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)
It was dark by the time I reached our building, so I used the cover to sneak inside undetected. I didn’t have my key, but the door wasn’t locked. It was the first spark of hope I felt in days, not because of the easy entry but because Coby always forgot to lock it.
Opening the door, I stepped inside, and the first thing I noticed was that the apartment had been cleaned. The bottles were gone, the countertops and floors glistened, and the pictures of Coby that I’d been living off of were put away.
“Coby?” I whispered with a clatter of my teeth. No answer. The walk back through the snow and ice had been brutal. In my hurry, I even slipped and hurt my knee coming up the stairs, so I was hobbling once more as I ventured deeper into the apartment.
The only light came from the living room behind me, casting the short hall in shadow as I came to stand in Coby’s open bedroom door. Someone was standing in the dark in the middle of her room, but I’d recognize that petite frame and short crop of copper curls anywhere.
“It’s really you,” I said hoarsely, feeling my cracked lips and parched throat protest. I watched Coby spin around and startle with a yelp at my presence. I could barely hold myself up, so it was good that she didn’t subscribe to the shoot first motto like me. “You’re really here.”
It was a few more seconds before Coby finally spoke, and I nearly wept at the sound of her sweet voice. “Hunter?”
HUNTER
One short day later…
The van door rolled shut with a slam, then peeled off with a squeal of tires as it sped away from the curb. There were grunts and curses all around as what felt like a gang of dudes held me down and tied my hands around my back.
No defensive measure I attempted could ward them off in such a tight space, so before long, I was subdued and blindfolded. One of them lifted me up to sit against the wall of the van, and I didn’t like the way his hands lingered before he finally released me. Everyone’s face had been covered even before I was blindfolded, so I had no idea who was behind this latest attempt of many to deliver me to Ocean.
Apparently, the underboss had made it clear that he wanted me captured alive and without a scratch, which had put everyone dumb enough to come after me at a disadvantage as I escaped time and again.
But there was one trap I couldn’t escape.
I knew Coby was bait, but I hadn’t cared because for one short day she was mine again, and it was just as it had been before. But now she was alone, probably feeling the same crushing terror that I had when she was taken, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“So what’s the plan?” I heard someone ask.
“I made contact,” a muffled voice responded. “He said to sit tight. It will be a while.”
“What the fuck?”
“Bro, I don’t fucking know. He said something came up.”
The men who snatched me talked amongst themselves. Before long, they forgot I was even here, thank God. I wasn’t sure how much time passed sitting in the cold van. It felt like hours before the leader got the call and we started moving again.
The ropes tying my hands and ankles together dug painfully into my skin as I wriggled around, searching for the tiniest bit of slack. There was none. Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off, and the man directly across from me yanked off his black ski mask. The familiar face staring back at me made my blood boil.
“Really, Gary?”
My neighbor had the nerve to look offended. “Aye, don’t judge me. Half a million is a lot of money, girl.” And then he smiled lewdly. “I guess your pretty ass should have fucked me when you had the chance.”
“Gary, I wouldn’t fuck your sorry ass if you were the last man on Earth and God promised me a spot in heaven for sleeping with the unfortunate.”
“You got a lot of mouth for someone who’s going to be dead by the end of the day.”
“Funny. I was just about to say the same thing to you.”
Ignoring my very real threat, he looked me up and down. “So what did you do anyway?”
With a straight face, I answered with a smile. “I stole a rocket launcher from his warehouse, blew up his men, killed the rest, and stole his girl.” That last part hurt to admit, but after what Coby told me, I’d be a fool to deny it. Coby was Ocean’s, and it was all my fault. I should never have lied to her two years ago, telling her we had no chance. Finding comfort in my rage, I smiled sharply at Gary. “But that’s nothing compared to what I’ll do to you.”