Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
“You’re both to stay with me. Autumn, help Brody if he needs it.”
She nodded, patting her pockets. “O-okay. O-okay.” She drew out Freddy Fox, holding him tight. “Let’s go.”
By the time they reached the car, Autumn was a mess.
When that asshole grabbed her, fear had rushed through her. Then she’d remembered that she wasn’t defenseless. She’d managed to scream, knowing that the Fox and Brody would come for her.
That she wasn’t alone.
She never had to be alone again.
Then she’d just gotten really mad. Because this asshole was ruining their fun. All she wanted was to have a good time with Daddy and Brody. And she knew that this was going to make it harder for them to convince the Fox to let them out of the den again.
If she got locked up for the next fifty years, she was going to go after that asshole and kick his ass.
But she’d fought back. She hadn’t run away. Or cowered. And she’d felt empowered.
Now, though, the anger had drained out of her, leaving her feeling shaky and ill. She rubbed at her tummy as the Fox secured her in her car seat. Brody was sitting in the front passenger seat. She wished he was beside her so she could keep an eye on him.
He’d been shot.
He could have died.
What if he still did? What would she do without him? He was her everything. All this time she’d worried about something happening to the Fox, and Brody was the one to get shot!
A small whimper escaped her. The Fox paused. He’d just placed the seatbelt over her.
“Autumn?”
Why was he calling her Autumn and not Bunny or baby girl? Was he upset with her? Because she’d run off like that? She hadn’t been thinking. She’d thought they were safe.
But she should have been more mindful of her surroundings. She should have stayed by the Fox. Listened to him. Instead, she was stupid.
And now Brody was hurt and the Fox was mad.
And she felt like she wanted to curl up and cry. But she probably didn’t deserve to cry. That sort of self-pity wasn’t something she should be allowed to indulge in.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“There is nothing for you to be sorry about,” Brody said, turning toward her with a wince. “That guy could have easily grabbed me. Wish he would have.”
She didn’t. She didn’t want Brody to have gone through that. Just look what had happened to him. He’d been shot.
“Brody’s right,” the Fox added.
Right. Then why did he sound so detached?
Because they were dealing with the Fox right now. The assassin. Not the man.
She hugged Freddy Fox tight.
Brody gave her a worried look. “You okay?”
She forced herself to smile at him. “I’m fine. How are you? Do you think you need the hospital?” She hated the hospital, but she’d go there for Brody. “You should go to the hospital. You might die.”
She sniffled.
“I’m not dying,” Brody told her. “Fox, some help.”
“He won’t die.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Because I will not allow it.”
Somehow, that made her feel better. Silly, but her Daddy could do anything.
“No hospital,” the Fox replied.
She bit at her lip. She guessed the hospital was out with the questions they would ask.
“I do have a doctor we can go to, though,” the Fox said.
“You do? Who?” she asked.
“Hack?” Brody said. “I want to go to Hack.”
“No, not him. I’m taking you to someone else.”
“I want Hack, Fox.”
There was a long silence.
“Or we could just go home,” Brody suggested. “It’s not that bad.”
Poor Brody. She reached for her seatbelt, undoing it so she could lean across to cuddle him. Almost as soon as she undid her belt, an obnoxious beeping noise filled the cab of the car.
The Fox immediately pulled over, and switching on the inside light, turned to look at her. “Bunny, what are you doing?”
He’d called her Bunny again. Thank God. Although he still sounded detached.
“Oh, um, Brody seemed upset and I wanted to comfort him.”
“By undoing your seatbelt,” the Fox said in a low voice.
Brody sent her a small wink and a grimace of commiseration. Because that tone of voice was the one Daddy used when she was in trouble.
Her bottom cheeks clenched together.
“I can see you need a more secure car seat. One that you can’t get out of. You do not undo your seatbelt while the car is moving.” The Fox climbed out.
“Whoops,” Brody said to her.
She sighed. “I just wanted to give you a cuddle.”
“Later,” he told her as the Fox settled her back into her car seat.
“We’ll deal with this later,” the Fox promised.
“Oh goody, I look forward to it.”
“I wouldn’t be.”
She decided not to point out that she was being sarcastic. He didn’t seem in the mood.
When he climbed back in the car, he sat there for a moment.
“Daddy?” she whispered. “You okay? I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”