Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“Wait, I thought that his victim profile was brunettes?” I asked in confusion.
“It is,” he confirmed. “But this girl makes wigs for a living. Accident in childhood made her lose her hair for a time. She’s passionate about giving back to those like her and started making wigs when she was eighteen. At thirty, this wig business is one of the biggest in the world. In the photo she had online, she was wearing a brown wig.”
“Shit,” I said. “And she was taken?”
“We think so,” he confirmed. “We have a BOLO—be on the lookout—for her now. Her parents have declared her missing.”
“Fuck,” I growled.
“I’ll keep you updated, but all this info should be circulating through the department now.” He paused. “Have you checked the dating app lately?”
My stomach clenched.
“I did last night,” I admitted.
“Check it now,” he said. “I’ll bet there was contact with his new username.”
Then he hung up, leaving me there to look at my phone.
I went into the dating app that Ellodie had installed for me and clicked on her messages.
I sorted through ten, one of which included a picture of his dick instead of a greeting of any kind, and stopped on the new username.
Hikesforfun.
Stomach clenching, I clicked on the message, and was unsurprised to see the words on the screen.
Hey, my name is Jonah. I’d like to get to know you better. How do you feel about coffee dates?
She probably would’ve gone on it a week ago.
But now I was there, and she’d never go on a first date again.
I’d be her last first date if I had any say in the matter.
Something sick and worried started to fill my chest.
What if I couldn’t protect her, though?
What if this sick fuck found a way to bypass her protection and take her anyway?
And why did the thought of seeing her hurt in any way scare the hell out of me?
Sometimes you just have to give yourself a pep talk. Hello, you badass bitch. How are you? Don’t be sad. You’re doing great.
—Ellodie’s secret thoughts
ELLODIE
“Why are you on prednisone?” I asked curiously, picking up the package and reading the prescription information.
Quaid blew out a breath. “I was running during a foot chase. When I got to a field, I guess I stepped awkwardly, and my Achilles tendon gave out. Ever since then, I’ve had a lot of swelling there, and the doctor I saw recommended I try prednisone to get the swelling down.”
My stomach clenched at the thought of him hurting in any way, let alone bad enough that he couldn’t walk.
I winced. “Ouch.”
“Ouch is right,” he murmured. “It hurt like a bitch and had to be one of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced.”
“And the swelling?” I asked.
“Has gotten worse with my uptick of use over the last two weeks or so. So, the doctor said he’d prescribe me some steroids to help with the swelling.” He sighed. “I’ll take it before bed with my other sleep medication.”
“Why do you take sleep medication?” I kept asking questions.
“Because I sleep like fucking shit. It takes me hours to drift off. Then, when I do finally fall asleep, I wake up about twenty times. Doctor prescribed me sleep meds about a year ago and it’s been nice as fuck to finally be able to sleep through the night. This stuff doesn’t make me sleepy or anything when I wake up, no matter what time of night. It’s the best I’ve found.”
I glanced at the packaging for it, too, then set it back down on the counter next to a half-empty water bottle.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” I asked, leaning my hips against the counter.
We’d just finished having sex.
I’d cleaned myself out as best as I could using toilet paper.
Who knew having sex without a condom was so dang messy?
Now, fully sated, it was time for dinner and a movie to finish out my day off.
I was exhausted.
Today, when Gable and I had found that rage room after a quick lunch, I’d thought it was going to be a fun way to pass the time.
I hadn’t realized how much rage I had stored up in me, nor did I realize that it’d be so much fun to destroy things.
I stayed there for an hour and a half destroying everything I could, and only stopped when a sexy voice asked if I wanted him to pay for another hour, or if I’d gotten the release I needed.
When I’d turned to find Quaid standing there, I realized there was only one way to release the rest of what I needed, and we’d need to find a bedroom to do that.
So, we’d gone home with Auden, saying goodbye to Gable when we did, and he’d driven us to Quaid’s place.
“I’ll have to order something, because I’m too tired to scrounge up anything besides cereal, and I have no cereal.” He laughed as he pulled me to him. “You okay?”