Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Her forehead crinkles in obvious confusion. “The candy?”
“The Car Show,” I explain while letting my thumb deliver a soft stroke to her arm. “It’s this huge all-day thing they do out in Spike Village. Popped hoods. Prototypes. Demonstrations. Drag races. We’re talkin’ a gearhead’s wet dream.”
“And my bank account’s biggest nightmare,” Nolan impishly points out, “hence why I gotta get back on the clock.”
Our girlfriend directs her question to him. “I take it you only got two tickets?”
Discomfort doesn’t hesitate to dart through his expression during his explanation, “Yeah…but I got ‘em when they first went on sale which was long before you were here. And I-”
“It’s fine,” she swiftly insists. “Really. You two can go have a boys day, and I’ll stay behind at the apartment. Cook your favorite meal. Bake your favorite cake-”
“Greet us with ice cold beers when we walk through the door…” our boyfriend casually suggests.
“You? Never.” Her mirth filled gaze glides over to me. “You? Only because it’ll be your birthday.”
Post one final round of laughs, the three of us exit the restaurant together, something that’s quickly severed only a few steps away from the front door of the building. Nolan’s abrupt announcement of a departure is followed by chaste kisses to us both. He takes off in the opposite direction leaving me to drape my arm around Bunny’s shoulder and guide her back to my car.
Not bad for a first date.
Drinks.
Dinner.
Dancing.
Only thing that sucks – aside from Nolan bailing early – is that she paid.
And the only reason I didn’t make a bigger fucking deal about it then was because we had other shit to discuss.
It’s an easy fix though.
I’ll just slip the cash back in her purse after she’s passed out from being my dessert.
Which is why I didn’t order any.
Her frosting is the only thing I want on my tongue for the next couple of hours.
“What kind of cake was your favorite when you were a kid?” Bunny asks, body leaning into my hold. “I mean really you still are a kid, but I’m referring to your Chuck E. Cheese phase of life.” All of a sudden, she snaps her head to meet my stare. “Have you ever even been to Chuck E. Cheese? It’s not like the town you were born and raised in has one.”
The eye roll she conjures occurs as we swing around the corner for the parking lot. “I-”
“Stop right there,” states a lean, dark-haired male, with a pistol pointed directly at us. “You have something that belongs to my employer.” Naturally, my frame twitches to act prompting him to instantly press the barrel against my forehead. “Don’t be a hero, dude.” His other hand yanks Bunny out of my arms in one quick tug. “This little bitch isn’t worth it.”
Despite my seemingly immobilized position, my girlfriend refuses not to put up a fight.
The sharp kick to his shin crumples his figure and slightly loosens his grip on the gun. She jumps completely out of the way while I slam his torso into the backside of the nearby brick building. Hearing all the air knocked out of him increases the speed and haste of my next movement.
Punches are brutally delivered to his ribcage.
His liver.
His ribcage again.
Pound on top of pound is laid into him, each one more determined than the last to break whatever it is they’re colliding with.
Our assailant twitches in an attempt to fight back or flee prompting the elbow of my other arm to snap upward forcing his head to kick back against the wall. Blood droplets fly through the air splattering me in the face, simultaneously demanding I stop and daring me not to. His slightly disoriented demeanor becomes even more so after a fist to the balls and a second elbow to the throat that results in more blood coughed up from a crushed windpipe.
When the weapon he had been clutching onto finally fumbles to the ground, I don’t hesitate to grab it.
Put it in the exact same position he had it on me.
Pump a single bullet into his skull and watch him lifelessly crumble to the pavement to the sounds of Bunny’s terrified panting.
This asshole was dead fucking wrong.
Not only is Bunny Abernathy worth losing a life for…she’s worth taking one too.
Chapter 19
Bunny
Fuck The Beatles.
And fuck the mockery their songs are making of my life right now.
Digging the pen into my forearm deeper to darken the word “goodbye” stings, yet the pain, ironically enough, momentarily soothes.
Helps me forget about the destruction I’m causing outside of my own life.
The destruction I will continue to cause unless I do the one thing I should’ve never stopped doing.
The one thing I should never stop doing.
The only thing I know I can do to keep those I care about safe.
Run.
Moving the pen over just a fraction, I start the word “hello” again.