________
ASHLEY
I WAKE UP in an ambulance on the way to the Charlotte’s Cove hospital to find Tyler holding my hand. When my eyes open, he lets out a long breath.
“Thank fuck. You okay, babe?”
I nod, even though I’m confused. Turning, I look at what’s happening on the other side of me. My arm is being bandaged by an EMT I recognize. “Mr. Falls? I thought you retired.”
“I’m too young to retire,” he jokes. “I still work two days a week because it means I get to keep my benefits and I’m not driving Felicity crazy by being home all the time. My guess is that she and Millie will be calling the hospital like mad-women from the time you arrive to when you leave for updates on your status.”
I frown, feeling a little loopy. “Why am I going to the hospi—”
Then it all comes back to me. Rita. Boo. Meghan. My eyes fly to Tyler’s. “Are Meghan and Boo okay?”
“Meghan’s fine. Ben took off to be there with her. Abe is with Boo and the vet is on the way.”
“Is she all right?”
He nods. “She will be, yeah.”
I can’t believe that Rita drugged that sweet dog. Then again, nothing Rita does should surprise me after what happened tonight.
“You had your siren on, but you switched it off before you got too close. You knew she was in the house, didn’t you?”
His jaw ticks as he nods. “I wasn’t positive, but I was pretty damn sure. The cars at the marina belong to Mayor Brown and Mr. Yang. There was no way that was a coincidence. I realized you’d be on your own when I took the call, and that didn’t sit well. When I tried to call your cell and you didn’t answer and the house phone was busy, I knew. I pulled up stakes at the marina and took Ben, Jana, and Riley with me. I wasn’t taking any chances with your safety.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He frowns. “Don’t thank me, babe. Fuckin’ with her in the first place is what led to this.”
I squeeze his hand. “No, her being crazy is what led to this.”
“Agree to disagree. Proud as hell of you though,” he praises. “Had no idea my woman was so kick ass. You had her on the ropes before I arrived with the cavalry.”