Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“Motherfucker,” Jenner muttered.
“Did you see him?” Isaiah asked urgently. “Do you have any idea who it was?”
“No, I didn’t. It was dark down there and he wrapped his arms around me. When I fought back, he punched me in the stomach and slammed my face into the wall. I took off running after I stabbed him with my knife. Oh no! Sampson, I lost the knife.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Sampson said grimly. “I’ll get you another one.”
“But I liked that one.”
“I vote she’s never put in a position where she has to use another knife,” Jenner said with a grumble.
Immy nodded in agreement.
It was a nice thought, but sometimes it seemed like trouble followed her around.
“What happened next?” Alejandro said.
“I took off without my duffle. I’m really going to miss my stuff. My velvet jacket and shoes. My bedspread.”
“I promise we’ll replace them,” Immy told her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
Maeve hated relying on other people. But what was important was that she and Squish were safe.
“I ran outside, trying to get away even though my body hurt and I was terrified.”
“No one saw you?” Jenner asked. “Stopped to help you?”
“Ah, no.” She didn’t want to tell him that the sort of neighborhood she lived in didn’t lend itself to good Samaritan types.
There was a buzzing noise and Isaiah glanced up from his laptop. “Eric’s here. I’m letting him in the gate.”
“He knows how to get in,” Jenner said. “Keep going, Maeve.”
“As I was running, I was trying to use my phone and I tripped up on the pavement. That’s how I scraped my hands and knees.” She’d cleaned them as best she could in the bus station. “My backpack burst open and everything fell out. I only had time to pick up Squish and my wallet. I just kept running and got on a bus.”
“You couldn’t use someone else’s phone?” Alejandro asked.
She grimaced. “I could have asked. People were giving me worried looks, but I, uh, I couldn’t remember anyone’s numbers.”
“Your notebook?” Sampson asked gently. He’d helped her prepare her notebook with all the numbers she needed.
“It was in the backpack,” she said miserably.
“Oh, Maevie-baby,” Immy said quietly.
Damn it. She hated people’s sympathy. She was not an idiot. She would not be a burden.
“Then what?” Jenner asked.
“I got on a bus, but it was the wrong one. I got confused by the schedule.”
Maybe she was an idiot. So stupid.
“Hey,” Cat said sharply. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” she asked.
“Getting down on yourself. I can tell what you’re thinking. Not cool.”
There was a knock on the door and Jenner walked out. He came back a few seconds later. “Eric is going to wait until we’re finished.”
Awesome.
“What did you do?” Sampson asked.
“I, uh, ended up in Portland. I got a motel room and fell asleep. I slept for longer than I meant to. When I woke up, I got some cash out and bought a phone so I could access the internet.”
“Why didn’t you come here?” Cat asked.
“Or try to contact us,” Alejandro said. “You could have looked up the phone number of one of my businesses.”
“I didn’t think anyone would believe me if they told me I was your friend.” Maeve licked her dry lips. “I did send an email through Jenner’s fan page.”
“Shoot,” Immy said with a frown. “Penny should be checking that daily.”
“She’s probably overwhelmed,” Maeve said.
“I’ll check the account. Penny isn’t on top of things like James was. I miss his efficiency.”
“Don’t miss his creepiness,” Abe said.
Maeve shared a look with Abe, on that they agreed. Maeve didn’t like to say bad things about people. But yep, James had been odd. He’d watched them all like he wanted to become one of them.
“He wasn’t creepy,” Immy protested.
“Maybe not to you,” Abe said. “But he looked at me like he wanted to rip off my skin and become me.”
“Abe!” Immy said. “That’s gross.”
“Keep going, Maeve,” Sampson told her.
“Right, well, I took out all the cash I had and it was enough to get here. It was a cheaper ticket than to New York, that’s the only reason I came here, Cat.”
Cat gave a disgruntled look. She likely knew it wasn’t the only reason. “Wait. Why didn’t you use the bank account I set up for you? That had plenty of money in it.”
She picked at the bedspread. This was something she didn’t want to admit. “I couldn’t remember the pin number for the account.”
“Oh, Maeve,” Cat said on a sigh.
“You rode on a bus alone and injured for hours?” Alejandro snapped.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“This cannot happen again,” Alejandro stated.
Everyone else nodded. Crap.
“And we need to find out who this bastard is,” Sampson stated.
“And stop him from following her,” Isaiah added.
“I am going to get my plane ready,” Alejandro stated. “We will be there within a few hours to collect you, Maeve.”