Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I knew I told her to do it, but the sound of your kid screaming bloody murder still made a mom’s heart shatter.
“No,” she cried.
“What?” I asked.
“He has a gun,” she said. “He’s… oh!” she shrieked as I heard a loud pop.
“Is he shooting at you?” I asked, voice strangled.
“Yes. I… I have to get off of here,” she said.
There was another pop.
A slam.
Then… nothing.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Callow
Sabrina was in shock.
She was practically catatonic in front of me in the kayak as I paddled as hard and fast as my body would allow back across the bay.
I only got snippets of what was happening.
But there were men involved.
Ones with guns.
Who were actively shooting at Sabrina’s teenage daughter.
That was enough to make any parent’s heart fucking stop.
We hit the sand on the bay with a jolt, and I rushed out of the kayak, grabbing Sabrina and dragging her out.
I didn’t get shit but her purse out of it.
I didn’t grab the kayak itself.
I could send someone else to deal with that shit when we knew Daphne was okay.
I grabbed Sabrina’s hand and then we were running, kicking sand all over us. It clung to her wet body, falling off in clumps as we darted across the street toward the parking lot.
“She’s going to be alright,” I assured her as we got into the car and I peeled out of the lot. “The police station is three minutes from your apartment building. They probably already have Daphne.”
Sabrina showed no signs of hearing me as she sat there, shaking violently. I knew the bulk of it was likely her terror, but I reached over and threw the heat on full-blast before turning on her seat warmer. I didn’t want her getting fucking hypothermia or some shit from falling into that frigid water.
I’d only paid off the one cop and the highway was always packed with speed traps, but I put the pedal to the floor on our way back to town, running red lights, completely ignoring stop signs.
It wasn’t until I was pulling into the parking lot of Sabrina’s apartment building and saw no fewer than five cop cars that I slowed.
Before the car even pulled to a stop, Sabrina was throwing open her door and stumbling out, heading right for the ambulance sitting near the cop cars.
I parked and flew out as well, making it up to the crowd just seconds after Sabrina.
“Mom!” Daphne shrieked, making me whip around to find her strapped to a gurney in the back of the ambulance.
Battered to fucking shit. Blood stained her shirt, dripped from her lip. Her face was a mess of scratches. And judging by the way the paramedics were fussing over it, she’d fucked up her arm.
But she was alive.
Sabrina flew up into the ambulance, half wrapping herself around her daughter’s head as they both cried.
“Did you get them?” I asked, turning to the cops, finding a familiar face, and waiting for him to answer.
His head shook.
“They took off before we got in there,” he admitted. “Must have heard us coming.”
“What happened to her?” I asked, nodding over toward the ambulance.
“Seems like she was trapped on the balcony. And when the guys were getting through, she tried to climb down to the balcony below hers, lost her grip, and fell. Landed in the bushes, which probably was the only thing that stopped her from doing more than breaking her arm, but scratched her all to shit.”
“We have to go,” one of the paramedics said, making me turn to find Sabrina’s gaze lift to look at me.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital,” I told her just before the doors slammed.
With that, having no reason to talk to the cops, I rushed back to the SUV, driving it back to the clubhouse, but leaving it running in the driveway as I ran inside.
“Uh-oh, that’s not a good sig—“ Sully started, grinning at me with his arms around two girls in the living room. Until he saw my face. “What happened?”
“Sabrina’s daughter was home alone. Someone broke in. Tried to get to her. Shot at her. She fell off the balcony. On the way to the hospital,” I said as I walked across the common room, making a beeline for the basement where I knew I would find a stash of clean, new women’s clothing.
The club kept a stash of clothes, food, water, and medical supplies in the basement in case we ever needed to go into lockdown.
Sabrina needed a change of clothes.
“What do you need from me?” Sully asked, following me down the stairs.
“I left the kayak at the bay,” I told him.
“I’ll handle it,” he said.
“I’m gonna take Sabrina’s car to the hospital,” I told him as I rummaged around in the plastic storage bins until I found something that would fit Sabrina and would be warm. “The keys to the SUV are in the ignition,” I added, turning and running back up the stairs.