Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Under the guise of checking in on Kyle. And picking up supplies from the all-night grocery store.
I had on one of my blonde wigs on this time, the one with bangs and an ashy color that really didn’t go with my skin tone, but would let me blend in.
It had nothing to do with my disguise, though, that I’d put on a little lipgloss that I’d made myself with berries and beeswax lip balm. Or that I put on one of my prettiest outfits—a sleeveless white sundress with a faint green leaf pattern and buttons up the bodice.
There was nothing cute about my practical sandals, though. There couldn’t be. Not when I had quite a few miles to walk into, and then back from, town.
I knew the truth as I saw the town, lit up by street lamps and glass storefronts, though.
I wasn’t in town for Kyle, though I should have been. And I wasn’t there for supplies, even if I needed some.
If it was either of those things, daytime would be smarter. More people around, so I blended in. Not to mention it was safer in the daytime for a woman alone.
The only advantage night had was seeing headlights of cars, so you knew if someone was approaching from behind or front.
I had my blades on me. I always did. I even had some homemade pepper spray. And some of my special powder.
Just in case.
A woman couldn’t be too careful, right?
Especially in a town like Shady Valley.
Sure, from the outside, it seemed small, quaint, even safe. I mean, if you didn’t give the prison’s proximity too much thought. But the fact of the matter was, the place was teeming with crime.
And, well, if you did give the prison some thought, you would realize that a lot of cons had nowhere to go when they got out. Which meant they made the closest town their new home.
People like Kyle.
Maybe even ones worse than him.
Why was I going into town when I didn’t truly need to, at a bad time, after dressing up?
Yeah, you guessed it.
Some hot black-haired, black-souled guy with big hands that I couldn’t stop thinking about no matter how hard I tried.
Because, with Shady Valley being a small place, it meant there was really only two or three places to go on a Friday night.
The Bog.
The pool hall.
Or the diner.
And I was just going to happen past all three of them while doing my errands for the evening.
The only problem with my plan was, well, the whole not having a vehicle thing.
I’d had one when I’d first moved into the area—an ancient pick-up truck with great towing abilities, dragging my home with me to the foothills of the mountains.
It was only maybe a year after that when the couple trips to town proved too much for the old guy, and he’d crapped out on me. The mechanic said it would be more expensive to fix it than it was worth, so I’d gotten rid of it, and had been living without since then.
As a whole, it wasn’t a big deal. I liked to walk. I didn’t go into town often. I had one of those grocery carts that folded up when I did need to haul some stuff with me.
On the occasion when I needed to get somewhere further—like the pottery studio—I made use of public transportation.
I never really missed my truck.
Until I found myself doing surveillance work on a guy who was already likely suspicious of random women he came across.
I had nowhere to hide.
Sure, I’d taken myself into the convenience store, browsing the chocolate like it was the biggest decision of my life as I started across the street at the motel, trying to have a sighting.
I’d just taken my candy bar up to the understandably suspicious attendant when I’d seen him move out of the building, look back toward the prison, then make his way into town.
I got my candy bar and took my time eating some of it on the metal picnic table outside the convenience store, the smell of gas making it hard to enjoy, but knowing I did not want to start walking behind a guy like Kyle who proved he was capable and willing to do a lot of damage to a woman.
When I was sure I’d put enough time and space between us, I’d set to trace his steps.
It didn’t take a genius to know he was probably on his way into town, for a couple drinks at The Bog, most likely. Where he would hit on more unwilling women, looking for his next mark, his next victim.
I was most of the way there when I felt hands reach out from the alley.
One slapped over my mouth.
The other went around my waist, yanking me back against a body, then pulling me into the dark alley between two abandoned buildings.