Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
He shook his head. “Not going to happen. I’m going to stay right here and make sure you’re not calling T-Bone to come get you. Despite what you want, you’re not leaving.”
“You can’t... keep me... prisoner here.”
Decker disagreed.
He sighed. Now he wouldn’t be able to head home until Sloane returned. He quickly sent her another text: Bring Val with you and text me when you’re on this floor. Don’t bring her to the room.
Then he settled in to wait.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sloane paused to check her messages as she crossed the living room from her side of the house to Val’s. Apparently, she’d missed two texts from Decker while she stood under the scorching hot shower, trying to relieve some of the tightness in her chest, as well as come up with a plan for Sadie.
A soak in the hot tub would have been better but she didn’t have time for that. She needed to get back to the hospital since the first text informed her that Sadie was awake and the second instructed her to bring Val with her but to keep his daughter away from Sadie’s room.
She agreed. Val didn’t need to see Sadie like that. Sloane wished she didn’t need to see her sister like that, either.
Maybe one day the little girl would meet Sadie when she was healthy and herself again. When the light was back in her sister’s eyes and the color back in her face.
“Val,” she called out, “are you ready to go? We need to meet your daddy at the hospital.”
“Who’s sick?” came the shout from Val’s room.
“My sister is. Daddy’s waiting there for me to relieve him.”
Val came shooting out of her side of the house with Finn hot on her heels, sounding like a stampeding herd of buffalo with her hair flying and her arms flailing wildly. If Sloane could only have half that kid’s energy…
“What does that mean?”
Sloane was relieved to see she was dressed in somewhat appropriate clothes with matching shoes. “It means that he’s keeping my sister company while I’m gone and once we get there, I’ll take his place.”
“Okay.”
Okay?
That was too easy. That meant Sloane needed to brace for five thousand rapid-fire questions on their short drive to the hospital.
“All right. Let’s get our jackets on and get out the door. I don’t want to keep him waiting. He’ll probably want you in bed as soon as you get back home since it’s past your bedtime.”
“I’m not tired.”
“Uh huh.”
“I’m not, Sloane! I’m wide, wide, wide awake!”
“Mmm hmm.”
As she steered the girl toward the front door, glass breaking at the back of the house had her jumping and Val squeaking in surprise.
What the hell?
“Where’s Finn?” The cat probably knocked a glass or something off the counter in the kitchen.
“Dunno. You think he’s bein’ bad?”
“Probably. Wait here while I check. Do not move from this spot because we need to leave and I don’t have time to hunt you down.”
Sloane didn’t wait for her answer and headed straight toward the kitchen. The second she stepped into the dark room she felt a draft.
Weird.
She heard a strange noise and when she hit the lights, she saw a brick on the tile floor surrounded by a whole bunch of broken glass. “What the—”
Suddenly an arm reached through the back door’s smashed window and flipped open the deadbolt lock.
Holy shit!
She smothered her scream with her hand so she wouldn’t freak out Val.
But, with her heart stuck in her throat, she found herself frozen in place when the door swung open and a man she didn’t recognize stood on the threshold.
Focused on her.
Move, Sloane! Whatever this is, isn’t good! Get Val and get out!
She had no time to regret not setting the damn alarm after Decker’s mother left. She hadn’t planned on being home long enough to worry about it.
Big mistake.
She forced her feet to move as the stranger stalked toward her. He had long, stringy hair, and a black bandana tied around the bottom half of his face.
Oh my God! “Get out of here!” she screamed, not wanting to take her eyes from the man but also needing to find a weapon. He was between her and the knife block on the counter. She had nothing but her phone.
Shit!
Just as she lifted it to dial 911, he rushed her, driving his shoulder into her stomach and slamming her to the floor. The impact knocked the breath out of her and before she could recover, he stomped on her hand so she’d drop the phone.
Shit!
As she screamed and reached for it, he used his heel to smash it. “Stupid bitch. Ain’t callin’ nobody.”
She tried to scramble away from him using her feet and elbows, but she stopped when she heard Val cry out her name.
Oh no.
“Go in your room and lock the door. Now!”
No, no, no! She needed Val to get out of the house. Not send her to her room.