Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 72401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“Yep,” I agreed.
“And just who taught you that?” He asked suspiciously.
I wanted to smile, I really did, but I managed to hold it in check just for him.
“Show me what you got,” he said tauntingly.
So I did.
Sucker.
I took the shotgun out of Cleo’s hand and inspected it.
Loaded.
One in the chamber.
Pump.
Four shells total.
Lining my toes up at the edge of the concrete I looked back at him and said, “Pull.”
Whomever was behind me pulled, and an orange disc the size of a small plate launched into the sky in front of me.
Lifting the gun up quickly, I placed the stock of the gun in the crease of my shoulder, laid my cheek against the stock, and looked down the barrel at the sites.
Less than two seconds later, I fired, and the orange disk exploded into a million tiny pieces.
“Fuck me,” multiple someone’s said from behind me.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Cleo said as he stepped up next to me. “Load two.”
“Pull,” I said.
Boom.
Boom.
Two clay discs shattered.
“Hot damn, it’s a match made in heaven,” Trance drawled.
I giggled, and had a blast.
It felt good to be a part of them.
Used to be, I was on the outside looking in. Now, however, I was there with them. A part of them.
So this was what happy felt like.
Chapter 13
Do I want my own bike? Why would I need one? I have my own biker!
-Text from Rue to Cody
Rue
I blinked my eyes open and looked at the clock.
4:37 A.M.
What. The. Fuck?
Sliding out of my nice warm bed, I walked half awake, half asleep, to the front door, wondering who in the world would be knocking on my apartment door at this hour.
We’d gotten home from the day…and night, of fun, and I’d collapsed into the bed, not even taking the time to say goodbye to Cleo.
Had he forgotten something?
No, I decided.
He’d have just broken in like he usually did.
So who was at my door?
I turned the corner into the living room and squeaked when I saw a shadow blocking out the security light through my front window.
Walking to my door, I unlocked the deadbolt, twisted lock on the doorknob, and then cursed when I forgot to unarm the system.
Quickly punching in the buttons that shut the system down, I turned back around to see the door slam open and stop when it caught the chain on the door that I’d yet to unlock.
It saved my life.
A couple months ago when I’d made the move, I’d thought the extra heavy door was ridiculous.
Nonetheless, I’d remembered what Cleo had told me about having a good door, and a chain that could withstand hundreds of pounds of force, and I’d felt secure.
Now, I was thanking sweet baby Jesus that I’d listened.
“Open the door, bitch,” a man’s rough voice hissed.
I blinked and backed away from the door.
The man’s hands went inside the crack and started grappling for the chain at the top of the door.
Not knowing what the hell to do, but knowing I had to do something, I did what any sane woman would do. Something I knew wouldn’t feel too good for the occupant of that arm.
Using my body, I ran and slammed into the door with all the force my body could muster, without breaking myself in the process.
I hit hard, and I head the audible snap of the radius and the ulna breaking in the man’s arm.
Bile rushed up my throat, but I tamped it down as my flight or fight response started to really kick in.
Running back to my bedroom, I grabbed my phone and ran back to the living room with the phone to my ear.
“911, what’s your emergency?” the operator asked.
“My address is 3332 Point Dunes Road. Apartment 1C. Shreveport. Someone’s trying to break into my apartment,” I blurted out.
“How do you know someone’s trying to break in?” The operator asked.
I looked at the door, and something silver caught my attention.
A knife.
On the floor.
What the fuck?
“I went to open the door and the chain was still on. That stopped him from bashing my face in with the door. I broke his arm, though,” I explained quickly.
Why she couldn’t just dispatch units first, and ask questions later, was beyond me.
However, I wasn’t a dispatcher, and what the hell did I know?
“You broke his arm? How are you aware it’s a male?” The woman asked.
I could hear her fingers moving on the keyboard on the other end, so I hoped she sent someone.
Quick.
I swallowed quickly, trying to keep our late dinner down as I watched the door warily, too scared to actually go check to see if the man was gone.
“He yelled at me to ‘open the door, bitch’ but I didn’t,” I explained.
Sirens started to wail in the distance, and I started to breathe again.
“They’re coming,” I said gratefully.
“Yeah, honey. They are,” she said soothingly. “What’s your name, sweetie?”
I blinked, surprised at the abrupt shift in her demeanor, and tone of her voice.
“I’m Rue Loden,” I said softly.
“Alright, Rue. Well, just stay on the line. The police should be there any second. Okay?” She asked softly.
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Yes, ma’am.”
She giggled. “Good. What do you do?”
I knew she was just trying to keep my mind off of what was going on, but it worked. I calmed some.
“I’m a nurse at Christus Health,” I said.
Which reminded me that I had less than an hour before I needed to leave for work.
Mother fucker.
A scratch outside the door made me freeze, and I started to get scared all over again when a flashlight’s beam of light swept over my window, door, and the porch area.
“Are the cops here yet?” I whispered as softly as I could.
“Yes, they are. There’s a police officer at your door right now,” the 911 operator said.
I felt relief pour through me. “Thank you.”
I could practically feel the other woman on the other end of the line smiling. “You’re welcome, dear. Just stay there until he makes sure the scene is secure. He’ll announce himself when he’s ready for you to open it, okay?”