Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Still inside her, he lifted his head, his sleepy eyes studying her. “You still good?”
She grinned, her body satiated. “Yes. For now. We’re just getting started, correct?”
His lips touched hers as he spoke. “Definitely.”
They made love again and then drifted off to sleep only to awaken once more with the captain raring to go. That orgasm had her holding her breath, and then she dropped into a deep sleep.
The buzzing of a phone pulled her groggily from a REM cycle in which she was searching for river rocks to decorate a patio. “Agent Snow,” she yawned into the phone.
“It’s Nester,” the agent said, his voice raised. “My sister was hit by a truck jogging this morning in Seattle. I have to go. I have to.”
She sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. “Of course.” Calculating the workload without Walter and Nester, she forced herself from the warm bed, her feet landing on the chilly wooden floor. “Go to Seattle.”
Huck switched on a light, his eyebrows raised.
Nester gulped, and the sound of a vehicle starting came over the line. “I can work remotely. I promise I will.”
“I know.” She looked out at the dawn barely breaking through the clouds and shivered. Jason Abbott hunted women even now, and she’d find him on her own if necessary.
It felt as if fate were on his side.
Chapter 8
Morning brought more freezing rain with it. Dr. Abigail Caine turned off the heater in her vehicle as she glanced at the Glock 17 sitting beside her on the passenger seat. She’d purchased the weapon the day before at a garage sale in a rural city even smaller than Genesis Valley. While she owned a couple of legally purchased weapons, she found that buying one or two untraceable guns was always a good thing.
She increased the volume of her radio as she watched the rather quiet Staggers Ice Creamery building. Laurel currently worked like a good little public servant safely in her office, so Abigail pulled out of the parking area and drove away down Jagged Rock Road and through the town of Genesis Valley. That insipid reporter, Rachel Raprenzi, came on the radio with The Killing Hour, detailing once again the arrest of the mayor’s wife. Abigail smiled and turned the volume up even more.
She’d worked on an annual fundraiser with Teri Bearing, and the woman was truly a pain in the ass. She always had a clipboard, check marks, and no problem letting everybody else do the work. The woman had also been a little too nosy about Abigail’s life.
The idea of her being handcuffed and fingerprinted was a delight. The woman drank like a fish. Stupid people bothered Abigail. Her own IQ blew off the charts and always made her the most intelligent person in any room. However, Laurel remained a question mark. Was it possible that her half sister had a higher IQ? Abigail chuckled. Of course not. Her phone dinged, and she pressed the button on the dash. “Dr. Caine.”
“Dr. Caine, this is Dr. Rudolph from Northern Washington Technical Institute. Where you work.”
She rolled her eyes and tapped her red-painted nails on the steering wheel. “What can I do for you, Richard?”
“I’m wondering why you canceled your Computational Neuroscience class this morning,” he snarled. “In addition, I believe you have a cognitive science upper division class this afternoon.”
She drove out of the city hub toward unincorporated land, noting the snow-laden branches of the pine trees around her. When would winter end? “I have my neuroscience students working on projects.” She fully intended to teach her afternoon class in person on campus. “I don’t believe I asked for your input on my syllabi or schedule.”
He cleared his throat. “May I remind you that I’m your boss?”
She chuckled. “May I remind you that you had an affair with a seventeen-year-old coed two years ago?”
Heavy silence hung over the line. “If you think I’ll allow you to blackmail me any longer—”
“Stop it, Richard.” She did not have time for his nonsense. “Just think of the headlines and piss off.” She ended the call. As the best teacher at the institute, her students often reached glorious careers. Her neuroscience students actually currently worked on several important projects, and she’d given them the day to do so.
Of course, protecting Laurel came above all else.
Abigail turned down another snowy winter road. Laurel didn’t appreciate the effort Abigail expended, but someday she would. The woman was a fascination. They looked similar enough to be twins, although Abigail had at least four inches of height on her sister.
Unfortunately, Huck Rivers kept getting in the way. Someday it would just be Abigail and Laurel touring the world. Thinking of the things she could show her sister delighted her. Of course, Laurel needed to get on board. The baby would help. The baby would be a little genius like them, and Laurel would require Abigail’s help.