Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“What?!” I whipped around, feeling a presence at my back.
It was an elderly man. He jumped back, startled from me.
“Sorry. So sorry.” I moved out of the way, but I was processing what he’d just said.
“They took Katie?”
“Yes. Since you are currently away from her, remain among groups of people. Is she armed?”
My mouth went dry. “Yeah. She has a gun.”
“Okay. I’m coordinating with a local Red Demons charter. They’re coming to help. They’re closer than Ghost and his men. Now–”
I felt the press against my back before I felt the presence of another person.
Every cell in my body was telling me that was a gun at my back, and as I went still, I heard the safety being taken off.
“I’ll take this. Thank you.” Shelly was behind me, and she lifted my phone out of my hands, pressing it to her ear. She listened a second, saying, “Move around the corner. Walk casual.”
Oh, shit. This wasn’t good, but I moved forward, going slow.
She tossed my phone to the ground and a second later, I heard a crunching sound. As we kept going, she said, “When did you figure it out?”
“Figure what out?”
She laughed, the gun still pressed so tight to my back. “You know what I’m talking about. That I was lying to you. I didn’t overhear shit, but when’d you figure it out?”
We were around the corner. Her car wasn’t back here, but she urged me to keep going.
“Thirty minutes into leaving.”
She whistled under her breath. “Keep going. I moved to the back.”
I did. My heart was racing with each step because what would happen when I got back there? Would she let me stay conscious? My heart was up in my throat. I felt sweat dripping down my back.
“It’s nothing personal. I want you to know that, but I have to do this. Marco’s men came back and they took my daughter. That Jared kid had another party, and of course, we weren’t under lockdown. They nabbed up Katie when I gave in and let her go. Thought I owed her one night after having everyone move in, take over the place. She helped clean the whole place up too. Did a good job. She’s a good kid,” her voice got thick, choked up. When she spoke again, it was hard again. “They took her, and they said to bring you for her so nothing personal. You know I have to do what I have to do. That’s my baby–”
We were around the corner, in the back of the gas station. There was one other car parked back here, but no one else was around. A chair was set up behind their back door. A can next to it, and I was betting there was a load of cigarette butts inside of it. “Let’s go.”
She went around, the gun still pointed my way. She opened her door, bent and pulled the trunk.
I took a step back. “Come on, Shell–”
She ignored me, going to the trunk and she pulled out some rope. She tossed it at me. “Pick it up. Wrap it around your wrists.”
“This isn’t neces–”
“Do it or I’ll have you finish the ride in the back of this trunk. I’m betting you don’t want that.”
I didn’t.
I picked up the rope and began looping it around my wrists. This was foul in so many ways.
“Tighter.”
I looped it around, making a knot as best as I could.
Think, Kali. Think.
I didn’t know anything about knots, but what a time to wish that I had a full career in yachting. A trick knot would’ve come in handy.
“Okay. Enough.”
I tried pulling it down over my hand, a little leeway.
She was going to tighten it.
Anything? What could I do?
I tried twisting my other hand around, getting a finger under the other side of my wrist.
Sheathing her gun in her pocket, she came over and grabbed my wrists. She jerked me around, moving my arm. Seeing the finger, she slapped it out of there. Her gun was pointing down, but the safety wasn’t on.
Oh, God.
Oh, dear.
Could I?
She was tightening the rope–I had to.
She was still holding my wrists up so I lunged, going hard and fast, hoping to get her surprised.
I did.
“Wha—”
BANG!
OH MY GOD!
I jumped back, my whole body feeling like I’d been shot.
My ears were ringing.
My vision was blurring.
What had I just done?
I blinked a few times, waiting for my eyes to come back to focus and when they did… Oh. My. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
I was fully praying to Him.
The blood was everywhere. On my hands. On my chest. My stomach. My legs.
But, no, no, no.
I couldn’t have–it wasn’t my blood.
I choked back a cry, stumbling backwards.
Shelly was on the ground, her leg a wrangled mess.
Oh, I was just hoping she still had a leg. I didn’t want to look anymore, but she was staring down, then at me, and she was losing color fast. “You–you shot me?”