Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
My head had been spinning since I first caught sight of her moving through the crowd in her Halloween costume. Avery had always been striking. With her dark hair and bold eyebrows, that wide, full mouth, and bitter chocolate eyes. Even as a child, she’d been compelling. Then she grew from a little girl into a woman, and she’d become more than just striking. Avery was beautiful on a bad day.
Tonight, though. Tonight, she was stunning.
She didn’t put a lot of thought into her looks. Most of the time, she didn’t bother with makeup or coordinate her clothes. I was used to seeing her in jeans and a Sawyers Bend Brewing polo shirt, her long hair pulled back into a braid or twisted up and held in place with a chopstick or pencil. I was not used to seeing her like this.
Her hair flowed like a shining curtain over shoulders bared by her black dress, the sleeves hanging past her fingers in ragged points, the skirts swirling around her legs. Her lips were blood red to go with the fangs in her mouth, her lashes so long I was pretty sure they weren’t real. The dress dipped to show the slightest curve of cleavage, the skirt revealing only a bare hint of long legs ending in worn black combat boots I remembered from her teenage years. Her costume was completely appropriate for a family night at the Orchard, and so fucking sexy I’d had trouble thinking clearly every time I’d spotted her in the crowd.
I was off duty, but whenever a lot of people were combined with free-flowing alcohol, anything could happen. I’d skipped a beer, as good as I knew it was, and went for a soda, watched the kids bobbing for apples, took a few shots with the potato gun, won a prize, so at least I didn’t embarrass myself and tried not to keep an eye on Avery. I failed miserably at the last part. When Matthew had intercepted her in the crowd, I was headed their way a second later.
Ford must have been watching her, too. We came in from opposite sides, making a beeline for Avery to stop whatever the fuck Matthew was up to. We’d both watched as Matthew had grabbed her arm, and my gut burned at seeing the way she started to yank her arm free, then stopped, not wanting to cause a scene. A smirk had twisted Matthew’s mouth as he’d realized he had her trapped. For the first time in memory, I’d wished I wasn’t the police chief so I could tear him away from her and beat the shit out of him for daring to touch her.
That wince on her face when he squeezed her elbow—he deserved a broken nose just for that. But not only was I the police chief, beating the shit out of him for touching her was exactly the kind of scene Avery wanted to avoid. Instead, I’d gotten him out of there, and the next thing I knew, Ford was calling to say he and Avery had been jumped.
The sight of Avery covered in blood was fucking with me. I didn’t like seeing anyone hurt. But Avery...
I had to focus. My deputy pulled around in his department SUV. We traded keys.
“My vehicle’s parked in the lot in front,” I told him, and turned to Ford. “You get in and slide over. I’ll pass her to you.”
Avery’s eyes fluttered open as I placed her gently on the seat, nudging her to lean against her brother. “West? What happened?”
“It’s okay. Ford’s got you. I’m going to take Ford to the ER. We’ll get you checked out while we’re there.”
“I don’t—” she started to protest. Ford wrapped his arm around his sister, pulling her close. “Just close your eyes, Ave. It won’t be a long ride. Everything’s fine now.”
“My head hurts,” she grumbled, her eyes meeting mine just before her lids slowly drifted shut again.
The ER was quiet when we got there, or as quiet as a rural ER ever gets. I took Avery from Ford, leaving my vehicle out front, and carried her in. Ford followed behind, still moving under his own steam, but slowly. He needed some stitches, probably some antibiotics, maybe even a pint of blood or two. I had to respect the guy, though. The slice across his chest had to hurt, but he didn’t complain, more worried about Avery than himself.
I let the doctor nudge me out of the way after depositing Avery on a hospital bed in a room next to Ford’s. The second my hands were free, I called Hawk, filling him in on what had happened.
“I’m sticking with Avery. At this point, we don’t know which one of them the attacker was after, and I’m not leaving her. I need you to send someone over here to cover Ford. I don’t have the staff to spare,” I said.