Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Okay,” she agreed.
“Want anything else while I’m out there? Something to eat? I know it will be a bitch to choke anything down, but I could pick up some ice cream.”
“You don’t hav—“
“What kind of ice cream do you want, baby?” I cut her off.
“Vanilla bean. Or caramel. Or…strawberry.”
“Vanilla, caramel, and strawberry it is,” I agreed. “Give me twenty. Don’t lock the door on me. It was a pain in the ass to have to pick it,” I added, leaning over her to press a kiss to the top of her head, then making my way out.
I paused just outside her building, head tipped back, eyes closed, taking a few deep breaths.
Then I reached for my phone, calling Josie.
“Is she okay?” she answered before a full ring could even finish. Her voice was raised and clipped.
“She’s… recovering. I don’t think she needs to see a doctor. But she’s rough, Josie.”
“Tell me,” she demanded.
“Black eye, bruised cheek and jaw. Someone strangled her, she’s got a finger necklace of bruises…”
“Oh, my God,” Josie gasped.
“There are cuts all up and down her legs. I treated those. They were looking gnarly. Any idea if she’s had a tetanus shot recently?”
“Yeah, a couple years ago.”
“Good. She’s got bruised hands and knees. And there’s something wrong with her stomach or rib area, but I haven’t pressed her on that yet. But that would be the thing I’m most worried about. A broken rib or something like that. So I will have her let me look eventually.”
“How is she… you know… emotionally?” Josie asked.
“A little withdrawn, which freaks me the fuck out,” I admitted. “I want her to open up to me, but I’m trying not to force it. I’m just popping out to pick her up some ice cream. Getting strangled makes your throat hurt like a motherfucker.”
“She likes ice pops too. And slushies.”
“What kind?” I asked, ready to fill her oversized freezer with everything I could get my hands on that she liked.
“You know those, like, watermelon ice pop things you could get from the ice cream man?”
“Yeah.”
“She likes those. And, if they have them, the baseball mitt ones. There is an off-brand that makes those now since I don’t think you can buy them in stores. She likes orange cream pops and ice cream sandwiches, but not the cones and not the red, white, and blue pops.”
“You’re a wealth of Rynn knowledge,” I said, feeling my lips curve up slightly.
“She doesn’t open up easily. Except about food,” Josie admitted. “As for slushies, she likes them all. But she usually mixes the fruit ones in layers. Should I come and check on her?” she asked.
“I think one person is all she can take right now, but I will text you in the morning if I think she is up for more company. She can’t really even talk much right now, so it would just be sitting in awkward silence.”
“Okay. I understand. If she asks, tell her I am taking care of Binxy and the office.”
“Oh, speaking of cats. Is there anything I should be picking up for the ones at her place?” I asked.
“She has everything on auto delivery. So if you can’t find something, it’s probably in that mound of boxes she always has piling up.”
“Okay. Thanks again, Josie. I promise I’ll update you as I know more.”
I made my way back to the convenience store, and was stocking up on just about every ice cream concoction known to mankind when my phone started to ring.
Levee.
Shit.
I’d forgotten about him.
“Hey, man. Where you at?”
“Fuck, man, I forgot. Something came up with Rynn. It’s… she got beat up, man,” I admitted.
“She… what? By who?” he asked, voice getting tight, pissed off. Because he liked Rynn. She was part of our world now. And also just on principle. It was hard to find someone who enjoyed women quite as much as Levee did. He took it personally when someone put their hands on any of them.
“I don’t know the details yet. Seems to be something with her work, but she was choked out, so she can’t talk much yet.”
“Fuck, man. Okay. You need anything from me?”
“No. Not yet anyway. I will let you know when I know more, though.”
“Yeah. You know me. I’ll ride if we have a mission.”
He would, too.
Even though Levee didn’t love the high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled parts of the job as much as I did, he was ready and capable of handling any situation that came at us.
“Thanks, Lev. I’ll let you know.”
By the time I made it back to the apartment, Rynn was out of bed and in the kitchen, most of the apartment lights on, illuminating every single corner of the room. The way someone would want when some bad shit had gone down, and they suddenly found themselves jumping at shadows.
One of her black cats was standing on the counter, waiting for her to finish putting some wet food into a fancy-ass crown-shaped bowl.