Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
“I’m fine, Hunter. Breathe. We didn’t have any food, so I went to the store.”
“Oh.” I heard her relieved exhale. “Well, I’ll come help you then.”
“No need. I’m on my way back now.”
“Sorry, bestie, but I was already heading that way. See you soon.” She hung up.
Shaking my head, I smiled as I started walking toward home again.
Hunter turned the corner less than a minute later.
Her thick thighs and wide hips were encased in skin-tight medium-wash jeans, and she was wearing a cropped knit sweater like it wasn’t twenty degrees outside, a long brown faux fur, and a blue NY Yankees ball cap. There was a hunting knife sheathed inside the holster on the side of her small waist, but it was mostly hidden, peeking out from under her heavy coat with her movement.
When I saw her appear at the end of the block, my smile stretched even wider as a thousand tiny wings fluttered in my stomach.
She was so beautiful.
The YNs already hugging the block certainly thought so. They called out to her as she passed, and true to form, Hunter looked over her shoulder to talk shit to them as she kept walking. She was so preoccupied roasting those little boys that she didn’t notice the white van trailing slowly behind her. It hugged the curb as it steadily gained on her.
My lips parted to call out a warning, but it was already too late. The van slammed on the brakes, and the back door slid open. A man dressed from head to toe in black jumped out and snatched her right off the sidewalk.
“Hunter! Noooo!” Dropping the bags, I was already running for them.
The boys who had distracted Hunter quickly made themselves scarce while the man wrestled Hunter into the back of the van. She fought like hell, but her assailant was stronger and had the element of surprise. I screamed for my best friend again when the door closed behind them, and then the van peeled away from the curb before I could reach it.
Falling to my knees, I screamed until my throat was raw as I helplessly watched the white van disappear around a corner with Hunter trapped inside. Losing my best friend when I just got her back felt like deja vu, except this time, I was the one left behind.
A trap.
Hunter had been right after all.
Ocean didn’t lose.
I did.
HUNTER
Five and a half weeks ago…
The pink subcompact Ruger rested at my side as I watched the taillights of the Denali disappear with my best friend trapped inside.
I know damn well that did not just happen.
And yet…I was painfully and terrifyingly aware that it did.
I’d barely gotten a glimpse of the man who’d taken her, and the only other witness was fighting for his worthless life in the back of an ambulance. I didn’t know what drama had transpired between Coby and her brother, but I knew Roshaun was behind it.
Swallowing my enraged scream, I tucked my gun back into my clutch and jogged toward Deborah. She was my off-white 1993 Ford Thunderbird and the bane of my existence. However, the tragic history we shared meant we were stuck together.
“All right, you cranky bitch,” I warned the rust bucket once I was inside. “I don’t want any problems out of you. I’m not in the mood.” Deb’s engine was well past its last legs and would often stall in the cold. Since it was winter, and I lived in a city that spent a third of the year buried under snow, that was all the fucking time.
Thankfully, when I turned the key, Deborah sputtered and coughed her ancient ass to life. Patting the dashboard affectionately, I exhaled. “Thanks, Deb.”
I didn’t bother with the heat since it stopped working ages ago. However, I paused long enough to try tracking Coby’s phone.
When it said a location couldn’t be found, I knew her phone had been shut off, so I texted Destiny. She was a skilled hacker and fellow delinquent who owed me a shit ton of favors simply for the fact that she was still breathing thanks to yours truly. Once she sent me a thumbs up that meant she was on it, I sped away down the street away from The Diamond Lounge.
Ten minutes later, I was parking Deborah in front of the nearest police station.
I wasted no time climbing out and hurrying for the icy steps. I was so busy fighting not to bust my ass or break my neck (because who would help Coby then) that I didn’t notice the man leaning against the wall where he watched me with his foot propped against the brick. I paid him no mind since he wasn’t doing anything but standing there. That lasted until he spoke.
“Are you sure this is wise?”
I huffed my irritation because I just knew he was talking to me. Every second counted, and I didn’t want to waste a single one on some stranger. I couldn’t be sure how much time Coby had since I didn’t even know why she was taken in the first place.