Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 124341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
They turned onto the busier main street, becoming part of the foot traffic. She leaned into the man, wrapping both arms around him, and made herself smile and then laugh. It sounded tinny and unnatural, but no one around them seemed to notice. They were just any ordinary couple, him cold, his arms wrapped around his middle, and her seeking his warmth as they snuggled, laughing and enjoying the nippy fall day.
Several police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks raced by them on the street, the pedestrians gasping and turning their heads. She heard a few voices raised in alarm, their phones held in front of their faces as they gasped about a school shooting that had happened a few blocks away. None of them looked up from their phones as they said it though. None of them even gave Autumn and the huge man clutching his stomach a second look.
“Here,” he said after they’d walked what felt like a thousand miles and they staggered around a corner. There was a red flatbed truck with a white covering near the middle of the block, and the man reached in his jean pockets and removed a singular key. His hand was shaking so badly that Autumn took it from him and opened the passenger door. The moan he made as he lifted himself into the seat pierced Autumn’s heart. He sounded like a wounded animal.
Take him to a hospital, Autumn. If you don’t, he’ll probably die, and it will be your fault.
She ran around the truck, opened the door, got in quickly, and then sat there for a minute, trying to get hold of her racing heart and inability to draw a full breath. “Did you know that man?” she asked when she’d found her voice. “The shooter?”
The man adjusted himself, letting out a small whimper and then another groan. His naturally tan complexion had lost most of its color. He was going into shock. He met her eyes. “Yes.”
“Were you a part of what happened there?” She saw the young woman’s face, the one by the slide, her expression peaceful as if she’d merely fallen asleep. Autumn’s stomach knotted, and she felt vomit moving up her throat again. She clenched her eyes shut, blocking the vision from her mind. Breathe. In. Out.
“No,” he said, his voice fading. His eyes fluttered, and his hands dropped from where they were still placed on his abdomen. “I tried…I tried to stop it.”
I tried to stop it. He had. She’d seen it. Not only had he tried to stop it, but he’d also taken a spray of bullets in that effort.
There was a drugstore on the corner, and Autumn glanced at the man whose eyes were only half-open. “I’ll be right back,” she said, jumping out of the truck again and jogging to the store. Inside, she bought an over-the-counter sleep medication and the strongest pain pills they had. She couldn’t risk buying bandages and other supplies in the quantity she needed, not here. Her sweater would have to do for now. Thankfully, the man who rung her up barely looked up from his phone.
Back in the truck, she shook the pills into her shaking hand and then roused him enough to get him to swallow them despite having no water. He did so without complaint, and then she put the keys in the ignition, the truck coming to life with a soft rumble. She only had one more question. “What’s your name?”
His eyes didn’t come open, and for a moment, she thought he’d lost consciousness. “Sam,” he slurred. And then he did black out, his body going limp, head lolling on his massive shoulders.
Chapter Sixteen
Autumn slammed on the brakes, the truck jerking to a stop in Bill’s driveway. “Shit,” she hissed, glancing over at Sam. The jolt of the vehicle hadn’t disturbed him though. He still sat hunched over, his neck bent, head almost resting on his shoulder. Panic spiked, zigzagging through her system. Again, she reached over and felt his pulse. Not strong, but he was a fighter; she’d give him that. Please keep fighting. I’m putting everything on the line here.
She barely remembered anything about their race out of the city, except that she’d gone between glancing in the rearview mirror for the flashing lights she expected behind her at any moment and putting her fingers on his pulse every few minutes, making sure his heart was still beating. If he dies, you’ll go to prison. She might anyway for…what was she doing? Harboring a criminal? Aiding and abetting a crime? He’d been there for some reason. He’d known the shooter. Oh God, she couldn’t consider all the ramifications because she’d lose her nerve about whatever it was she was already too far into. She still couldn’t believe she was taking this risk. She was gambling with everything she had. Everything.