Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
That was true.
“And Maks didn’t let you go get your gun when you wanted to, and surely Mr. Wells could have killed you when you left the house.”
Also true.
“Most importantly, Maks was the one who figured out very quickly that you were under attack, not him. And if he hadn’t been there, the FBI wouldn’t have been on hand to quickly determine who the shooter was.”
“Huh,” Gale said after a moment.
“So really,” she said, reaching for my hand and taking it gently in hers, “we’re so fortunate Maks was here to quickly get to the bottom of this.”
I looked at Gale. “I saved your life.”
He nodded. “Yeah. In more ways than one.”
Ada sighed. “What a terribly romantic thing to say.”
And it was.
That night, lying together in bed, I leaned in to kiss him, but he was already asleep. Somehow, though not romantic, it felt very normal. Yes, we were in a safe house because Wells was trying to kill Gale, but I could see us, in the future, just being together, living our lives, and being dead tired as well. My fantasies had never moved past the finding-someone stage because that was the only part I could imagine. Day-to-day life had never entered my mind, since how could that have ever happened? But now, suddenly, anything was possible, and I found myself ready.
Rolling onto my side, Gale was immediately there. Even comatose, he made sure to spoon me, his arm anchoring me close. I was going to turn my head and say something to him, but Misha took that moment to lick my chin and then curl into a ball in the hollow of my throat, so I had puppy hair up my nose.
“You’re a pain,” I whispered to him as he made his little getting-situated noises, part whimpers, part grunts. He rocked back and forth a few times, and then, once settled, sighed deeply. There was an answering sound from Gale. Apparently, I was what everyone needed to sleep.
It wasn’t such a bad deal.
THIRTEEN
Sergeant Dix, making good on his promise, apprehended Gale’s assailant the following day. Wells had driven back down the road toward the bungalow, thinking…I honestly had no idea what, but probably that the thunderstorm rolling in would somehow hide his movements from whoever might be out there looking for him. The Oregon State Troopers were in no way fooled. They chased him across the property and into Ada’s house, where he promptly went up the stairs to the second floor and fell through the hole there. He didn’t die, but since there was no bed there to catch people anymore, he did break his left ankle. The troopers took him into custody and then immediately to the county hospital in Seaside.
Alvarez came out to the safe house, where we were having breakfast on our second morning there, and gave us the news.
“We really should do something about that hole,” Ada told me.
“Yeah, I’m working on it,” I replied, squinting at her.
Her laughter was good to hear.
I called a car service to drive us home in a lavish limousine, and even though Gale said it wasn’t necessary, I didn’t want either of us driving with how little sleep we got. Being off our schedule meant we had basically been up a full twenty-four hours the day before. As predicted, we were all out in minutes once the drive began. I gave the man a large tip.
Gale went to the hospital in Seaside to talk to Reid, with Ramirez and Dix overseeing the visit, and the story was basically as my protectors, Deputy US Marshals Alvarez and Byers, had assumed. When Reid had thought about who to blame, one name popped up more than others. He immediately came after Gale with a vengeance. Nothing was going to miraculously be fixed, history could not be rewritten, but Gale left hoping that the time in prison Reid received would at least get him the help he needed.
“How long will he be incarcerated?” I asked Gale when he got home. Misha and I were waiting for him on the porch of the Craftsman, and I had to admit it felt like home.
“The maximum is normally nine years, but intent and premeditation have to be proven.”
I squinted at him.
“Okay, so yeah, he’s going to get the maximum with buying the gun, getting in his car, and driving all the way up here.”
“I’m sorry this happened, Gale, but I don’t want him out in the world where he can hurt you. And though I’m good with a gun, I’m better with a knife.”
His brows furrowed as he looked at me.
“Really. I’m very good with a knife.”
“Oh, I believe you,” he said, picking Misha up and walking toward the front door. “Just don’t be scary anymore, all right?”
“I don’t want you to get hurt, and if anyone tries to, I will be very displeased.”