Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Chloe,” Guy’s voice calls out.
He’s angry, and it gives me hope she got away. I run in that direction, hoping Ledger and Roman heard him too and are closer to the action.
I can’t count on that.
I move as fast as my legs will carry me, my mind racing just as quickly as the blood pumping through my system. The moon guides my quest and I stop for one second to gain my bearings.
I glance around, looking for clues to which way she could have gone, my insides churning with uneasiness.
“Where are you, you little bitch?” Guy spits out, an ominous chill hanging on the edge of his words. He sounds like he’s only about ten yards in front of me.
I slow my steps and move around a tree. And there he is. Right in my line of sight. So close.
I raise my weapon, not even giving him a chance to know I’m here. The loud crack of my gun firing echoes off the surrounding trees, and the bullet hits him in the leg.
He whirls around, his owl eyes searching for where the shot came from, but before he can move anymore, I’m already on him. He raises his weapon, and I squeeze the trigger again, landing a shot dead center in his chest.
Roman’s the first to arrive on the scene, his weapon raised and a look of wild fury in his eyes. “Is he dead?” he asks when he comes up on me leaning over Guy’s body.
“I think so.” I kick his gun away. “Did you find Chloe?” I turn my head to the wilderness. “Chloe! Are you out there? Everything’s ok.”
“What the fuck?” Ledger says, coming up on the scene in a full-on sprint. “I heard that gunshot and hoped it was one of us shooting him and not the other way around.”
I stand to my full size, keeping a watchful eye on Guy, determining him dead.
Roman does a full check of him as I peer through the woods in search of Chloe. “He’s dead,” Roman says and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I call out once more for Chloe
There’s a crunch to my left and I raise my weapon once more to make sure it’s not another attacker.
Chloe’s eyes are wide as she comes into view. She’s disheveled and not wearing any shoes, and I rush to her, wrapping my arms around her.
“You’re safe now,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head.
She wraps both arms around my waist. “Is he dead?”
I breathe deep, my pulse returning to normal. “Yes,” I tell her, hearing sirens in the distance. “It’s over now.”
“Take my gun,” Ledger says to Roman. “I’ll go down and get the cops and lead them here.”
Chloe clings to me, her head buried against my heart. “It’s over now,” I tell her. The heavy weight lifts from my shoulders, knowing everyone’s safe from this fucker.
The cops arrive and detain us for about an hour to answer questions. When it’s done, I carry Chloe back to the house, so she doesn’t have to walk in the brush on her bare feet. I drive Roman and Ledger back to the SUV, and then I head home. With Chloe.
“You’re staying with me tonight,” I tell her.
She yawns. “That sounds perfect.”
I pull onto the shoulder of the road and put the car in park, because I don’t want to wait until I get home to tell her what I need to say.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“What I should have done the other night.” I lean over and palm her face. “I love you Chloe, and I don’t give a shit if you’re a detective.”
Her breath hitches, and she lets out a choked sob. “I love you too.”
“I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you.”
“Us,” she whispers.
“What?”
“Lost us,” she says, and then she glances down at her stomach and rests her hand there. “I’m pregnant.”
My mind overflows with thoughts and not one of them is freaking out. I’m already planning how to adjust my schedule for Little League. Or ballet. Boy or girl, I don’t care. I crash my lips to hers, and tell her with my lips and tongue how overjoyed I am at this moment. And then I rest my hands over Chloe’s belly, bringing my lips to her stomach. “Hey, little one.”
Epilogue
Chloe
* * *
“We need more lights,” Ashley says to Greer. “I think if we string lights around the back yard, it’ll give it a nice romantic glow.”
Greer tilts her head, probably envisioning the scene. “I think you’re right. You’ve got a great eye,” she says to my sister. “What do you think, Chloe?”
“I think these macaroons are divine.” I relax in my chair, my belly practically bigger than me, and scarf down another of the decadent treats my mother had catered for the baby shower.