Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
We got out, dressed, then went downstairs to start preparing the food that we would be serving once everyone arrived. I knew Bridger well enough to know when he cooks, it’s enough for an army, and more than likely we’d have leftovers for the rest of the week.
It didn’t take us long to find our flow in the kitchen, him marinating the meat before grilling it while I got the salad and oven baked sweet potatoes to go with the filet mignon along with chicken.
Throughout the afternoon, the whole crew ventured in. Travis and Raelynn with a cheesecake that I salivated over, Slade and Taylor with wine, which all of us girls drank our weight of, and Drake pulled up after his physical therapy in rare form and pissed as a bull in a china shop. After his session that day, the doctor delivered the grave news that he has no choice now but to have the shoulder surgery they were trying to avoid so much, which also meant Nighthawk Security would be down a man. We all offered our homes for him to come back to, and we’d all be there with him through everything, but his mood didn’t lighten, so the discussion was dropped.
I saw the concern in Bridger’s eyes over Drake’s news though, as worry settled deep in his gut, and once again, my fun-loving guy disappeared. Add the worry over Liam, the prank caller or whoever that was, and Bridger has been tense for weeks. I’m pretty sure it isn’t Liam, though, because it’s happening now when I’m not at work.
Work, that’s another bone of contention that I am not ready to deal with. I know everyone is walking on eggshells with this whole situation, but I’m allowing Liam to get his was so much. That’s why, when Bridger gets home from running his errands, we’re having a talk.
I love waking up and going to sleep with him so much that I refuse to change it. It’s this not working thing that is really getting to me. There’s only so much talking to my aunt on the phone, cooking, cleaning Bridger’s immaculate house, and lazing around the pool I can do. I am lying by the pool now when I hear Legend barking.
The look on Bridger’s face earlier when I came downstairs in my modest two-piece bikini, black in color, not giving an excessive amount of cleavage flash. I definitely wasn’t wearing anything revealing in my bottoms either, but Bridger biting his lips told me what he wanted.
“Come on, Legend, let’s go inside for a bit.” I look at him. He’s happy, his tongue is lolling out, and his belly is up facing the sky.
I climb out of the pool and grab a towel, wrapping it around my body as I go. The afternoon sun is starting to get to me. Plus, knowing Bridger, he’ll be back and want to either cook dinner or go out to grab a bite to eat.
The two of us walk inside the house, the alarm beeping when the door opens, and neither of us are paying attention, that is until I hear the clicking of a gun.
My feet skid to a halt. The towel I have wrapped around my body starts to fall, but I hold it tight. Tighter than ever, acting like the piece of cotton will protect me from the person standing in front of me with a gun raised, pointing right at me.
The thoughts going through my mind are on repeat. Every moment that I could have spent with Bridger, the words we have yet to say to each other, the plans we both have made. The fact that Bridger wants a big family like his own, not caring if they’re full of hellion girls like his sisters or terrors like Drake’s brothers.
I want that so much, and I want to confess my love to him. Instead, I may never get that chance, which is why I have tears rolling down my cheeks and not one single survival instinct is kicking in. All the self-defense moves Bridger has taught me are gone. There are guns stowed in various places in the house, yet not in a place where I can reach one. I’m stuck, and it’s the worst feeling in the world.
EIGHTEEN
BRIDGER
I knew that fucking bastard was in town. Shit, all of us did. Those spidey senses we tend to have let us know the moment something seemed off. Not to mention Travis had his deputies’ eyes peeled for out-of-state tags. With Lodgeview being a small town, everyone talks, watches, and listens.
Slade, Travis, and Drake met me on the outskirts of our neighborhood, suited up and ready to rock ‘n’ roll. Travis may be a man of the law and has to adhere to certain guidelines, but he’ll cover our asses if it’s needed.