Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“Hooyah, sailor,” he said in a low tone.
“Hooyah, Lieutenant,” I echoed. We hung up without another word, and I focused on the road, traveling to LA and my new life.
1
Audrey
After blindly slapping my palm against my cell phone’s screen to hit snooze on my alarm for the third time, I slowly blinked my eyes open. Between my duties as a bridesmaid for my best friend Grace’s second wedding—to the guy she was already married to, which was quite the story—and a test in my western civ class this morning, I hadn’t gotten much sleep over the past week. Not that Grace was a bridezilla or anything. But she had her hands full being a mom to their adorable twins, Kate and Joshua, so I’d been trying to pitch in wherever I could to help lighten her load. But burning the candle at both ends was catching up with me, and I really could’ve used another hour of sleep.
“No such luck,” I grumbled as I switched off the alarm. After rolling off my mattress, I stretched my arms high and groaned in relief at the pop in my lower back. I wanted to grab a shower and wash my hair before heading to the library for some last-minute studying. Since I only had a couple of hours until my class started, I couldn’t ignore my alarm any longer. Luckily, I had my own shower in my dorm room this year and didn’t need to worry about the bathroom being crowded with other girls.
When I finished blow-drying my hair and brushing some powder over my face to cover my freckles about forty minutes later, I felt a little more human. After tossing on a pair of yoga pants, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt, I slipped a pair of TOMS on my feet and applied my favorite gloss to my lips. Then I wandered over to my single-serve coffee maker and popped a chocolate marshmallow swirl pod into the slot, placed my insulated travel tumbler under the spout, and pressed the button to brew the largest cup possible.
Once my drink was prepared exactly how I liked it, with lots of cream and sugar, I grabbed my backpack and headed for the door, finally ready to tackle my day. No one was in the hallway as I left my room, but I spotted movement to my left after I locked the door. There was only one room past mine in that direction, and my neighbor had been missing for more than two weeks. I was filled with hope that she’d finally returned safe and sound, but my excitement was short-lived when I looked over my shoulder and saw a stranger coming out of Stacey’s room.
The guy definitely didn’t belong in the dorm. I pegged him for about a decade older than me—too young to be a parent and too old to be a student. He also wasn’t the kind of man who would blend into the background. With his dark hair, scruffy beard, aviator sunglasses, tall, muscular body, leather jacket, and animalistic prowl, he was guaranteed to draw the attention of every woman whose path he crossed.
My breath stalled in my lungs when he glanced toward me as he shut Stacey’s door behind him. I couldn’t tell what was going on behind the darkened lenses covering his eyes, but I had the sneaking suspicion he was checking me out as closely as I had done with him. A shiver raced up my spine, and I tried to convince myself that it was because of his dangerous air and not a reaction to the possibility that he was attracted to me.
“Are you a cop? Has enough time passed for you guys to finally put some effort into looking for Stacey?” My gaze drifted down his torso, and I took a step back when I didn’t see a badge clipped at his waist.
He must’ve recognized my fear because he lifted his hands, palms facing me in a placating gesture. “I’m not a cop, but I am checking into what happened to the girl who used to live here.”
“I guess that ‘used to live here’ is the polite way to describe what happened to Stacey,” I scoffed with a shake of my head as I tried to keep a handle on my reaction to his raspy growl. “But it’s not how I’d describe it.”
He pulled his sunglasses off, and I felt as though I was pinned into place by his dark stare. “How would you put it?”
I narrowed my eyes, trying to decide if telling him my suspicions was worth the effort. Nobody else seemed to care that Stacey was missing, and he looked like a guy who could get things done, so I decided to go for it. “I would say that Paul Barrington had something to do with whatever happened to her, and that’s why nobody is willing to do anything about it. Stacey went to the cops about him a month ago because he was harassing her over something. She wouldn’t give me any details because she said I’d be in danger if I knew too much, but I’ve heard enough rumors around campus to hazard an educated guess.”