Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
What the hell just happened? What the fuck was I thinking?
“Holy shit!” I exclaim. “That was a goddamn bear.”
“Yes, it was.” I’m startled enough by the unexpected voice to scream as I shoot to my feet. I’m lucky enough to have the forethought to pull my mask back down before I whirl around because I stop breathing abruptly, choking on my spit and vomit when I see the sheriff standing there, holding a rifle by his side. His bushy brows are raised in surprise while his thick mustache twitches when he chuckles. “But I have to say that was impressive, young lady. Foolish and dangerous, but impressive.”
Now I know why the bear ran off.
It saw that I had backup and probably decided a few scrawny pups weren’t worth the effort.
I understand the feeling.
“Forgive an old man’s memory. Aurora, was it?”
I take off running in the opposite direction.
“Hey! Hold on there! Wait!” he calls after me. One glance over my shoulder shows him giving chase. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! “I just want to talk to you!”
I don’t wait. I don’t slow, even for low-hanging branches, logs, or the rabbits and squirrels that scurry out of my path. I keep running as fast as I can in the direction I think the cabin is in.
The sheriff’s old. Maybe I can lose him.
Whatever I do, I can’t lead him back to my guys. I can’t let him piece together why I was never found.
“Stop…Aurelia!”
The sound of my name brings me to a screeching halt.
No. No fucking way. I’m wearing the mask. He can’t see my face. How?
My hair.
My golden locks.
They aren’t covered like when we met in Hearth all those weeks ago.
Still, anyone with access to a pharmacy and a decent hairstylist could have the same. It doesn’t explain how the sheriff pieced together my identity that fucking fast. When I turn around, the sheriff and I are facing each other down once again. There’s barely twenty feet between us now, allowing me to see exactly what he’s thinking.
The kind sheriff’s expression is shattered—as if he’d taken a stab in the dark and his worst fear answered.
“What did you call me?”
“Christ. It is you, isn’t it? You’re Aurelia George. The…pop star. I know who you are. I’ve been looking for you.” He steps toward me, but I back away, and he pauses in shock like I’d slapped him. “Don’t be afraid.” He holds out his hands. “I’m here to help you.”
“I don’t want your help.” When it looks like he won’t let this go, I try begging, “Please. Thank you for your concern. Now forget you ever saw me.”
“You know I can’t do that. You have no business being out here. God knows what you’ve been through. Just come with me, and I’ll get you home. I’ll take you back to your uncle. Everything will be all right.”
I shake my head and take another step back. “You’re too late, sheriff. I have no interest in being saved.”
His bushy brows turn down even as a determined glint enters his eyes. “Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m trying to save you.”
“Save me…what the devil are you talking about? Save me from what?”
“You know who.” To the sheriff’s credit, he doesn’t look away or balk. He doesn’t pretend he hasn’t already suspected that his precious “boys” are fucking monsters. I bet it would horrify him to know that they’re my monsters now. It would baffle him at least. “Do as I say, sheriff. Forget you saw me.”
“And I told you I can’t do that. Look…whatever they did—”
“Whatever they did? Whatever they did!” That incredulous look is back on his face now at the fury in my tone. “Trust me, you old fool. You can’t handle knowing what they did to me.” The sheriff’s weathered cheeks turn stark red, proving me right. “Now go your way, and I’ll go mine.”
I’m already turning away to leave when he says, “You’re right. I failed you.”
“That’s not what I—”
He holds up a hand, and I fall quiet. “Let this old fool make it up to you now. Please.”
I grumble and look away. “That was mean. I shouldn’t have called you a fool.”
“That’s quite all right.”
“I’m still not going with you.”
“Aurelia—”
“It’s my choice.”
“Actually, it’s not. You just implied that you were held against your will and…mishandled. I am a man of the law, and I must uphold it. Whether you come with me or not, Thorin, Khalil, and Ezekiel will answer for what they’ve done.”
I file away that he said Zeke and not Seth and cross my arms. “And they’ve been waiting for the day to come when they have to disappear again. If it’s justice you’re looking for, you’re not going to get it. You’ll be too late, and I’ll be the one to pay the price. No thanks.” The sheriff isn’t any less deterred, so I add, “And then there’s the other obstacle.”