Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“It puts the lotion in the basket,” an electronically modified voice said.
Good to know someone had a sense of humor. And a working knowledge of pop culture. Kayla placed the packet Josh had given to her on the bed of pinecones. “Okay, Lecter, your move. You going to shoot me or let me get my boy out of here?”
“Your boy? That’s a little arrogant of you, don’t you think?”
Where was it coming from? The voice was low, but it seemed to come at her from every direction, the sound bouncing around and confusing her senses. “I’m the one taking care of him.”
“You’ve known him for a whole ten minutes. And by know I mean that in the biblical sense. You’ve spread your legs for him but you have no idea who he is. You have no idea the things he’s done.”
“I don’t care. I’m his bodyguard and yeah, I sleep with him because he’s really good at it, but that’s the extent of our relationship. So make your decision. Do I go or do you want to throw down right here?” She closed her eyes. It wasn’t like she could see much anyway.
“You’re a violent thing, aren’t you?” that voice asked. “You think you can solve everything with a bullet, but I’m more subtle than that. Smarter. I think I’ll forego the fight today, but don’t think this is over. If you stay with him for any amount of time, you’ll deal with me.”
“And you are? I would love a formal introduction.”
“I bet you would.” The voice sounded eerily amused. “Again, I believe I’ll forego that. The question now is how do I ensure you leave? I think you might enjoy staying here and trying to catch a glimpse of me.”
“Nope. I’m ready to head out. Not for nature.” Kay still couldn’t figure out where that voice was coming from, what direction to defend.
“I think you might hang around, or that friend of yours might. He looks a bit dangerous, like he’s had some training that goes beyond Hollywood. No, I think it’s good that I brought some friends along, too. Get out of here or I’ll have one of my snipers blow Josh’s head off. If you’re not in the parking lot in ten minutes, Josh is dead,” the voice pronounced.
“Why would…”
“Your time starts now,” the voice insisted.
Kayla took off, her boots pounding along the path. Sure enough, when she made it back to Josh, there was a laser painted on his chest. And another had a bead on Riley. Josh stared down at the red dot and she saw the moment Riley got the picture, too.
“She’s got at least two shooters on us,” Kay shouted. “Riley, pick him up. We’ve got ten minutes or they fire.”
Josh grunted as Riley tossed him over his shoulder.
Kay started to reach for her gun.
The dirt two inches from her hand exploded.
So whoever was out there was damn good and wanted her unarmed. Fuck. “Let’s move. I’ll take the front and light the way. We can’t stop so if we come up against momma mountain lion, expect a fight.”
“Lead the way,” Riley said.
She started back up the path, praying all along that Josh was worth more to that bitch alive than he was dead. Because if he wasn’t, she feared they were all in trouble.
They jogged along, Josh arguing quietly that he could walk and she and Riley ignoring him entirely. She breathed a bit when they reached a patch of trees. She glanced back and those red lasers that had been following them were gone.
“She’s not going to kill me,” Josh said. “She wanted to get you away from the drop site. That’s all. She’s long gone now.”
“I’m not taking the chance. We’re not stopping until we get back to the club. Then we’re getting in the car and we’re going home. When we’re at home, you can decide if you want to fire me or give me a heads-up the next time you decide to try to kill yourself.” The minute the words were out of her mouth, she knew that wasn’t the way to handle Josh, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
He’d almost died. If that damn snake had gotten him, he could have died out there. He wouldn’t have been able to walk, and even if he’d been smart enough to call her, she might not have made it in time. She would have raced out and found his big body growing cold on the trail.
Anger flared now but she tamped it down as they made it to the steps that led back to the parking lot. She put a hand out, stopping Riley. If someone was going to jump them, this would be the place to do it. The lot was dark and they could come at her from all sides.