Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Here are your things.” The woman hands me a large brown paper bag. “Open that up, make sure all your stuff is there, and then sign the bottom of this.” She rests a clipboard on the edge of the window as I open the bag, finding my shoes, phone, and earrings. Knowing that’s everything they took from me when I got here, I sign the papers and hand them back to her. “You’re all set,” she murmurs, hitting something on the wall, and a loud click sounds behind me. “Just head out that way and follow that hall to the end. Make a right, and the door there will lead you out of the building.”
“Thank you,” I say to the female officer when she opens the door for me to leave, and she lifts her chin in response.
Following the hall all the way, I make a right then stop dead when I see Colton sitting on a bench near the exit, with his head down, elbows to his thighs and his hands wrapped around the back of his neck. Seeing him, everything I’ve been holding in all day, rushes to the surface.
I try to keep it at bay, but a pain filled sound escapes my throat before I can stop it, and the second it leaves my mouth, his head shoots up and his eyes meet mine. Covering my mouth with my hand, I choke on a sob.
“Fuck.” He rushes toward me, gathering me in his arms against his warm chest. “Fuck me, fuck, fuck, fuck,” he whispers, as I try to burrow my way inside of him. “I’m so fucking sorry. So fucking sorry, baby,” he murmurs, picking me up. Tucking my face tightly against his neck, I hold onto him with everything I have as he carries me outside. “I gotta get you home. Swear to God, once we get there, you won’t lose me again.” I shake my head when he tries to get me to release him. “Please, Gia,” he pleads, sounding torn, so I loosen my hold and let him settle me in the passenger seat and buckle me in.
Kissing my hair, he slams the door then jogs around the hood and gets in behind the wheel. Once he has his seat belt on, he picks up my hand and holds it tight. The drive home seems to take forever, and when we pull up in front of the house, I tense when I realize his mom’s car is parked out front. I haven’t even thought about what he or his parents will think about me being arrested for having a stolen gun in my possession.
“Mom and Dad just want to make sure you’re good. Once they see you are, they’ll leave and it will just be us.”
“I—”
“Promise. It’s going to be okay,” he says, so I nod.
Opening my door, I hop down out of the cab of his Suburban. The second my feet hit the dirt, Loki comes up to me, pressing his face into my stomach, and whines. I rub the top of his head then look up and see Rose and Kirk heading straight for me.
“You okay, honey?” Rose asks, pulling me into a hug that makes my nose sting and my eyes burn.
“Yeah.”
“We were so worried when you didn’t show up at work. No one knew what happened until your friend called.” I close my eyes. I should have guessed that Nat would find a way to get a hold of them. “You sure you’re okay?” she asks.
No, I’m not, but I don’t say that. Instead, I nod.
“I’m sure you want to rest after today. We’ll be back in the morning to check on you after we pick up your Jeep,” she tells me, and my chin wobbles. “Rest honey,” she whispers, hugging me again before she lets me go so Kirk can give me a hug as well. Once he releases me, Colton wraps his arm around my shoulders and turns us toward the house.
“Call,” Kirk says to our backs, and I don’t hear or see Colton’s reply, but knowing him, he probably lifted his chin to his dad. With my head down, I listen to their car doors slam behind us as Colton leads me up the steps and into the house. Once we are inside he closes and locks the door behind us before he settles us on the couch. Once he has us situated, I listen to him pull in a deep breath then let it out slowly.
Hearing that and feeling his muscles tense, I try to prepare myself for what he’s going to say, but nothing can prepare me for what comes out of his mouth.
“Cops arrested Lisa, and from what I understand, she won’t be getting out of jail for a while,” he tells me, and my head flies around so I can look at him. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.