Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
A creaking sound has Acacia and I freezing.
Footsteps above.
Heart racing, I take Acacia’s arm and pull her into the kitchen. Sickness rises in my stomach as we duck down behind the counter, and I hold my breath. If he looks out the window and notices any sort of light in the backyard, it’s over for us. Closing my eyes, my fingers tremble as I pray that he doesn’t come downstairs.
What feels like the longest moment passes before the sound of a door closing can be heard.
I know Ethan, and I know he’ll probably start looking for his phone. He often wakes up during the night, scrolls, and then puts it away. We have minutes. Tugging Acacia’s arm, I pull her to her feet. “We need to get out of here,” I whisper. “He will figure out his phone is gone and come looking. Let’s go.”
Nodding, she follows me as we rush out of the kitchen as quietly as we can. Shoving the clothes in her hands, I tell her to go while I activate the alarm again. Hesitantly, she takes them and then turns, rushing off into the night. Fingers trembling, I use the light on Ethan’s phone to see the numbers I’m punching in the keypad. The moment the alarm is activated, I rush out the door.
But not before footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs.
Picking up my pace, I rush toward the fence where Acacia is waiting to help me over. “Go!” I whisper hiss.
The back door swings open.
“Hey!”
Ethan’s furious voice fills the cool night and I know we’ve run out of time. Tossing everything over the fence, I turn to Acacia as she leans down to give me a leg up. He’s quick and manages to reach us before Acacia can throw me over the fence. His fingers curl into my hair, jerking me back – a pained yelp escapes my throat. “I fucking knew it was you. Bitch. Where is my phone?”
“Acacia,” I gasp. “Go.”
“Fuck no,” she growls, and then her fist flies out without question and hits Ethan in the jaw.
Barking in pain, he releases me before spinning on her. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Touch her again, you filthy son-of-a-bitch, and I’ll gut you like a fish.”
Jesus.
“Where the fuck is my phone?” Ethan thunders.
“You’ll never find it,” I seethe, the first time I’ve used such a cold, hard tone when speaking to him. “I’m done with your threats. I’m done with you hurting me. It won’t be happening anymore. It’s over for you, Ethan. We found your little safe, it’s gone too. Good luck proving it was us.”
His eyes flash, and I know I’ve got him.
I know that whatever is in that safe, he doesn’t want me to find.
His fist lashes out, aiming right toward me, and for the first time since I’ve been with him, I shove my arm up to block it. His closed hand slams into my forearm, and it hurts, but nothing like it would have if it hit my face.
“I said,” I growl, shoving his fist away with my arm, “you won’t be doing that to me anymore.”
The blaring alarm sounds out, echoing through the night. He didn’t disarm it, and because the door is open, the shrill sounds fill the air. Cursing, and no doubt not wanting to pay a fee if they come out for no reason, Ethan turns to shut it off before it alerts the authorities. This is our chance. Acacia leans down and helps me up and over the fence before hauling herself over, too.
On the other side, Bonnie stands, her phone in her hand, looking like she was just about to make a call.
“Are you okay?” she whispers, rushing over when we both land on the ground.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” I groan. “Are the guys still here?”
“They took the safe to the truck. We should go.”
She’s right.
We need to get the hell out of here.
Right now.
“CRACK IT,” WESTERN orders, and the guys blow the safe.
I don’t want to know how they’ve got the material to blow the lock, but they do. A loud popping sound, some smoke, and then the door swings open. Just like that. It’s rather alarming how easily they managed to do that. Nervous anticipation washes over me as the smoke clears and the safe comes into view. Walking over, the guys step out of the way, letting me look first.
Stopping in front of the safe, I stretch my fingers out before closing them again. Taking a deep, nervous breath, I exhale and then reach in. Whatever is in here, I want to know. I’m praying the one thing I’m looking for is in this safe. If it is, we might just have enough to get Ethan right where we want him.
The first few items I pull out are large sums of cash. At least fifty thousand dollars. Eyes widening, I stare down at it as bundle after bundle comes out of the safe. Ethan has been stashing money. Why? What is it he was planning on doing? Was he going to get rid of me and leave? Or was he hiding this for another reason? He earns good money, and I don’t touch a cent of it, so why is he hiding it?