Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“About what?” she said in exasperation, throwing up her hands. “I don’t even know what the heck is going on.”
“Esther,” I growled, squeezing her hand. There was no fear in her eyes and that made me more nervous than anything, the fact that she seemed completely unbothered. “I get that you’re confused, alright? But this shit is serious as fuck. You know more than you’re sayin’.”
Her lips clamped shut and she frowned at me.
“Just tell the truth,” I said, a little more gently, reaching out to brush her hair away from her face. “It’ll be alright.”
I led her to the front door, still holding her hand. I figured that would tell the boys inside more than anything else exactly what they were dealing with. She was a part of this, unwilling or not, but for what it was worth I wanted everyone to know she had my protection.
“Otto,” Uncle Casper said with a nod, opening the door wide.
“This is Esther,” I said as I passed him.
“Hello,” Esther said quietly from behind me.
Jesus, she sounded so fucking sweet. As much as it drove me crazy how goddamn naïve she was, I also loved it. There weren’t any games with Esther. What you saw was exactly what you got. I remembered that about her from school and when I’d met her again later. She had a glass face. You always knew exactly what she was thinking.
“Otto,” Dragon greeted as we walked further into the room. “Take a seat.”
They were all sitting around a table, and a person who didn’t know them might’ve thought they were relaxed, but they weren’t. Dragon, my gramps, Leo, Uncle Mack, and Cam watched as I towed Esther to the table and sat down next to her.
“This is Esther,” I repeated. Fuck, my hands were clammy.
“Hello, Esther,” Gramps said, not unkindly. “Grease.”
“My grandfather,” I clarified. He shot me a look that I couldn’t interpret.
“This is Dragon, Mack, Leo, Cam,” Gramps continued. “And Casper.”
“Nice to meet you,” Esther said, smiling nervously. “Your name’s Dragon?”
“Nickname,” he replied flatly.
“Oh,” she breathed.
“Our boys said they found our missin’ shipment at your house,” Dragon said. “That true?”
“It’s really more of a cabin,” Esther replied shakily. I nearly groaned.
“Cabin, then,” Dragon said, inclining his head. Then he just watched her.
“They were under the floorboards,” Esther said. Stronger men than her had spilled their guts when Dragon looked at them like that, I was actually surprised by the few seconds she’d sat there in silence. “There was a trap door in the floor.”
“Who put them there?” Gramps asked.
“I don’t know,” Esther replied, lifting her hands and dropping them again. “I’ve been at the cabin since Thanksgiving and I never even noticed that there was a trap door in the floor. Yesterday my uncle and aunt picked me up and took me to the doctor.” She paused and took a breath. “Which was actually pretty surprising because I hadn’t seen or heard from anyone since I moved in. Anyway, they took me to the doctor and we stopped for more supplies,” she said, looking around at the men. “You know, food and water and more propane for the stove. Then we drove back to the cabin and that’s when I noticed the door.”
She stopped talking suddenly like she’d finally realized that she’d been rambling on.
“You open it?” Dragon asked.
“Well, yeah.”
“So you saw what was inside.”
“One of the crates was open.”
“You weren’t surprised? Didn’t think to call someone and ask them why there were guns underneath your floor?”
Esther stared at him, nonplussed. “My dad said I could only use the phone for emergencies. I didn’t think it was an emergency.”
“You didn’t think it was an emergency that there were a bunch of rifles in your house that you didn’t put there?” He held up his hand to stop her from replying. “Cabin,” he clarified.
She looked at each of the men in turn, gauging their facial expressions, and I knew the moment she realized exactly how things looked and how serious her situation was. It was as if the rosy sheen she saw the world through was suddenly gone.
Her neck muscles tightened as she swallowed.
“He said only emergencies,” she replied quietly. “And since I wasn’t hurt and the cabin wasn’t on fire, I didn’t think it qualified.”
“You didn’t call anyone on that phone since Thanksgiving?” Cam asked, his voice nearly as quiet as hers. “From what I hear, you were livin’ pretty rough.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head once. “No one.” Her voice was hoarse when she spoke again. “He said that he’d be watching the account, and if I called anyone, he’d take it back.” Her hand went to her belly under the shelter of the table. “I didn’t want to take the chance and be out there without a phone.”
That motherfucker. The thought of her stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way to reach anyone made my stomach clench. Instinctively I reached over and put my hand on her back. The movement wasn’t lost on anyone at the table.