Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
I went to college part time all while maintaining my job and having my own place to live at the age of twenty. Liam would come over and we’d hang out, watch television until my eyes were tired. Then I’d shoo him out, never leading him on.
That night everything exploded, I was lucky that old man Martin was able to pull Liam off me. Not only did he break my jaw, my ribs were bruised, and I had a gash where I fell after that final blow. I wasn’t sure what was worse when I woke up in the hospital, the look on my aunt Ro’s face or the devastation on my uncle Howie’s, or the way I looked. I tried to crack a smile, but it didn’t form, and it caused us all to cry when I realized something was wrong with my face.
They soothed me, and when it was time for me to be discharged from the hospital, my uncle and his friends had already moved everything into a storage unit and brought my clothes to their house. I was lucky enough not to have to testify, only having to do a deposition. What with the pictures and hospital records, they had enough proof.
When the dust had somewhat settled, having the wires taken off and my hair growing back from where they had to cut it in order to stitch me up, I told them my plans to move. It was hard for them to swallow that pill, but in the end they understood. All that was left was for me to sell was what furniture I had in my storage unit, unenroll from college, and hit the road.
“Kellie.” I look up from the computer screen to where I was staring off in the distance. It could have been the email I just received from the State of Arkansas letting me know Liam was being released three months early, due to good behavior. Even when the defense attorney pleaded for him to spend his remaining months behind bars. It was no use, and if this had happened right after I was beaten down to a bloody pulp, I probably would have crumbled.
“Hey, Slade, is everything okay?” I reply.
“Yeah, I need you to run this over to Frank at the police station.” He hands me the folder.
“Okay, I’ll take my lunch break while I’m out that way too. Do you want me to pick anything up?” I offer.
“I’m good. Taylor is bringing something with her, but Bridger, Drake, or Leo may want something.” He nods his head toward the back of the office where a row of rooms for each member of Nighthawk Security is located.
“I’ll go ask and then be on my way.” I put my computer on sleep, tidy up my desk space before standing up and smoothing my skirt down.
Slade acknowledges me with a nod of his head, then he heads out the front door for God knows what. It’s something I’ve noticed about these men—they can’t sit still. Half the time they’re in and out of the office several times a day.
I meander my way looking into Leo and Drake’s offices. Both are empty, so I make my way to Bridger’s. The tension that has been building between us is off the charts. There’s something about him. He’s the jokester of the group, always drops one-liners, makes me laugh when I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Too bad my guard is so high, I’m not sure I’ll ever allow a man into my world again.
TWO
BRIDGER
I can hear the click of her heels coming down the hallway. My office is the last one she’ll come to. It doesn’t matter though. With my hearing I knew right away what Slade was offering, I’ll be surprised if Taylor is even coming this way. It’s more likely he’ll go to her.
She makes her way to just inside my office. She’s come out of her shell some over the last few months. When she first landed at Nighthawk Security, I swear she was scared of her own shadow. There was something about her though. The three of us—Slade, Drake, and myself—knew we needed someone to help man the day-to-day bullshit, and since we lived in this small town, there weren’t a whole lot of prospects.
Kellie walked in the door with a small smile on her face. The way her eyes would dart to each of us as we rattled off questions told me she was hesitant at first, then she loosened up as the clock ticked by. I still remember exactly what she was wearing: the black pant suit she wore complimented her body. The way her blouse was buttoned all the way to the column of her throat, not giving a hint of any skin. Her pants, though, they might as well have been panted on her body. It gave the perfect sophisticated look with a hint of something dark and decadent. Her dirty blonde hair was long and she had it curled. It was so long it was hanging well past her breasts, much like she wears it still to this day.