Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 58727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
But the bigger question—and what’s making my heart go a mile a minute—is that I’ve stepped close enough to my father that I can’t tell whether she means to point it at him…or at me.
She cocks her head. “Sadie, I think you need to leave now.”
My dad’s a waste of space, but I don’t want him dead. It’s my job to protect people, and assholes are still people. “Rainey, what are you doing? I just bought you lunch.”
“Yes, and I thank you. I’ve got nothing against you, but there are things you don’t understand.”
“I understand my brother’s dead. And I think he’s dead because he uncovered something about the company he was working for. When you told me my father came into some money, it got me thinking. Then when I saw the ashtray, with the Racehorse Hauling logo…”
“Just leave.” Rainey shakes.
Damn. A gun in the hand of a frightened woman who’s shaking is never a good thing.
“Look,” I say, holding my hands up in front of me, “I can help you. I can help you get out of this dump.”
My ankle holster burns against my skin. I don’t perceive that Rainey is a real threat, but still I’m itching to get to my piece.
My father takes a step forward.
I suck in a breath. Rainey now has the gun trained solely on him, but before I can get my Glock, he’s covering her hand with his own, easing the pistol out of her grip. “You give me that gun, sweetheart.”
She nods, handing the gun over to my father.
I don’t know whether this is good or bad.
But I find out quickly.
He turns and points the pistol at me. “Come on with me. Now.”
I gulp, trying to swallow the dread that’s speeding through my bones. “I don’t think so.”
“Sadie, you may be my flesh and blood, but when push comes to shove, I’m going to save my own ass.”
I gulp again, this time audibly. So I’m right. Dad has a connection to Racehorse Hauling, and I’m betting it’s not a good one. Now I know why my intuition was telling me to come back here.
But I didn’t factor my own father holding me at gunpoint into the equation. Fathers aren’t supposed to hold their daughters at gunpoint. In what world does this make sense?
My heart is racing so fast I’m afraid it’s going to beat right out of my chest.
My father’s gaze is cold—hard and cold.
While I’m trained to deal with situations like this, my own mortality flashes in my mind.
So much to do.
I want marriage. Children. I want a damned dog!
Mostly I want Miles.
I want all of those things with Miles Bridger. Miles Bridger, the man I love.
But I won’t have any of it if my father pulls that trigger.
No. Won’t happen. No father could kill his own child.
Except…
The blood in my veins turns to ice.
Maybe my father already did kill his child.
Maybe he’s responsible for Joey’s death.
And if so?
I can kiss my dreams—my life—goodbye.
27
MILES
* * *
Thank fuck.
Sadie’s car is in her father’s driveway.
Surely there’s an explanation for the text—the unfinished one—she sent.
A patrol car is parked in front of the house from the frantic 911 call I made on the road. Two officers are seated inside.
I exit my vehicle and walk to the patrol car. “I’m Miles Bridger, the guy who called. Did you find anything, Officer?”
The blue in the driver’s seat shakes his head. “The only one home is a woman named Lorraine Thompson. She says nothing’s out of the ordinary.”
“My girlfriend was here earlier. This is her father’s place.”
“Yes, Ms. Thompson said your girlfriend was here and took her to lunch earlier. But she left.”
I point to the driveway. “But that’s her car. Her VW Beetle.”
“Right. Ms. Thompson said Ms. Hopkins’s car wouldn’t start, so she called an Uber to take her home and said she’d arrange for the car to be towed later.”
I rake my fingers through my hair. “And you believe all this crap?”
“Not really, sir, but we can’t go into the house without probable cause.”
“I can.” I stalk toward the door.
“Sir? You can be arrested for trespassing.”
“Do I look like I care? My woman’s inside that house somewhere. And I’m going to find her. By the way, the woman I’m looking for is one of your own. A cop.”
I stomp through the front door, not even attempting to knock. “Rainey? Where the fuck are you?”
Rainey emerges from the kitchen in a cloud of smoke, a cigarette dangling between her fingers. “Hey there, stud.”
I stop a few feet away from her, setting my hands on my hips. “Don’t give me that shit. Where’s Sadie?”
“I already explained everything to the cops.”
“Yeah, and it’s all a bald-faced lie. Where is she?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? She’s not—”
I jerk when a gunshot rings out. Holy fuck.