Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
His absolute conviction got to her. She looked down again at the fresh red blood and wiped it carefully on her chest. Moving slowly, she turned slightly to her right and fitted her hand on the control.
“You’re doing so well, Little girl. Push the lever forward.”
Taking a deep breath, Molly followed his directions and felt the car settle. She relaxed back against the seat.
“Good girl. Ink’s going to open the passenger door for you. It’s okay. You know him.”
That scratch came at the window again. This time, she watched a familiar figure insert a thin device into her car from the top of the window. Molly looked back at Faust and whispered, “I’m so scared, Daddy.”
“I know. You’re going to be in my arms in ten seconds, baby.”
The sound of her passenger window dropping made her panic and she automatically pressed the gas. The engine roared as a hand reached in to push the unlock button. Instantly, Faust was on his feet, and he ripped the door open to pull her out. He carried her into the closest service bay.
Men swarmed her car, and she couldn’t care less what happened to it.
“You’re okay, Pixie,” Faust told her as he hugged her tight.
“Daddy…” she whispered, clinging desperately to him as tears streamed from her eyes.
“You’re safe, Little girl. I need to see your arm to see how hurt you are. Can I set you down?”
“No!” she yelled, scaring even herself.
“You hold her. I’ll check out her arm,” Doc said softly to Faust.
“Hi, Molly. I’m going to take a look at your arm so your Daddy doesn’t freak out. Will that be okay?” Doc asked, gently raising her fluttery sleeve.
“Nail gouges,” he reported a few seconds later.
Faust let out a string of curses that made Molly hide her face against his neck.
“Get it under control, Faust. You can get mad later,” Doc reminded him.
“I’m in control. If not, someone would already be dead,” Faust growled as he soothed Molly with long strokes to her back. “It’s okay, Pixie. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the bastard who did this.”
“Me, too,” she whispered. And peeked up when neither man answered. Their shocked expressions made the corners of her mouth tilt up. She shook her head, unable to believe she could find anything humorous. “He scared me so bad.”
“I’m going to get this cleaned up, Molly. We’ll have to keep an eye on you. There’s a lot of germs under someone’s nails. It might be better to go to the ER for a shot of antibiotics,” Doc suggested.
“I’m not going.”
“Pixie. We need to listen to Doc. He knows his stuff,” Faust suggested.
“No.”
“Do what you can do,” Faust said, looking at Doc. “Did someone call the police?”
“They just pulled up, Faust.”
“Hold on, Doc. Let’s let them see what that bastard did to her,” Faust suggested.
Molly’s head swam with exhaustion and an overload of emotions. She’d given her statement to the police. They’d asked to see her without Faust and she’d refused. When they’d had the gall to ask if someone in the Shadowridge Guardians had hurt her, she lost it.
“Are you kidding? I’m supposed to be safe at a church. Instead, some creep tries to pull me out of my car and leaves furrows in my skin. I came here because I knew Faust would protect me. Who falls for a lollipop-giving creep?”
“Lollipop?” one of the patrol officers asked.
“There’s a report filed about this. I just got the results back from Officer Jimenez,” Gabriel said, stepping forward with several sheets of paper.
The officer glanced at the lab report and then looked again. “Where did you get this lollipop?”
“It was the second one left under Molly’s windshield wiper. She almost ate the first one, thinking it was from me. I found the second one,” Faust said. “What’s in it?”
The officer handed the report to Faust. She cringed at Faust’s angry reaction and knew the contents weren’t good. Molly moved a bit closer to the man who made her feel safer than ever before. If it was that bad, she didn’t want to know.
“Where were the lollipops left? At the church as well?” an officer asked, making notes.
“One at the church. One at her apartment,” Faust growled, hugging her close. “Pixie, you never eat candy again without showing me.”
Molly nodded.
“We don’t know for sure that these two events are related,” one officer warned.
When Faust snarled at him, Molly leaned back to pat his cheek. “The police officer didn’t cause this. He’s the good guy.”
“We’re going to visit the church and see what we can find out there. Perhaps others in the area have seen something. Ma’am, I would suggest that you use extreme caution when going in and out of the church. Try to stay in a group,” the officer suggested. “I’ve got the man’s basic description from you. We’ll increase patrols around the church and your apartment.”