Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85228 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85228 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
I want to reign fire down on that house, just like Zeus wanted to earlier, now that the evilest man I've ever seen is inside.
Casper: Sit tight.
I growl as I drop my phone to my lap.
"Think they're going to organize other agencies?" Zeus asks, his eyes trained on the front door.
"They'll have to. There's only so many people who can fit on that fucking helicopter," I mutter.
Chapter 23
Caitlyn
I've spent so much time recently with Eli at the cabin, it feels almost unnatural to have a full day off to myself.
This is something I'd normally ache for by the end of my work week, but today, I'm just... bored.
Kiva repositions herself when I run my hand down her back, rolling over so I can rub her belly.
I oblige, smiling down at my sweet girl.
"No shame in asking for exactly what you want, huh? Wish I was the same way."
Her tail thumps on the sofa, her eyes barely open as she gets the attention she craves.
Oh, what it would be like to be a spoiled dog. No cares other than worrying how long your owner is going to be gone during the day and if you could make them feel bad in order to get extra snacks.
"I'm going to eventually have to get up and switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer," I mutter, but her tail continues to thump with her contentness.
I can't stop thinking about yesterday, and I regret the instant I drove away from the cabin without speaking with Roman.
I don't know how the man suddenly showing up in my life has given him permission to take over nearly every waking thought. I hate that I can't get him out of my head, that my body craves him in a way that it has never craved anyone else. I know better than to blame him. I'm the one who is responsible for my own feelings. I'm advanced enough in my own therapy to understand that, but it doesn't stop me from wishing that he was either here with me or wishing that I never met him in the first place. I can't decide which direction I want to go.
I jolt when I hear a noise outside of the house. I keep one hand on Kiva, and the other reaches for the remote to the TV, silencing the soft music I've been playing out of it today while I worked on cleaning the house.
The only sound I can distinguish is my own breathing, and even that light, rattled intake of breath makes me nervous. I feel like a sitting duck when the noise sounds again from the backyard.
Kiva, as old as she is, doesn't seem alarmed. It's either that or she can't hear it at all. I give her belly one last scratch and get up quietly. The last thing I need is her barking and making it impossible to hear anything else going on.
I know the windows and doors are locked. I checked them again this morning when I got up, and that was after checking them before lying down and suffering through a fitful night of sleep. It seems I can add a little OCD door-and-window checking to my daily routine thanks to Roman and finding several windows unlocked the other night.
With more bravery than I feel, I sneak to the back door, wondering if whoever is out there can see the shadow my form is casting over the curtained window. In the same movement, I flip the back porch light on and sweep the window curtain to the side, shrieking when I see the shadow of someone darting through the yard and disappearing into the line of trees edging the property.
The human form makes it impossible to convince my head that it's a bear or some other creature out looking for something to eat.
My hands shake when I pull up my phone, and my fingers instantly search for the contact information Nolan gave me yesterday.
Me: It's Caitlyn. I need you.
This is the exact reason Eli's dad gave me the phone number. Although I put the information into my contacts, I never imagined I'd have to use it, much less need it less than a day after the information was provided.
Those three little dots pop up, and then they disappear.
This happens several times as I crouch down and press my back to the wall, unsure if the person lurking around my backyard has been completely scared off by the light coming on or if they're simply waiting in the shadows and making a different plan from whatever their original one was.
Roman: I'm sending someone.
He's sending someone? He can't be bothered to come help me himself?
Disappointment hits me in the chest, a sharp, quick punch that I don't have time to prepare for.
I scream, terror running through my veins, when a knock sounds on my front door.