Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
He moved toward the space, carefully peeking into the room before reaching out and closing the door where it connected to the other entrance into the hall. Once it was closed, he locked the door with a click and came back with a small hand towel which he used to clean himself off.
“I was going to bring you one, but I decided your shower is big enough for both of us.” He paused. “But then I realized we’ve been gone for a long time, and we should probably not get into the shower together.”
Laughing, I rolled over and did my best not to drag a mess along with me when I went. The moment I was out of the bed, he was carefully stripping the sheets and bundling them up.
I went to the shower and turned it on while I watched him find the new sheets and get them onto the bed.
Once the shower was heated up, I stepped inside, loving how the hot water slid over deliciously sore muscles.
“Hey,” Kobe said.
I blinked and turned, water cascading down my face, and stared.
He was fully dressed, and he had those damn sheets in his hand.
“Where’s your washer?” he asked. “I assume you have one.”
I smiled. “It’s behind the wood panel next to the refrigerator in the kitchen.”
He studied me for long seconds before he backed away, unlocked the bathroom door, and left.
I took the world’s quickest shower, then got dressed.
The wind blew against the trailer again, and I started giggling as I made my way out the door.
What were the odds?
I made it into the main living space in time to hear what JP was saying to Kobe.
“Wow, you weren’t lying about that wind,” JP said as she stared out the door, her eyes wide. “The tents are flapping really, really hard. I’ll bet you everything they cancel tonight.”
Kobe choked, and I could do nothing but keep giggling.
Wind indeed.
• • •
The night was indeed canceled.
There wasn’t much that canceled the Singh Circus.
In my year of being with them, they’d only canceled three times. Once for a power outage, but not because of the power being out. Because of the power lines down across the road that led to the circus.
The second time had been because a little boy had gotten lost, and they’d canceled all shows so the staff could help search for the child.
The third time had been due to tornadic activity.
And now, the fourth time, it was due to excessive wind.
“So you think it’s safe for me to come home?” I asked.
“I think that it’s safe for you to come home,” he confirmed.
I stared at Kobe, studying the softness in his face that I only ever saw when it came to me.
Even when he was staring at Morrigan, he always stared with a look that you couldn’t quite tell if he liked you or not.
In my case, I knew that he liked me.
At least, now that I knew how to read him really well, I did.
“If I leave and come home, the time for hiding is no more,” I said, feeling my heart rate start to quicken. “Are we sure, sure?”
The idea of going home felt like something I couldn’t reach on the top shelf. Like I was so close, but I would never be able to reach it without getting a helping hand.
Kobe was the one that offered that helping hand.
“As of about three minutes ago,” he said as he showed me his phone. It had a message that I hadn’t seen before from the sheriff, Sunny Summers. “She’s been caught.”
I looked at the message.
It was indeed from the sheriff.
It read: she’s been taken into custody. No chance of bond.
Elation speared through me.
My last hurdle had been surpassed.
“As for the Lisbeth and Farrell situation,” he tossed his phone down onto the couch that we were sitting on. “I think that one is one we’re going to have to let play out in court. There’ll come a time when Natalie Dean—the woman that was just arrested for taking your hit—will have to appear in court. When she does, she’ll implement her trump card, which’ll be Farrell and Lisbeth’s implication in putting out the hit. From there, they’ll be arrested, and you’ll have to appear in court to tell them about what’s gone on for the last decade of your life. But I think it’ll be okay to come home in the meantime. We have a team in place already gathering evidence against them. Any move they make is now documented.”
“I want to go home.”
I whirled to see JP staring out over the edge of her bed, staring down at me with pleading in her eyes.
I felt my heart drop at the sadness I felt.
She didn’t look surprised by what she’d heard—dammit, I should’ve had this conversation outside—but she did look heartbroken.