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)
“I didn’t need to talk. I was tired, too,” Abby protested.
Tabitha sighed. “Oh, honey. I’m here for you. I mean, I know we just met, and in anger management group, no less. But if you ever need to talk, I’m here. Just remember that in the wild times to come.”
Wild times? Abby partially turned. “Do you know about my ex-husband?”
Tabitha frowned, zipping right through a stop sign. “The guy you hit with a pitcher?”
“No. I didn’t hit him. He hit me.” Abby tried to calm her movements as she reached for the seatbelt in almost pure panic. She finally relaxed when it snapped into place. Her new friend drove like a maniac.
“What exactly was the deal with you two?” Tabitha asked.
It felt good to talk to somebody. Finally. Abby cleared her throat. “Two years ago, I quit my job and was exploring the States a little. One day, I was driving through town and hit a cow. They have free rein in the county law, and if you hit one, it’s your fault.”
Tabitha pressed harder on the gas pedal, and trees flew by outside. “You hit a cow?”
“Yeah. And I was knocked out, with gas pooling under the car. Monte came along and got me to a hospital. He saved my life.” It was the truth, and she’d go with it. “I had left the city after a bad breakup, was pretty much alone after my grandmother died, and had some memory problems for a couple of years. Monte was there for me. Brought me flowers the first week—different ones each day.” She’d felt so alone and yet saved by him.
Tabi sighed. “Your hero, right?”
“Yes.” Abby wiped both hands down her jeans. “We started dating quickly in a whirlwind romance that was very exciting and somehow reassuring. I thought I needed him.”
Tabi tore around a corner on two wheels. “And he wasn’t Prince Charming?”
“No,” Abby whispered. “For a while, he convinced me my head injuries made me unreasonable. That I had mental problems.”
“Dick,” Tabitha spat.
Amusement shocked Abby, and she laughed. “Yeah. Then I got my feet under me, figured out he was manipulating me, and I argued back.”
Tabitha turned toward her, those black eyes glittering. “Then he hit you.”
“Yeah.” Shame and embarrassment heated Abby’s face. “I should’ve left, but I kept thinking it was my fault and I could fix it. Finally, one day, I just left. Enough. Got a divorce, and well, here I am now.”
“How?” Tabi asked.
“He’s a lawyer, and he’s best friends with the sheriff and the judge,” Abby sighed. “So no matter what I do, I’m kind of screwed. At some point, he’s going to win. Unless I take him out.” It was the first time she’d said the thought out loud.
“That’s probably the way to go,” Tabi said, driving through the wooden arches for the main part of town.
Abby blinked. “What?”
Tabi shrugged, slowing down and driving past the upscale businesses. “If you kill him, he can’t bother you any longer. It’s pretty simple, right?”
Abby’s mouth dropped open, and she partially turned, facing her new friend. Was she crazy? “Are you joking?”
“No.” Tabi drew down very fine light eyebrows. “If it’s you or him, it’s definitely him.”
Abby’s stomach cramped. There was a truth to the statement, but the blonde had said it so matter-of-factly and without any malice. Her life had gotten so bizarre lately. “You don’t seem like you have an anger problem,” she mused. If anything, her new boss was way too cold.
“I don’t. Well, usually,” Tabi acknowledged, slowing to the speed limit and even pausing to let a couple of older women cross the street from the knitting store to the diner. She finally parked the car across from the smooth brick building holding the only bank in town.
Cold prickled down Abby’s back, even though weak sunlight finally emerged through the heavy cloud cover. “Um, Tabi? Why are we here?”
Tabi took sunglasses out of her Hermes bag and plucked them on her smooth face. “We’re going to rob the bank, Abby. I really need that video of me.”
After a quick shower, Noah threw on old jeans and a blue T-shirt, already dialing Raine’s number.
“I haven’t found him yet,” Raine said, by way of answer.
“Don’t care right now,” Noah returned, jogging through the condo and out the door. “Do you have Abby?”
The sound of helicopter blades punctuated the sudden silence through the phone. “Why in the hell would I have Abby?” Raine snapped.
Noah halted at seeing his truck parked in its spot. “Because she’s not here, and my truck is.”
“Oh. Well, Tabitha was looking for her. Maybe she has Abby?” Raine asked. “Hey. I’m about to get on a chopper to go find that asshole, but if you need me in town, say so now.”
Damn it. They were friends now. When a guy helped you escape a bunch of live grenades, he became your friend. Even if he was one of the crazy Maxwell vampire clan from Montana. “No. Keep on the trail. I’ll find Abby.” He clicked off. One problem at a time. He looked down at the lighter stamp on his palm. He’d mated the female. Full on, forever, mated. And she had no clue.