Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
I knew it wasn’t going to work.
Women didn’t let shit like this go. They picked it to death, and the only way to get them to stop was to tell them what they wanted to hear, or keep their mouth busy.
Since I couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear, I grabbed ahold of her wavy auburn locks, and tipped her head back before I placed my mouth over hers.
She moaned into my mouth, and started to lean into the kiss when a loud piercing whistle tore through the air. Bawdy catcalls filled the air as the people around us started to pay attention to our show.
She yanked her face, and then her body, away from me so fast that I stumbled forward.
I was just catching my balance when I saw the back of her weaving through the crowd, now dancing to a Johnny Cash song.
“My girl’s a fighter. Better go catch her before she jacks your ride and you can’t catch her,” Colton’s amused voice said from behind me.
“She wouldn’t,” I narrowed my eyes at the door.
“So...did she make all your men?” he asked conversationally, inquiring about Channing noticing all of the security I had following her.
I cursed and started to dodge bodies as I hustled towards the door.
I didn’t find her trying to jack my bike though.
No, I found her jacking her father’s rig.
I ran up to the side of the truck and jumped onto the step, looping my hand around the mirror for balance.
Channing had closed and re-locked the door, and she didn’t look up from what she was doing between her legs, which was hot wiring the truck, I was surprised to see.
“Your dad’s going to kick your ass,” I mused, leaning my head against the glass.
“My dad can suck it,” came her muffled reply.
The truck’s powerful engine rolled over with a dull roar, and she put the truck in first before she started to inch forward. She also rolled the window down a third of the way so she could hear me.
“Get off the truck,” her angered eyes glared towards mine.
I refused. “No.”
“Now,” she demanded.
“No.” I repeated.
Her head went back in exasperation as she slammed hard on the brakes. Although, I’d anticipated that, I braced myself against the smoke stack.
“Get off and walk around, I’ll wait for you,” she lied.
I laughed. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
She was breathing hard now.
“Jesus Christ,” she snarled.
“Come on, unlock the door and ride home with me,” I said loudly.
She shook her head. “I can’t. I have to get my car and drive it home.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Then why did you hotwire this when you could’ve gone to your car the entire time?”
She shrugged. “I was mad at him. He deserved it. Then again, you’re not doing so hot, either.”
While she was glaring at me, she failed to see her father running up the other side of the truck and open the cab with his keys.
She snarled an oath, and then opened the door before she started to swing down.
I moved out of the way quickly as the door swung open.
She stepped down onto the step and jumped the short distance to the ground before stomping her way towards her car.
I caught up to her half way to her car. Since I was only yards away from my bike, I grabbed hold of her arm and swung her towards me.
“Hey,” I growled. “Ride with me.”
She yanked her arm from my grasp, and the bracelet she was wearing slipped off her hand and swung in an arc to the ground, two cars away.
We both walked towards it at the same time, bending down and bumped our heads.
It was the comical way, where both parties bang their heads, and then fall over onto their asses.
The next five seconds played as expected.
We both started laughing, and when I moved to help her stand, bullets started hitting the car we were parked behind, peppering it like one would with a paintball gun.
Instinctively, I tackled Channing to the ground, and started rolling.
I kept rolling through the gap in the tires of the truck we’d been standing beside until I couldn’t roll anymore.
Then I crouched over her, extracted my Glock from my ankle holster and handed it to her.
She was laying on her back, staring up at me in fear.
“Here,” I said as I shoved the gun into her hand. “You know how to work that?”
I asked the question without looking at her, knowing that she did, but wanting confirmation.
“Yes,” she said. “One in the chamber?”
“Yes,” I whispered, once the shooting stopped.
The night air was still as I reached for the .45 that was at the small of my back and extracting it.
“What...” I placed my hand over her mouth, silencing whatever she was about to say.
She froze, looking at me with fearful eyes. She nodded silently and I removed my hand from her mouth before taking another look around.
The part of the parking lot we were in was near the back of the lot where the lighting was worst. Which was why I didn’t see the gunmen coming until he already had his rifle up and shooting.
Burning fire exploded in my right arm, making my grip on my .45 loosen until it fell uselessly to the ground.
That didn’t stop Channing, though.
She raised her arm up, pointing upside down at the man, and squeezed the trigger. The gun exploded beside my ear, momentarily stealing my ability to hear.
It didn’t fuck with my vision, though.
I saw the man drop like a house of cards.
The phone in my pocket started buzzing, and I quickly withdrew it with my uninjured hand.
“Rector,” I barked.
“Status?” Trance asked in alarm.
I took in the scene.
The man was writhing on the ground; I slowly walked on my knees toward him, keeping my gun trained on him the entire way.
Once I got close enough, I stood and crouched, kicking the man’s gun away from his reach in a spray of gravel.
“One shooter down. I’m not sure if there’s more, but I’m staying where I am. The shooter’s down, but not dead. Channing’s with me. I’ve been shot in the arm,” I stated crisply.