Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Rory kept her pace the same as always. She didn’t want to run out of oxygen, and that happened if she pushed her limits. Once she couldn’t breathe adequately, she couldn’t think. In an emergency, she needed to be able to use her brain. Already, the fog had blanketed the streets. The damp air gave her lungs a problem. That was the one bad thing about living in the area. She might love it, but her lungs didn’t love the fog.
The biggest problem she had wasn’t being worried about her own safety; it was trying to keep her mind from straying to Gideon. As she walked toward the harbor, the feeling of uneasiness grew stronger. Without conscious thought, she continually reached out to Gideon, anxious to know if he was alive and well. She had nearly decided to bypass her apartment building and see if she could get him to answer his door when the feeling of immediate danger rushed over her.
She took a deep breath, drawing in air. Was the danger to her? To Gideon? The warning signals were alarmingly strong. She was too far from Gideon. She spun around, facing back the way she’d come. The danger seemed to be emanating from that direction. The fog had crept completely in, leaving the streets gray and damp, making it difficult to see very far. She had excellent hearing. The fog could muffle sound, but not from her. She tended to be able to hear whether that heavy mist had rolled in or not. It was one of the reasons she never worried about walking home at night.
Listening, she heard muffled movement in the street. Not a car. Footsteps. Hurrying. Not running but coming at her fast. There was no time to make it to her apartment building. She was right at the crosswalk, so there was no building to shelter against and blend in. Her heart rate increased before she had a chance to keep it under control.
Instantly, there was a faint stirring in her mind. Red? Are you in danger?
Gideon sounded very far away. His voice was thin. Thready. The moment he spoke to her, there was someone else protesting, pulling him away from her. She detected the presence but didn’t recognize the person, and she knew Gideon wasn’t alone. The distraction allowed her assailant to reach her before she’d prepared an adequate defense.
Scott Tinsdale caught her wrist as she stepped to one side to put herself off the sidewalk and onto the lawn of the closest building’s landscaping. She let him have her wrist, but she brought her arm up, closing her fist as if prepared to fight. Shifting her weight to the balls of her feet, she kept her legs shoulder-width apart, knees light.
“Tinsdale.” She feigned surprise. “Let go of me. What do you want?” Pushing outrage into her voice, she kept her tone a little shocked and frightened, twisting her wrist and pulling experimentally to see what he’d do. She wasn’t surprised when he automatically tightened his grip.
“I just want to talk to you. I need you to deliver a message for me.”
“You could have asked me in the bar.”
“Someone could have overheard. It’s important no one hears.”
“If no one can hear the message, it’s the kind of thing that can get someone in trouble. I don’t want any part of it.” Rory began working the moves she needed to break away from him over and over in her mind. She was certain she could get him to release her wrist, but trying to break his kneecap was risky. She only had one shot at it. If she missed, he’d be on her too fast and she’d never get away. Not to mention, he’d be royally pissed.
“We don’t have anyone else, so it’s on you.” He tucked an envelope into the pocket of her jacket. “I suggest you keep that sealed. He’ll know if you opened it. Give it to Harvey when he comes to you.”
“Harvey? The Harvey who the cops already think I’m working for? They’re following me everywhere I go and asking me all kinds of bullshit questions I can’t answer. I don’t want any part of this. Take it back.” She reached into her jacket with her free hand.
“Leave it. You don’t want us coming after you. We’re just asking you to deliver the message to him. That’s all. No one is asking anything else of you. Just give him that when he sees you next. You don’t have to look for him; he’ll find you. Just carry it on you and when he comes to you, hand it over. That’s not a lot to ask.”
“It is if it involves me in anything criminal,” Rory protested. “Westlake thinks Harvey killed his partners. He’s not going to let up until he finds Harvey. I don’t want to get caught up in that.”