Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
The bastard narrowly escapes with his life.
Ten minutes later, I stride out of the bathroom with a bounce in my step, and my gaze circles back to Kelly. Before she gets a chance to even question me, I grip the discharge papers, yank them off the wall, and shove them toward her. “Hope you got a pen hidden in those scrubs because as of this very minute, I’m a free agent.”
“A free agent with clean pipes,” she congratulates me.
Taking the discharge papers from me, Kelly strides around to the small wheely table beside my bed and gets busy signing for my freedom. Then just as I tear off the ridiculous hospital gown and start pulling on a pair of comfy sweatpants, Tanner comes walking back into my room, his brows furrowed, staring at the ground.
Unease settles into my stomach, and I step toward him. “What’s wrong?” I question, pulling my tank over my head and searching his face.
“I was just scrolling through …” Tanner pauses and looks up at me, his whole face marred by a strange emotion I’ve never seen from him before, something that makes my stomach ache with anxiety. “Have you ever heard a turtle come?”
Kelly’s hand stops moving over my discharge papers as we both look up at him. “What?” I breathe, the corner of my lip tugging into a crooked grin. “What the fuck have you been searching?”
Kelly finishes with my papers and hands me a copy. “Okay, I was cool with the shit talk, but turtle porn is where I draw the line,” she says. “You’re free to go. Just remember to keep the wound clean. I’ve written my personal number on the back of your papers if you have any questions. Just whatever you do, don’t give it to your friend. The last thing I need is to unlock my phone and see his turtle rearing its ugly head in the middle of the night.”
“Alright, deal,” I laugh.
Kelly gives me a fond smile before reaching out and squeezing my shoulder. “As much as I loved having you here, try to keep away from knives in the future. They’re sharp.”
“Thanks,” I laugh, and with that, she strides out of the room, leaving me and Tanner to finally bust out of here.
When we get to the parking lot, Tanner helps me into his Mustang, despite my attempts to do everything on my own. After finally getting my ass into the seat, we’re on the road. Every tiny bump in the asphalt makes my life a living hell, and I blow my cheeks out, trying to focus on anything but the pain. Not to mention my ribs that are still causing me a bit of hell after Colby’s earlier attack, though compared to this stab wound, it’s barely a blip on my radar.
“You good?” Tanner asks, glancing at me from the driver’s side, making everything down south ache for a whole new reason. I mean, damn, the way he works that stick shift with his opposite elbow propped on the window. Goddamn!
“Mmhmm,” I say, trying to clear my throat while also not drooling on myself. “Do you know how to go around the potholes or do you get bonus points for every one you hit?”
Tanner rolls his eyes, and just to be an ass, he makes sure to hit another. Though, I don’t doubt he’ll be making up for it later.
Despite only being a fifteen-minute drive, it feels like a lifetime before he’s finally pulling into his driveway, and my brows furrow when I see all our friends’ cars parked out on the curb. “What’s going on? Is there some kind of party?”
Tanner scoffs, pushing his door open. “Something like that,” he says, hurrying around the front of the car to help me out. “Since Addie is here, Hudson has to be here, and with Jax claiming the downstairs living room, Logan’s always here, and wherever Logan goes, Chanel follows. And you know Ilaria and Riley don’t like the thought of missing out, so they’ve been chilling too. The only one who hasn’t been taking up residence in my living room is Arizona because, well, you know why.”
I nod as we make our way toward the front door, realizing the next week stuck in bed could be a little more interesting than I anticipated, but the thought of walking into Tanner’s home to stay has me glancing across to the mansion next door.
My heart trembles and contracts, feeling like someone has tied a rope around it and is pulling it as tight as it can go. “Have … have you seen my mom?” I ask, trying not to let my pain show.
“Yeah,” he murmurs, his hand slipping into mine. “She was there while we were packing a few of your things. I let her know you were staying with me, but she didn’t respond, just walked back out.”