Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
That gets the ball rolling. I hang up after I’m promised they’ll send someone out as soon as they can.
Cameron takes a sobbing Melinda into his arms and they move off to the side to stand in our driveway. Callum steps between me and the cat so I can’t see it, his hands coming to palm my cheeks. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I reply honestly. I don’t even try to give him a brave smile.
“Joshua did this.” Stating the obvious, of course.
“I had a cat with that coloring. He hated it.”
Callum’s expression turns thunderous, realizing that Joshua went to great lengths to not only find a cat to kill, but one that resembled a former pet.
His hands fall away. “Call Julia right now.”
I do as he commands because it’s a good idea. While we wait for the cops, I talk to my attorney and her advice is invaluable. “Make them treat it as a crime. Don’t let them slough it off. You make them get the security camera footage from all the houses nearby. You have them interview neighbors. If they balk at it, you call me right back.”
In the end, the police are very concerned once they hear about my history with Joshua, including his visit yesterday. They call in a crime scene unit and put uniformed officers on walking the neighborhood door to door to inquire as to footage and eyewitnesses. I sit on the porch and watch as they remove the poor animal, although Callum stays down there with fury etched all over his face.
It takes almost two hours for the last officer to leave and when Callum reaches me where I sit on the steps, I can only think to say, “You missed your appointment.”
“More important things to do.” He bypasses me and walks into the house. I scramble after him, following him into his bedroom where he picks up his phone and calls Brienne.
I listen as he tells her what happened, making no apologies for the missed appointment. She wouldn’t expect one anyway. He ends the conversation with, “I won’t be in for the foreseeable future.”
He’s disconnecting as I say, “Callum… you can’t not go to work.”
“Get in the shower and get dressed,” he says irately.
“Why?”
“When’s the last time you shot a gun?”
“Wait! What? Why are you asking me that?”
“Because we’re going right now for some target practice. That fucker is twisted and if he steps foot on this property, he’s getting shot. Preferably by me, but I need you to be able to protect yourself too.”
Callum starts for his bathroom and I follow, reaching for his arm to stop his progress. “Wait a minute… I don’t mean to minimize what just happened but you’re going to get a gun?”
“I have guns,” he snaps. “I want to make sure you can still shoot.”
“I’m sure I can still shoot,” I reply quietly, everything spinning. I grew up around guns and my dad and I would go target shooting all the time. “But a dead cat doesn’t mean—”
“He fucking killed the cat with a garrote, Juni.” The rage in Callum’s tone scares me. “It’s not like he picked up some roadkill and stuffed it in the box. It’s a very clear message and he won’t get within a hundred feet of you without a bullet between his eyes.”
“You need to calm down,” I beseech.
“I can’t fucking calm down,” he yells, hands going to my shoulders to pull me in close. He puts his face near mine and snarls, “He’s crossed a line and I’m going to make him regret it.”
“Just stop,” I yell at Callum, tears pooling in my eyes. “You’re scaring me.”
“Good,” he growls. “You should be scared. I’m fucking terrified something will happen to you, so I need you to take this as seriously as I do.”
“I do,” I exclaim, burying into his chest and placing my cheek over his heart. “But I need you to please just breathe with me. I can’t have you losing your shit, Callum. I’ve spent the last fifteen years with a man who always lost his shit, and I can’t take it from you too.”
Immediately, I feel the rage quell and his body relax. Arms banding around me, he hugs me tight. “Christ… I’m sorry, Juni.” His tone is low, soothing. “I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s okay,” I reassure him, wrapping my arms around his waist and squeezing him tight. “It will be fine. It will be fine.”
I say that over and over again, forcing myself to believe it.
“It will be fine,” he echoes.
We stand like that, holding each other for what feels like an eternity but not nearly long enough. Eventually though, Callum releases me and scrubs his hand through his hair. “Okay… I need to make a few calls. But let’s get showered—”
“And eat breakfast,” I say, attempting to force normalcy. “And then you should go to work—”