Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“A little overwhelmed, I think.”
“Why don’t you sit for a second while I grab that stuff for you?” he suggested, waving over toward the little chair in the corner of the small room.
There wasn’t much to write home about with the space. A queen-sized bed, a dresser, a TV. Though the comforter on the bed was a plush green linen that looked like a dream to sleep under. And nicer than anything I’d ever seen a man have before.
And on the wall alongside the bed, there were several framed photographs.
They were all nice, but it was one that caught my eye, one that had my stomach dropping.
“Wait… is that…?”
“The woods where you lived? Yeah.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know. I took a lot of pictures over the years when I was traveling. I picked some of my favorites. Which all happened to be the ones with wildlife in them. The iguana in Florida,” he said, waving toward the photo. “The armadillo in Texas. Red wolf in North Carolina. And the deer in your woods.”
“The wildlife was maybe the only thing I did love about the woods,” I admitted, reaching down to lift a sleepy-looking Edith into my lap.
She’d been a real trooper with all the changes in her life. But she was clearly a little overwhelmed.
“I’m gonna go grab your stuff so you can get changed, and the two of you can get some rest.”
With that, he did, coming back with the brushes, a razor, shaving cream, lip balm, lotion, and a chew for Edith to gnaw on while I showered.
“You are free to come out anytime you want. I’ll be kicking around if you need me. But I won’t come in here unless you call for me, okay?”
I offered him a smile, appreciating how he was giving me all the power. After so many years without it.
“Thank you, really, Nave. For everything.”
“It’s nothing.”
It was my life.
My freedom.
My future.
It was everything.
But he was gone before I could find the words to tell him.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Nave
“Yooooo,” a voice followed me out the front door, the sounds of the party muffling as the door clicked closed behind him. “I’ll say it again,” Dezi said. “What the fuck?”
Yeah, that about covered it.
I remembered offering Lolly help—any kind she might need—years before. But after so long, I didn’t really think that would ever happen.
To be honest, a morbid part of me kind of figured that she wasn’t alive anymore. Either because Ben’s psychotic ass had killed her in some not-messy way: suffocation, strangulation. Or that she would have hit her own breaking point and ended her own life. Because no one, I was convinced, could live the way she did for any length of time. And she’d been so small, so fragile when I’d known her. Like he’d already broken her.
“Yeah,” I agreed, sucking in a deep breath. “That about covers it.”
“Did he let her go?”
“No.”
“Did she off his creepy ass?”
“No.”
“She just… got away?”
“Seems like it.”
“How?”
“We didn’t get that far yet.”
“Shit, man. Well, good for her. But… how the fuck is he not gonna find her? You know how good he is.”
“Yeah. Well, that’s where I come in. I offered her help back then. She’s cashing in on that.”
“No offense, but how are you gonna keep her hidden?”
“Well, that’s where my cousins come to mind.”
“Cousins,” Dezi repeated. Then, as it dawned on him. “Oh. You know… that just might work.”
“It has to,” I said, reaching for my phone. “I gotta make a call.”
“Yeah, man. Do what you gotta do. Does she need anything?”
“Can you just keep an eye in case she comes out while I’m out here?”
“Yep,” he agreed, heading back inside.
Alone, I scrolled my contacts until I found her number.
“Is everything okay?” came the half-awake voice in my ear.
“Yeah.”
A pause. Then, “Then why the hell are you calling me this late?” Kit grumbled.
“It’s only eleven.”
“And I get up at the crack of dawn these days,” she reminded me.
“Well, actually, yeah, about that.”
“About what?”
“I need some help. Well, actually, a friend of mine needs help. Your help.”
“My help?”
“Well, yours and Ria’s. You still have that camper you traveled in for years, right?”
“Yeah, of course. Too many memories to get rid of that. I mean, it isn’t really a camper. More of a small motorhome. Why? Do you need to borrow it?”
“I want to… rent it.”
“Rent it?”
“Alright, long story short. I knew a girl in my travels. She was being kept, well, captive by her boyfriend for years. I told her if she ever needed help to come find me.”
“And she found you.”
“She found me. But the thing is, this isn’t a normal situation.”
“When it’s one of you guys and women, when is it ever a normal situation?” There was a shuffling and the groaning of a bed as Kit, I imagined, sat up. “Alright. I’m up. What’s going on?”