Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
A smile broke out over my face when I saw who was calling.
I hit speaker on my phone and said, “Decided to not be stubborn anymore and talk to me?"
Harsh breathing, the occasional scuffle of rocks, and grunting broke the silence of the line, and my demeanor instantly changed. I dropped my rag, the wrench, and shot up from my crouched position. My heart was pounding so hard I could almost hear it. Jack stood from his stool with a questioning look, but I didn’t stop to explain.
At a jog, I turned and headed into the office from the main garage. Sam and Max were sharing a beer laughing when I barreled inside. Suddenly they were alert and ready, knowing something was wrong just by the look on my face.
Holding my finger up to my list, I held out my hand so everyone could hear what was going on at the other end of the line.
"P-please don't h-hurt me. P-please.” She said to him. “I can go back in to the gym and get you some money. Or we can get in my car and I can take you to the ATM and get cash out for you. That's my car right there, in the corner where it says ‘AT parking only.’ "
When Max heard Ember’s voice, he vaulted from his chair, hit the keyboard with a thump, and started typing away. He pulled up her cell phone position as Sam was busy on the phone with Kilgore PD giving them the details that ember had just relayed.
"Shut up, bitch. Or this will be worse in the long run.” A low male voice said.
Ember must have lost the battle with her emotions because gut-wrenching sobs came through the speaker and a sick knot of fear lodged in the pit of my belly. Ember's attacker started hitting her then, and we could hear each sickening thud.
"Oh yea, you like that baby?” The attacker said.
Bile rose in my throat, and I could no longer stay put. I ran out to the truck I’d just purchased that afternoon, hopped inside, and slammed the door. The sound of tires spinning on pavement, and the smell of burnt rubber did nothing to my senses. Everything in my being was focused on the phone and what I was hearing. The phone hooked up through my Bluetooth in the truck, and I could hear the sound of grunting, and then sounds of flesh meeting flesh. I prayed that nothing was as bad as I was imagining it, and that she was going to be all right.
I arrived at the college within five minutes, but was still beat there by dozens of police cars. Police cruisers were parked haphazardly in all directions. Getting as close as I could before parking and getting out, I sprinted towards the group of people outside of the gym.
An officer did his best to stop me, but I was a force of nature. Plowing right through him, I ran up to the figure I saw huddled on the ground in a fetal position.
Ember's shock of blonde hair was the first thing I saw. The second was the fact that she had no shirt on. A police officer was just taking off his jacket and draping it over her when I dove in on my knees, skidding to a halt next to her head.
There was a commotion further away, but I paid it no mind as I concentrated on Ember. My heart was in my throat, and tears started pricking my eyes. I stifled a moan of despair, and took in the sight before me.
I started to place my hands on her head when she flinched away from me. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was making heart wrenching whimpering noises.
"Emmie. It’s okay. I'm here now. Can you look at me, baby?” I said quietly to her.
The whimpering stopped and those big green eyes snapped open. She looked at me with fear-clouded eyes. One second she was lying in a ball on the pavement, and the next she was throwing herself into my arms.
Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. She buried her face in my neck and started sobbing. Each and every sob broke my heart a little bit at a time. Ember was a spitfire, and I had never seen her look so defeated. Her tears were flowing hotly down my neck and sliding into the gap of my t-shirt.
Something slick trickled over my hands, and it registered in my mind that ember's entire back was bare and slick all over. I tried to place her down on the ground but she clung to me tightly.
The paramedics rolled up with their gurney and stopped beside the both of us.
"Please let her go, sir, so we can take a look at her.” The young medic said.
Once again, I tried to put her down but she refused and clung even more tightly, as well as wrapping her legs around my waist.
"Ember, honey, these guys would like to take a look at you to make sure you aren't hurt anywhere. Can you let them check you over?” I whispered to her.
"No.” She moaned. "I'm not too bad. It's just my back. I think he scratched my back when he ripped my shirt off.” She said into my neck
The paramedics must have been able to make out what she said so they nodded and bent down to take a closer look at her back. One of the officers turned on a large spotlight that lit the area up, because now I could make out that the shirt she had been wearing was laying in tatters around her waist.
My blood was on a slow boil, and I just prayed that I would find the strength to not go off and find the fucker that dared to hurt her.
The second medic let out a low whistle with his tongue and teeth while examining the wound. The first medic pulled out a bottle and some gauze. They went to work on her back, and I tried not to think about the amount of blood I was seeing.