Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
“Try to find a key or something for this cellar,” one of them shouts.
“Didn’t you give someone a crowbar?” a familiar voice shouts back. Mac? Is that Mac?
“Yeah, but a key would make this a hell of a lot simpler!”
I run up to the top of the stairs and knock on the wood. “Mac! I’m in here, Mac!” I say, making as much noise as I can, worrying that this whole dungeon is soundproof.
“Merit? Merit, I’m coming!”
A crowbar pokes through, and I hear his grunts as he tries to pry the door open.
“Found the key,” one of the other voices says.
“Give me it!” Mac yells, and I hear the locks tumble and the door opens.
Light floods the basement, and Mac clamors in and grabs me in a fierce embrace.
“Thank God you’re here. Are you alright?”
“As alright as I can be.” He holds me close. It’s so comforting. “And I’m feeling a whole lot better now.”
Behind him are nine other men. All of them are wearing bright orange vests, rifles slung over their shoulders, various weapons and tools in hand.
“Who are they?” I ask, my voice low.
“My brothers. My cousins. I asked for their help and they came immediately.”
Mac takes a gander around the dungeon I was forced into. He sees the bed. He sees the cameras and the lights. He makes assumptions quicker than I could. “Bastards. Every last one of them. I hope they rot or burn, whatever their fate is after today. Are you okay?”
I nod. “You got here before they could go through with it.”
He helps me out of the basement and I see the unconscious bodies of my father and Gregory.
Mac asks, “Who are they?”
“My father and the man he tried to force me to marry. Well, technically he already did – they did the ceremony the minute they got me back here.”
“That shit won’t hold up in court.” He shakes his head in disgust. “Your own father was the one trying to force you into this? Man, I wish I swung harder now.”
“You would have liquified his head if you swung any harder, Mac,” one of the other men comments.
“You saying he wouldn’t have deserved it, Cash?”
Cash shrugs. “Just an observation. Ever considered getting into baseball? You could be a homerun king with some training.”
“Sports aren’t for me, and that doesn’t matter. We’ll give our statements to the police later. Let’s just get out of here.”
Together we hustle out of the church and toward the back fence, where a huge hole has been cut in it. I look back at the battle that has erupted. FBI agents are crawling all over the compound, cuffing people and taking them down. The bright orange vests the boys are wearing must have been their way of signifying they were friendly, and somewhat conspicuous since they’re the outfit of a safe hunter.
Up a nearby hill, I look on at the compound with a bit of sadness. For better or for worse, this place was my home for ten years of my life. The people inside it were once ones I considered friends. I never wished to go back there and be part of it again, but I can’t deny the pangs of guilt I feel at leaving them.
We’re out of danger now, the situation dying down. We stop, looking at the sunset in the distance with Mac and his family.
“Merit,” he says, then drops to one knee. “I should have told you this earlier. I should have made my feelings clear a whole lot sooner.”
I look at him with wide eyes.
“I love you, Merit. With all of my heart. I know it’s sudden and we haven’t known each other long, but I guess Rough boys just have a habit of falling in love hard and fast, and for good. My love is for you, Merit.”
I gasp in awe as he presents me with a cracked open velvet box. “Mac, I… I just…” The words can’t come out of my mouth. There’s some traffic jam in my brain created by shock.
“Marry me, Merit. Don’t make me wait any longer. Don’t let me make that mistake again. Be my wife, and make me the happiest man alive.”
“Of course!” I say, the shock wearing off, overtaken by sheer joy. “Of course, Mac! I love you too. And I wanted to tell you, I was so worried I wouldn’t get to.”
Without hesitation, he slips the ring on my finger and brings me in for a powerful kiss, embracing me firmly in his arms.
The Rough and Rowdy family cheer us on. It’s a bit weird having an audience, but I do have to say I don’t mind their encouragement.
After what I’ve experienced, I’m going to need to be taught what family means again.
Mac and his family are the best teachers I could ever hope for.