Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“Well, it looks like he graduated from pot to meth, at least in the past few months,” Kylie reports. “He’s gotten involved with some bad guys. Like, really bad guys. There’s a bounty on his head.”
Sadie gasps and Deke pulls her back against him, steadying her with an arm around her waist.
“I’ll alert the cops,” Rafe rasps, stepping out of the room with his cell to his ear.
Fuck, is it possible this wasn’t anything to do with our mission? That some punk got mixed up in some shit and Charlie was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Minutes crawl past.
“Fuck,” Channing says, pulling his headphones down. “Police scanner’s on fire. They’re outside Christopher Ford’s place. There’s a body.”
I surge to my feet with a roar.
Charlie
The longer I lie on the concrete floor, the colder I get. Not much I can do about it. Please, please, little baby. Please be okay. Mommy’s gonna figure this out.
I squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t cry. I need the moisture. I remember what Lance said. Shifter babies are strong, right? I can be strong for my baby.
But I jerk when the door creaks open and a little light pours in. My heart strangles itself in my chest.
“She’s awake,” the guy says to someone. He crouches next to me. He’s left the ski mask off this time. He’s a white guy with a dirty beard and bland features. He reaches for me and I flinch. Not like I can get up and run away. But he cuffs one wrist to a ring set in the cement floor and then slices off the ropes. I scuttle back as fast as I can—not very fast—and lean against the wall. I claw the gag out myself. I wish I could spit out the awful taste but my mouth’s too dry.
“Here.” He holds out a bottle of water. He waits until I’m watching and twists off the top. But when he holds it out, I don’t move. With a small sigh, he sets it down on the floor and scoots back so I can grab it for myself. I force myself to move slowly, holding the bottle with both hands. The first taste is heaven and I let it wet my mouth before drinking deeply.
“That’s better,” he murmurs. “We got off on the wrong foot.”
No shit, Sherlock. I squint at him and he shrugs. “Things didn’t go down how we wanted. It’s nothing personal. But you've got something that we want.”
“What?” My voice is still scratchy.
“The account numbers. Your business partner owes us a lot of money.”
My business partner? My head throbs as I try to think. What business? I’m a postal worker.
My captor is still talking. “He was supposed to meet us and give us what he owed. But he didn't show, and you did.”
Then I remember: The Chocolatier’s door had been open. These guys grabbed me just outside of it. Do they think I’m Adele?
“You mean Bing?” I rasp.
He cocks his head. “Yeah, him.”
“But I don't know him,” I say.
The man’s face hardens, and I press my back to the wall.
“Listen, sweetheart, if you cooperate, it's going to go a lot easier for you. We already took out your partner.”
What? “Bing is dead?”
“That’s what happens when you fuck with us. But if you cooperate with us, we’ll let you go.”
I stare at him, panting through my open mouth, trying to hold my shit together. This guy is lying. I’ve seen his face. If I hand over the information he wants, I’m fucked.
But I’m fucked either way. What are they going to do when they find out I’m not Adele?
Lance
The street outside Christopher Ford’s condo is full of cop cars. We’re in the Humvee and we can’t even get close. I sit frozen in the front seat, the blue and red lights washing over my face, waiting for Rafe to return. My brother decided to drive to the crime scene, and he wanted me close by. Better than sitting and twiddling my thumbs, waiting for intel. Channing will call as soon as we know what’s going down.
Rafe jogs back, weaving between cop cars to hop in the Humvee’s driver’s seat. “I couldn’t get near the body. But it’s definitely a hit.”
I growl and grab the door handle. Let the cops try and stop a three hundred pound wolf from getting close.
“Don’t,” Rafe orders. “It won’t do any good to get closer. Cops will just arrest you. Now that we know Charlie was taken in relation to this, Channing and Kylie can track these fuckers. As soon as we have intel, we move out.” His phone buzzes and he has it to his ear in less than a second. “Lightfoot.”
“Sadie got a call,” Deke growls into the phone.
“Tabitha just left me a message,” Sadie says. “She needs help. The police just picked up Adele for questioning about the murder of her business partner.”