Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
As I’m turning from locking the door my bag gets caught on the handle, tugging me back a step which knocks me off balance and sends the chest in my hands tumbling to the ground before I have a chance to catch it.
As soon as it crashes against the tile floor in the entryway the lid flies off and skids across the floor while the contents explode out scattering across the glass-enclosed space.
“No, no, no, no, no.” I drop my purse and grab the lid before I fall to my knees and frantically flip the box over to assess the damage. When I see that the worn brass hinge that attached the lid to the box has snapped in two, I want to cry. There is no way I will be able to put the chest back together without somehow replacing the hinge and I have no clue how to do that.
With a breath I start cleaning up all the ticket stubs, photos, and tiny trinkets from the floor then I notice more than one piece of paper, each about the size of the Post-it notes we use here at the bank. When I pick up the first one, I frown at the messy writing and the single line question.
You think you can block me?
I pick up another and find the same messy writing.
I told you I loved you.
I grab another, then another, each one from someone who was obviously harassing Carly and angry that she didn’t return their feelings. As I look at the stack of them in my hands, a sinking feeling fills the pit of my stomach. It was assumed that Matthew committed suicide after he killed Carly, but what if he didn’t kill her? What if he was murdered, too, and Carly’s killer is still out there.
When a loud bang hits the glass, I scream, and my eyes fly up. Seeing Troy standing on the other side of the door shoving his key in the lock a wave of fear spreads down my spine and the hair on my arms stands on end.
As quickly as I can I shove the pieces of paper in my hands into the box then start picking up the rest of the stuff off the ground.
“What happened?” he asks opening the door.
I shake my head. “Just being klutzy.” I get to my feet as he bends over. When his eyes drop to the paper he picks up off the ground, I freeze. Slowly his head turns my way and my heart that is already beating hard, begins to thunder away behind my ribcage. “I dropped Carly’s box that I have to mail to her best friend.”
“What else is in there?” he asks quietly as he watches me with a look in his eyes that makes my skin crawl.
“I didn’t go through it, I was just putting everything that spilled out back in when you knocked on the door,” I say, and am proud of the evenness of my tone when I’m so scared, I’m sure I might pass out.
“Let me see.”
“Why?” I back up a step and his eyes narrow before he lunges for me. Throwing the box at him as hard as I can, I hear it make contact, but don’t stick around to see where it got him. I spin and run into the bank then slam my palm against the security panel by the front door. No alarm sounds so I don’t know if it did any good.
“You bitch!”
He plows into me from behind when I’m almost to my office and I stumble in my heels. My knees hit the floor then my chin makes contact next and pain explodes across my lower jaw. When he grabs a handful of my hair and rips my head back, I scream and roll from my belly to my back catching him off guard and sending him tumbling to his side. I don’t have long before he’s back up and when he tries to climb on top of me, I fight him with every ounce of strength I have. I kick, scratch, punch, and bite and just when I think there is hope, he grabs my face, lifts my head off the ground, and pounds my head into the floor causing everything to go black.
Clay
WITH MY COMPUTER in front of me on the tray table I look over the spreadsheet my accountant sent over and double-check that things are as they should be. As I click to the next page a message pops up at the bottom of the screen from Miles and the moment I read his text my heart stops.
The alarm at the bank was activated twenty minutes ago
I was just informed from the officers who arrived on
scene first that there was a woman being held hostage
and I just confirmed it’s Willow. I know you’re in the air.