Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“Yes, fine… I’m going,” I grouse as I push open the door. Joshua gives me a rough shove and I stumble through the mudroom but right myself as I step into the kitchen. It fills me with hope that he doesn’t bother to close the garage door and perhaps someone will see Callum lying there, although chances of someone strolling by at this time of night are small.
Joshua’s there though, pushing the gun into my back. “Disarm the alarm system. And if you try to alert the company, I’ll shoot you.”
My hand shaking, I reach up to the control panel and enter the code to turn it off. Once it beeps to signal it has been deactivated, Joshua gives me a shove, gun still jammed in my back. “To the master bedroom.”
A shudder runs up my spine at the implication and every cell in my body rebels against the idea, but I want him to forget about Callum.
I capitulate and walk that way… through the kitchen, the living room and down the short hall to the master suite.
When I enter, I’m for some reason grateful that I made the bed this morning. It’s been my habit since I was a kid, as my mother always felt the best way to start the day is with a tiny accomplishment.
For our family, that was simply making your bed.
I’m glad it’s neat and pristine because I’m afraid a tangle of sheets from passionate lovemaking would infuriate Joshua further.
That tiny moment of gratitude is obliterated when Joshua sets a black backpack on the bed. I hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying it, but I don’t want to know what’s inside.
He doesn’t leave me to wonder. Motioning with the gun, he says, “Sit on the bed.”
I move to the other side and gingerly sit on the end, perched on the edge so I can run if the opportunity presents itself.
Joshua doesn’t point the gun at me but rather holds it aimed at the ground by his side. He stares at me, as if he’s not quite sure what to do. I want to say something to encourage him to leave, but I don’t know what I’m dealing with. He just beat Callum into unconsciousness and has me at gunpoint, and it doesn’t bode well he’s got a backpack on the bed. I’m afraid I might set him off, so I wait for him to say something while my heart feels like it’s going to explode from my chest.
“Look at you,” he finally says, shaking his head in disdain. His tone is acidic. “Moved right on, didn’t you? Or was it that you never really left the relationship with Callum? I’m thinking that’s it since you never looked at me the way you look at him. From the start, I knew you weren’t over him.”
His perception of the truth is distorted because there was a time when I was in love with Joshua. I most definitely put Callum behind me when we started dating and I gave Joshua my entire heart. He seems to forget he trampled all over it after he became abusive, but there’s no way I’ll argue with him right now.
I attempt to conciliate. “Joshua… I understand how you feel, but you have to know this is the wrong way to go about resolving things. You’re on the verge of getting into some serious trouble, but if you leave now—”
A bark of laughter erupts and he waves the gun for effect. “On the verge? I’m already in trouble, Juni. You think Callum—if he’s still alive, that is—is going to overlook this? No, I came here with a goal in mind, and it wasn’t that I was going to walk out of here and go back to my normal life.”
“Why not?” I rasp, terrified to learn the reasoning behind his warped thoughts.
Joshua doesn’t answer me but instead reaches for the backpack. Setting the gun on the bed beside it, he uses both hands to unzip the top. From inside, he pulls out rope and tosses it over near me. I didn’t think my pulse could get any faster, but I am dizzy at the sight of the white cord.
But then my heart nearly seizes when he reaches back into the pack and pulls out a garrote. It’s nothing more than two wooden handles with braided wire strung between them. It’s the same weapon he strangled the cat with.
A surge of adrenaline hits me hard and my body reacts before my brain even considers if it’s a good idea. I bolt from the edge of the bed straight for the door.
Joshua’s faster though and he lurches to the side to intercept me. Catching me around the waist, he violently slings me back across the room where I crash to the floor. The thick carpet eases some of the burden of the fall, but my shoulder hits the corner of the bed frame and I cry out in pain.