Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 74315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“Do you need me to get anyone for you?” I finally settled on.
She shook her head, her hair rubbing against my vest and tangling in the Velcro at the straps. “No.”
She didn’t try to untangle her hair, so I decided to leave it, not knowing if that was going to set her off if I tried to touch her face.
“We need to get you looked at,” I finally settled for.
She shook her head again. “I know every single man on the fire department. I don’t want them to see me like this.”
A chill went down my spine, and the names started adding up.
Two and two became twelve.
Mother fucker.
“Mercy Shepherd. Any relation to Fire Chief Shepherd?” I asked softly.
She shuddered in my arms before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes.”
That’s about when I realized that I knew her.
She was a good friend of Downy’s woman.
Downy was another member of the SWAT team, and the man that allowed me to have his apartment when my brother, Foster, and I came to town.
His woman, Memphis, was the neighbor that used to live next door.
Memphis had met Mercy nearly a year ago, and had been volunteering at Mercy’s place, Second Chance, ever since.
I’d taken notice because of the things she started to do for the community; mainly, the members of the armed forces that came back from overseas and weren’t quite polite enough for a real job.
They used Second Chance as a plank where they’d transition back into society without actually having to be in society.
Not if they didn’t want to, anyway.
Second Chance was quickly becoming one of the most sought after businesses for construction and odd jobs in the community. Not only because they did good work, but because the community loved their heroes and would do anything to help support them for what they sacrificed.
And their leader…their tiny little boss… was just raped.
“Second Chance,” I said quietly.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“What you do for those men… that’s a good thing. That’s a really good thing,” I said quietly.
She shrugged. “They’re going to fucking flip.”
Yes. Yes they were.
Every man in that place looked up to Mercy. They appreciated her kindness. Were happy that she gave them a chance, and they loved her. They were protective of her.
Hell, every man in the fucking county knew how they doted on her. Even the most scarred of men looked out for her.
And to know that what they saw as their reason for moving forward and moving on with life, had been raped, was going to set up a clusterfuck of mass proportions.
Good thing the fucker was dead.
‘Cause he would’ve been chopped to pieces, least needed body part at a time, if he weren’t.
“How about if I take you to the hospital?” I asked softly. “In my cruiser.”
I didn’t actually have ‘my cruiser’ with me, but I was fairly positive I could get one.
She shuddered again. “Can you take me to a hospital that’s not in town?”
I immediately thought of Benton, Louisiana. The town where my brother and his wife lived.
He was part of a motorcycle club there, and a woman that belonged to another one of the members was a SANE nurse: A sexual assault nurse examiner. She’d be able to do everything that they would here. And she wouldn’t be known to the entire city.
“I can do it. I just have to clear it with Chief Rhodes first,” I said quietly.
She nodded, but made no move to move away from me, so I worked my hand into my pocket and withdrew my phone.
The chief answered immediately. “She needs to be seen by a doctor.”
“She wants to go out of town. Somewhere where she doesn’t know every nurse and paramedic in the county,” I answered back.
Silence.
“Her father’s not going to like that. In fact, he’s raising up a big stink right now because I won’t let him through the police line,” Chief Rhodes explained quietly.
I felt a tiny hand sneak up and pull the phone away from my hands, and Mercy’s soft, melodic voice said, “Tell him I need a timeout. He’ll understand.”
I guessed the information was relayed over the line because she visibly wilted in my hands, causing me to fall forward when her weight collapsed entirely.
I lowered her to the ground, going down on my knees beside her.
The phone was in her hand, still up to her head, as she listened to what was being said on the other end of the line.
“No.”
The denial was torn from her. It sounded like it’d come from the very bottom of her soul, and was wrenched out of her with such force that it took her breath right along with it.
“No,” she said more firmly. “There’s a back entrance. Mr. Spurlock will take me.”
The chief must’ve given her my name, because I hadn’t given it to her yet.
The woman had a backbone of steel to stand up to the chief like that. He was even more intimidating than my CO when I was in the Navy.
For her to stand up to him was a minor miracle in and of itself. Although, she did have to deal with men like that on a daily basis.
She may just know what she needed to say to get her way.
Women were adaptive like that.
“Fine,” she snapped. “Just don’t expect to ride in the same car.”
With that she hung up, and exploded out of my arms.
No more sad Mercy. In her place was pissed Mercy.
One who was ready to blow if she didn’t get her way.
Something that I’d definitely give her. All she had to do was ask, and I’d bend over backwards to get it for her.
Because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the last hour to stop playing on replay in my brain.
Chapter 2
Here’s to you, fuck head. I hope you step on a Lego and break your face.
-Miller’s secret thoughts
Miller
“How’s that girl doing?” Trance, my brother, asked.
Oh, his name wasn’t really Trance. His real name was Killian. It wouldn’t do to have a Spurlock brother not being named after a beer.