Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Good. Glad to hear it.” His tone turned threatening as he motioned to the back door of the van. “’Cause I’d sure hate for you to end up like my friend here.”
“I think you best remember who I am and what I’m capable of.” I took a menacing step toward him, closing the gap between us as I warned, “I’m not a man you want to threaten, Antonio. Not now. Not ever.”
Without giving the asshole a chance to respond, I took the envelope from his hand, got in my van, and pulled out of his drive. On the way home, I thought about my odd encounter with DeLuca, and there was no doubt in my mind that there was something up with him. It could’ve been the fact that one of his own had betrayed him, or he truly was suspicious of me. I just had no idea what it was.
But there was one thing I did know for certain.
I’d done my last job for Antonio DeLuca.
When I got back to the house, I pulled around back and parked next to the basement entrance. I went inside and turned on the incinerator, then headed back to the van to retrieve the body. I’d opened the door and had just gotten a good grip on the rug when I heard, “Billy?”
I dropped the body, and when I stepped back, I found Everleigh standing in the dark just a few feet away. “What are you doing out here?”
“I was on the porch and saw you pull up.” She tucked her hair behind her ear as she leaned to the side and tried to get a better look at what I was doing. “I thought I would come and see if you needed a hand with anything.”
“Go back inside, Everleigh.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Just do like I said and go back inside.”
A wounded expression marked her beautiful face as she lowered her head and muttered, “I was just... Forget it.”
With a frustrated shake of her head, she turned and disappeared into the darkness. I’d upset her, but I didn’t have a choice. I had a job to finish, and I couldn’t do it with her around. I waited until I was certain she’d gone back inside, then I grabbed the body and tossed it over my shoulder. Once I’d unloaded it into the incinerator, I went back out and started on the van.
It took me some time, but I got it done. After I’d locked everything up, I headed upstairs. As I’d hoped, Everleigh was in her room, and the lights were out. I figured she was sleeping, so I tried to be quiet as I headed to my room and closed the door.
I was wiped and ready to call it a night, but the second my head hit the pillow, my mind drifted to Everleigh and the look on her face when I sent her inside. Seconds later, I was thinking about Antonio and our brief exchange. And before I knew it, I was back to thinking about Everleigh.
Damn. I was in for a long night.
EVERLEIGH
After going to bed feeling completely flustered and barely sleeping a wink, I got up super early and took a long, hot shower. I took my time—washed my hair, and shaved my legs. When I got out, I went over to the mirror and checked my wounds. I was pleased to see that, while the skin still looked a little red and angry, they were healing. I was also pleased to find that they weren’t as tender as they’d once been, and I was able to move around without as much difficulty.
As I stood there looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but notice how out of control my hair had gotten. I desperately needed a trim, so I started searching the bathroom drawers for a pair of scissors. It took me a minute, but I eventually found a pair in the medicine cabinet.
I quickly combed out the wild strands into sections and prepared to start cutting. I was no hairdresser, but after a few precise cuts, I could already see an improvement. I continued trimming, and it wasn’t long before I’d finally managed to make it look presentable.
I cleaned up the mess I’d made, then decided it was time for coffee.
The house was eerily quiet as I stepped out of my room and walked into the kitchen. I hadn’t seen or heard Billy since the night before, and honestly, I was okay with that. I was growing frustrated with his hot then cold behavior, and after him banishing me back to the house, I was in no rush to see him. In hopes of avoiding him a little longer, I poured my cup of coffee and quietly carried it outside.
It was a beautiful morning. The sun was peaking over the fields, and a light mist hovered over the pond. I felt like I was being beckoned as I started down the steps and headed down to the dock. It didn’t take long for my mind to drift to my encounter with Billy the night before. It was just so unexpected, especially after the nice day we’d had. I finally felt like I was getting to know him, but our exchange proved I didn’t really know him at all.