Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
FIFTY-FIVE
BRYNN
I have no idea what I’m doing. I didn’t think Dominic would be stupid enough to bring Shavonne here, and being at this cabin has thrown off my entire plan.
When I saw him camped out around the motel, I knew he’d go to drastic measures just to conceal the truth, so we went forward with the plan anyway.
Actually, it was Shavonne who noticed him the very first time. She saw his car parked across the way when she’d left The Bean Bar and pretended not to notice the lurking black SUV. She rode straight to our motel and when she was inside, she watched from the window as Dominic parked on the side of the road.
Then, a few days after planting the dead crow in his trunk, he shows up. I noticed him first when I ran to get ice from the ice machine in the lobby. The Black SUV was parked near a cluster of trees, close to abandoned buildings and trucks. The engine clearly wasn’t running, as none of the lights were on, but I spotted Dominic’s frame behind the wheel.
“He’s out there,” I told Shavonne when I went back to the room with the ice.
She pulled her head out of her book, frowning. “Seriously?”
“Yes. I knew it’d only be a matter of time.”
“Damn.” She swallowed, her eyes bouncing around the motel room. “How long do we make him wait?”
“A few hours,” I said, dropping ice into a plastic cup. I cracked open a cherry flavored Pepsi and poured it over the ice. “We need him to be desperate—to get impatient and antsy, like we planned. That’s when people make the most mistakes.”
And sure enough, he did. I watched from behind the back of the motel as he punched Shavonne in her face. It took everything in me not to scream, not to run out and shoot him with the unregistered pistol I’d bought from some man’s trunk in New Orleans. Dominic put her in the back of his truck, tossed her phone, and hauled ass.
Now, I’m at this cabin, my gun in hand, breaths ragged as I walk around the back. One of the windows doesn’t have a curtain and I see Shavonne sitting in a chair with thick black cords wrapped around her body. That large man who buried me (or so he thought) is inside too, sitting on the couch. He’s rubbing his head, eyes squeezed tight, like he knows this is the end of the line for them. He and Dominic are in deep shit, and it’ll all come to light soon.
I walk around the back of the house, stopping just before I turn the corner. I hear something screech, and then a rough sliding noise. When I peek around the corner, the big man steps through the backdoor with a pack of cigarettes in hand. I yank my head back and press it against the wall of the cabin as my heart beats faster.
Okay. Okay. I can do this.
I bring the gun to my chest. I’ve never used one before in my life, but I’m willing to if it means saving Shavonne. If I shoot this man and weaken him before Dominic shows up again, I will have the upper hand. Dominic won’t see me coming.
Cigarette smoke drifts my way and I breathe as evenly as possible. I wait a few moments, facing the backside of the cabin. I can shoot him while he’s taking his smoke break and while he’s off guard.
Something crunches behind me, like footsteps over gravel, and I look back with a sharp gasp, just before bumping into the side of the house and causing a loud thump. My finger is wrapped around the trigger, so the gun goes off and a bullet flies through the trees. I’ve never heard a gunshot before, but it’s loud, and the gun rattles in my hand, causing me to drop it.
I stare at Jolene, just as the brawny man steps around the corner and catches us both.
FIFTY-SIX
JOLENE
“What the hell is—” Boaz steps around the corner with a cigarette pinched between his lips and a heavy scowl. Brynn is glued to the side of the cabin and her gun is only a few inches away from her feet. I bend down to pick it up, point the gun at Boaz, and shoot him.
My hands shake as I hold the gun. I don’t realize I’m staring at Boaz’s body—the first person I’ve ever shot—until Brynn runs around him to the back of the cabin. I chase after her as she enters through the back door and spot her standing in front of a bound and gagged Shavonne.
They both stare at me, eyes wide and panicked. I point the gun at Brynn and think about how easy it would be to get rid of her. But, unlike Dominic and Boaz, I’m a good person. And though all of this has caused me a major headache and has sent me on a downward spiral, I’m a woman of my word.