Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 185811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 185811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 929(@200wpm)___ 743(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Monte brushed his dirty slacks. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
True. And he needed to rectify that. Noah reached for a phone in his back pocket and quickly speed dialed a number he’d just gotten. “I need help and will owe you one. Abby’s tires have been slashed, and I need somebody to get and fix her car. And I may need the name of a good lawyer.” He waited for the response. “Thanks.” Then he hung up.
Monte sneered. “Oh, you’re definitely going to need a good lawyer. You just committed battery.”
Noah shrugged. “I knocked you on your ass with one pulled punch. You sure you want your buddy the sheriff to know that?”
Monte’s nostrils flared. He faltered.
“Oh, I’ll make sure every detail ends up in my answer to the complaint,” Noah drawled. “In fact, I may even note that you cried like a baby.” Bullies always liked the darkness and not the light. “You want to play, asshole? I’ll write a blog and letters to the editor. And hey. Just how did her tires get slashed?”
“You did it,” Monte spat.
“Really?” This would be so much easier if Noah could just tear off the human’s head. But that’d scare Abby, and considering she’d just rocked his entire four-hundred-year-old existence with one kiss, he didn’t want her seeing that part of him. Not yet, anyway. “I guess we’ll see. That is, if you go crying to the police because of a simple fat lip.” He let the contempt he was truly feeling show in his expression.
Monte tried to look past him inside the truck, but Noah blocked the way. “Fine. We’re not done, asshole,” he spat, turning on his heel and stomping back to his car.
There wasn’t much chance of that. Noah waited until Monte had driven away before turning and opening his door. “Scoot over. Please.” He wasn’t a guy who said please very often, but it seemed like much had been out of Abby’s control, and he had to make sure she knew she had it. After she’d moved over, he paused. “This is up to you. You can take my truck, and I can wait for my friend to come for your car. Or I can drive you home. To either your home or mine.”
She blinked, her eyes huge in her pale face. “Your home?”
He held up a hand. “Guest room. It’s all yours if you want a safe place to stay.”
She scooted away. “Listen. You’re a nice guy, but you’re way out of your element. You have no idea who Monte is in this town. You just made a huge mistake, and it’s my fault. I can’t stay at your house.”
Great. Just wonderful. “Okay. I’ll drive you home.” He slid inside the cab, trying not to take up as much space as usual. He couldn’t help being big, even for a demon-vampire hybrid. Starting the ignition, he drove slowly away from the parking lot. “Though it’s going to be kind of lonely without Ivar there.” The ring of truth in his words caught him off guard. He had liked having the Viking around for a bit.
She wrapped her arms around herself as if freezing. “Oh, Noah. You just don’t get it. What are we going to do?” She released her torso and buried her face in her hands. “You’re gonna get arrested.”
He glanced sideways. She was incredibly small. Human and fragile. The idea that anybody would frighten her so much pissed him off beyond belief. It took several seconds for him to get his voice under control and not scare her. When he’d finally released his death grip on the steering wheel, he turned to watch the road. “What exactly did he do to you?”
Her body jerked, but she didn’t answer.
That’s what he’d figured. He could smell the fear coming off her. Maybe he should’ve let Ivar kill Monte. Oh, he could do it himself, but something told him Abby wouldn’t like that. “Why haven’t you gotten help?”
“Help?” Her head lifted so suddenly, her entire body shook. “From whom? I’m sure the world seems safe from where you are, but in this town, there is no help. And I can’t leave because of the probation.” She shook her head, her hair flying around. “I was so stupid, Noah. So damn stupid.”
“No.” He didn’t know her story, but she wasn’t dumb. Intelligence shone in her eyes. “It’s okay, Abs. I’ll take you home.” And then he’d figure out what to do with Monte. Once he’d tracked down the whole story.
She looked outside at the darkness flying by. “I don’t want to go home,” she whispered.
His body heated to a full burn. Had she just said what he’d thought? “Okay.” He’d have to put clean sheets on Ivar’s bed.
Abby turned toward him, her chin firm and her skin pale in the lights from the dash. “And I don’t want to stay in your guest room, Noah. Not tonight.”