Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 120513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
“Get in my truck and you’ll find out.”
She glanced back over her shoulder at the bus. “What about them?”
“We’ll be back shortly.”
“They’re not going to like me leaving with you.”
“You think I give a fuck about that? They want heat?”
He was currently riding that edge of being over-bearing. Even a borderline dick.
“Show me how much you want this money, girl. You aren’t getting what you want, until I get what I want.”
Her heart had been stuck in her throat when she insisted, “We played two sets. Just like you wanted. Pay me what you owe us.”
“First, you’re going to play one more. On your knees.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and somehow managed to get out a, “Yes.”
When a finger was tucked under her chin and her face lifted, she opened her eyes, quickly hiding the anger that always followed her panic.
“What the fuck?” he whispered, his eyebrows pulled together.
She shook her head. It hadn’t been the only time that something like that happened but it was the most recent and, for some reason, she couldn’t shake it.
“We only have twenty-one bucks,” she reminded him. “And we need to get fuel.”
“There’s a station a coupla blocks west of here. Tell them to go put fuel in the tank and then meet us back here.”
“How long are we going to be? They’re going to ask.” She wasn’t sure if they would or wouldn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Hopefully not long. Got shit to do today other than to keep rescuin’ a buncha strays.”
She jerked her head and his hand fell away.
Without another word or flipping him off—something she struggled not to do—she spun on her heels and headed back to the bus before she lost that fight.
“Gonna be waitin’ in my truck,” she heard him call out.
She pressed her lips together to keep from telling him off and kept walking.
Syn glanced at the passenger side mirror to make sure the bus was still behind them as Dodge led the way to a destination unknown.
She hated leaving the control in his hands.
She hated having to rely on his help.
You have no choice right now. Take the help when you can get it. Especially when you aren’t expected to pay for it with your dignity.
The interior of the truck cab was silent except for the road and engine noise. The Dodge pickup was old but in really good condition. Perfect, actually. He took care of it. Unlike his apartment.
At the big name store, he had purchased two compact ceramic heaters that alone ended up lightening his chained wallet by a hundred bucks. That total didn’t include the personal items she needed. Items he told her to grab, as well.
She didn’t argue with him about it or hide the economy-sized box of tampons she picked up along with a big bottle of shampoo and a bulk pack of toilet paper.
He stared at that stuff at the register but said nothing.
Since he didn’t, she grabbed a roll of mint Lifesavers, a Hershey bar and a four-pack of AA batteries from the racks along the check-out lane and tossed those onto the belt, too.
After a quick glance at the additions, he still said nothing.
So, she grabbed the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine and threw it on top.
He snagged that and said, “You either use the toilet paper or the magazine to wipe your ass. Choose.”
The magazine went back on the rack.
She hid her grin by turning her head away. She didn’t quite like his bossiness but it could be entertaining if she didn’t let it annoy her.
He hadn’t tried anything on the way to Walmart and kept a large gap between them on the bench seat on the return trip. They had swung back to the garage to pick up the skoolie.
Now they were pulling onto some long farm lane not far outside of town.
“You live above the bar, so who lives here?” she asked as they passed a farmhouse that looked well-maintained. From the style of it, she guessed it had to be built in the late 1800s.
Not her taste but somebody loved it enough to keep it in tip-top shape.
“Our club’s president and his ol’ lady.”
A huge barn appeared before them. It didn’t look like a typical barn, though. Huge windows were at the top but nothing below. There weren’t any fences for livestock or even any animals.
A long storage shed with several garage doors sat to their left and a few smaller ones dotted the area nearby, along with a large covered pavilion to the left of the barn. Beyond that were fields, and trees beyond those fields. On the other side of a line of bare trees to their left, sat a row of homes. Newer, unlike the farmhouse, and not as large. If it wasn’t winter, she might not have noticed them right away.