Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
If they aren’t there, I think I may have lost her forever. The gun is heavy in my hand as the car slows down and the sun turns an auburn shade as it begins to set and allow darkness to take over.
We turn into a dockside warehouse district that is the sort of place where unfortunate things go down. I’ve owned a few buildings in places like this, and they’re not pretty. They’re dangerous, noisy, and exactly the sort of place where you can do bad things to people without anyone ever knowing about it.
“Stop here,” I tell him, and Joshua shuts off the car and grabs his phone to bring up the warehouse layout. “He bought it the same time he started working for the club.” Dread drifts into my blood as I stare at the old warehouse. There’s a light on inside. There’s hope.
I reach for the door handle but Joshua stops me. “A plan. One minute. Stay with me.” All I can think is that every second we wait, she could die. I need to save her.
Chills run through me, and they only make me grip the gun tighter. Joshua speaks and I can barely hear him. He has a plan. One where I play a part. I get the message. My job is to get Holden’s attention, get him talking. Then, while he’s distracted, Joshua will come in from the side.
“The building’s got two entrances,” Joshua says, looking. “I’ll go in the side door. You approach from the front. Holden could be expecting you, but he’ll want to talk.”
I nod, although I can barely focus. He stole her away from me. I have no idea what he’s done to her. But there’s no turning back. I swallow thickly as I open the car door.
Joshua points as the night gets darker, but I can still see him. The doors. My blood rages inside, the rushing in my ears all I can hear.
The main entrance of the warehouse is mostly closed, but I hear movement in the back. Doing the best I can to stay quiet, I slip under the door, trying to stay unnoticed yet move as quickly as I can.
I crawl through filth from the concrete floor, focusing on the dim light from a room ahead. My heart beats harder as the sounds filter in. Crying. She’s crying.
Heat floods through me as I move faster. She’s alive. My Kiersten is alive. The back hangar doors are raised, letting in the harsh, bitter air and the smell of open water.
Suddenly, I hear a choked gasp. “Hold—” It’s then that the room comes into focus. A large space with nothing but freight boxes and them right in the center of a scene stolen from my nightmares. They’re all the way toward the back, the furthest from me as they could possibly be. She struggles in his grasp.
On the other edge of the room, he has her, his arm around her neck and his grip tightening. “You were honest,” he says as he lifts Kiersten off her feet.
Every muscle coils as I run ahead at full speed and without any care of being caught. “Holden!” I scream out, doing everything I can to make him look up. They’re in the back and I’m too far away. “Holden!” My throat scorches as his name tears up it.
He doesn’t. She struggles under him, and as she does, her eyes reach mine, bloodshot as she struggles to breathe.
My Kiersten. My love.
Every ounce of sense shatters. The world slows, and I know right then and there, she’s going to die before I can get to her.
I don’t think, I don’t question myself. Instead, I come to a halt, lifting the pistol in my hand. My heart thumps. It’s a clear shot as he leans back with her in a chokehold.
I aim for his head as her eyes roll back, and my hand trembles, but I squeeze.
One shot. Bang. I miss, and it’s then that he sees me. Second shot.
He jolts back, her limp in his arms. The man staggers, a perfectly round hole in his jaw spilling blood down his throat. His eyes are vacant, and I fire another shot as he stumbles, still barely holding onto her. All the while, I keep moving, knowing full well that the door is wide open and the tide is right there.
As I race toward them, their bodies fall, both of them silent. Thump, thump.
It’s all in slow motion as he and Kiersten go tumbling into the water. Dropping my gun, I sprint over, screaming, “Kiersten!”
Reaching the edge of the water, I see her slip under, a bubble rising to mark where she fell. Ignoring everything else, I dive into the freezing cold water.
The freezing temperature is shocking, and I have no idea if she’s even alive.