Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I saw the red SUV as soon as I turned the corner, and I pulled to a stop in front of Sawyer’s town house. I turned off my truck, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel as I took in my surroundings and tried to decide how to approach this. The street was quiet, most people in for the night in this upscale suburban neighborhood.
“What are you going to do?” Boone asked me, following my gaze. I’d told him everything I knew on the drive over, so he seemed on edge as well.
“I want you to go in the house with Lucy,” I said finally. “And be ready to call 9-1-1 if this guy tries anything.”
“You sure?” He frowned. “I’m not a scary-ass motherfucker like you, but I can hold my own in a fight.”
I chuckled. “I have no doubt, but someone needs to be with Lucy. Just in case.”
“Okay.” He got out and jogged to the front door, ringing the bell.
I waited until she let him in before getting out of my truck. I needed to know why this guy was parked across from the house. If it turned out to be the guest of a neighbor, I’d apologize and move on. I didn’t think so, though, and based on how scared Lucy had sounded, she didn’t either.
I walked across the street and leaned down, knocking on the passenger side window.
The man in the driver’s seat rolled the window down and glared at me. “What do you want?”
“I want to know why you’re loitering on a private street.” I leaned in, resting my forearms on the door and making sure he got a good look at the tattoos covering them. They weren’t gang-affiliated or anything, but hopefully the Cyrillic letters spelling out my grandmother’s name would give him Russian mob vibes or something equally intimidating.
“None of your fucking business.”
I arched a brow and leaned in slightly. “My family lives on this street. There are children in some of these homes. The bus stop is over there.” I motioned randomly with my head since I had no idea if there was a bus stop. “Trust me when I tell you they’re going to notice a strange man parked on the street. Once the police are called, I’ll be the least of your worries.”
The man scowled. “I am the police. I’m here doing surveillance. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Do you have identification?”
“Excuse me?”
“ID. Do you have any? If you’re a cop, let me see your badge.”
“Listen, mister, I don’t have to show you shit. Now how about you fuck off before I arrest your ass?” His growl turned nasty and I studied his face, making a mental note of his thick neck, curly dark hair, and bushy eyebrows. Impulsively, I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of his face before he could stop me.
“What the—” He lunged toward me but I backed away from the car.
“If you were actually a policeman, you’d have ID.” I made a show of typing on my phone. “But maybe the local police can verify—” I barely finished talking before he started the SUV and put it in gear. I took a step back as he took off down the street, taking a picture of his license plate as well.
As much as I wanted to handle this myself, we were probably going to have to call the police again.
I went to the door and Boone opened it. “What happened?”
“He left once I started questioning him.”
“You have balls of steel, man.”
“Where’s Lucy?”
“She went to get a robe or something. Said she was cold.”
I nodded. “And fucking Sawyer. He needs a…what do you call it? Come to Jesus?”
Boone nodded too. “Yeah. Lucy said he’s out cold.”
I heard her steps on the stairs and turned. As soon as she saw me, she ran across the room, throwing herself in my arms. I wrapped them around her tightly, holding her close even as I saw Boone giving me the side-eye and quirking up one of his eyebrows in question.
“Whoever it was is gone,” I said quietly, ignoring Boone. “But I spoke to him. He was very suspicious. He said he was a policeman but left when I asked to see ID. I got a picture of his face and his license plate.”
She sighed. “Damn it.”
“You know who it is?” I showed her the picture.
“No, but Nate’s brother is a detective in Spokane so he could’ve sent one of his buddies on the force.”
“He would send someone across the country to find you? Why?”
“I don’t…know.”
She was lying, but I wasn’t going to have this conversation with her in front of Boone. Anyway, right now I was more pissed at Sawyer. His constant drinking and lack of concern for Lucy, even on Annie’s birthday, was unacceptable. This Nate fucker was a danger to Lucy. My gut rarely steered me wrong—it had kept me alive for years—and I trusted the feeling that something bad was going to happen if Lucy wasn’t careful. And Sawyer needed to be awake and alert if it did.