Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“You do remember that it used to be my old apartment, right?”
“Yes,” She said huffily. “But you’re my son, and I worry over you. I worry over Tai just as much. I think you should talk him into staying at Adam’s house when he gets back. We don’t plan on getting rid of it, but we also have a house of our own and it’s too hard to be there.”
I completely understood. Adam’s house looked like it was frozen in time. When I’d gone there just after Adam’s death, everything was still in place from when he’d left the morning before. Dirty dishes in the sink. Underwear on the floor in the living room. Porn magazine partially sticking out from under his mattress. Keys and mail tossed on the kitchen table.
“Need me to go check on it?” I asked.
“No, w-we can d-do it.” She said before turning around to the counter and getting very busy planning our wedding.
My heart hurt, and, of course, me being me, I said something that did not make it better. “Did you know Winter was pregnant? She lost the baby after the attack. Miscarried while she was still in a coma.”
John stood and came to me, wrapping me in a bear hug like the one he used to give me when I was younger. “I’m sorry, boy. God has a plan though. That’s what we keep telling ourselves. Doesn’t feel very good in the meantime though.”
Honey snuck her arms around me from the side and Thomas from the other side.
***
The first clue that something was wrong at Adam’s house was the security lights. We’d installed them, and had them pointing to the front and both sides of the house. Now, the only one on was the one furthest away from the road. They also wouldn’t go out on their own, because they both ran on solar power and electricity.
My first mistake was not leaving as soon as I’d gotten there and noticed the lights.
However, I hadn’t been paying attention because I was thinking about Winter, and the child we’d lost. Which seemed to be all I ever thought about anymore.
I was all the way at the front door before I realized it. My second mistake was not pulling the gun from the small of my back in time.
“Don’t move.” A smoky voice said from behind me.
Pack a day smoker for sure.
My muscles locked, and I didn’t move. Silently cursing myself for my stupidity. What the fuck, Stoker, where in the hell did you spend the last ten years? Training my ass.
The barrel of the gun that was pointed at me pressed up against my neck tightly. Wrong move, dumbass, I thought silently. You don’t ever get that close to someone. At least not someone trained.
Pivoting and raising my elbow to displace the position of the gun, I had the man pinned in an arm bar faster than he could blink. Years of honed skills had me doing this effortlessly.
“You should really try not to get that close to someone when you’re pointing a weapon at them.” I supplied helpfully.
“Fuck you.” He forced out past smashed lips.
They were smashed because I had his face up against the brick wall of the house. I grinded his face in a little more just for emphasis before pulling my right arm back in a flash and letting it rip.
My fist hit his face with a crack. Bones crunched underneath the blow, and he dropped like a ton of bricks. I didn’t help him fall nicely either. As he went down, his head hit the potted plant beside the door, opening a cut on his forehead.
I walked to my bike silently and pulled out a length of chain I kept there.
Once the man was secured at the back of the house, gag in place, I investigated the rest of the property before checking out the inside.
It was all clear, and I made the call that I knew would get the answers out of him without preamble.
It rang twice. “Yeah?”
“Max,” I growled.
Chapter 16
According to the BMI chart, I’m too short.
-T-shirt
Jack
Five hours and forty minutes later, Max pulled up in his truck. Mr. Smoker was now secured in a kitchen chair with the chain around him, hands duct taped to his thighs, and I was in the recliner with my feet propped up, watching a rerun of Roseanne.
“Nice.” Max said when he walked in through the front door.
He looked surprisingly awake with it being eleven at night and driving nearly six hours.
“The show or the man?” I asked.
His eyes flicked towards the man who was now awake and looking at him warily, and then back to the TV. “The show. I haven’t watched this in forever.”
“Only thing on this late. That’s unless I want to watch porn on Cinemax, which is out of the question since Winter’s not here to relieve the ache.” I stated the obvious as I stood up.
“Sam’ll be here in a few. Had to take a piss first. James took up watch at the end of the road in the Suburban. What’s the story?” Max asked
The front door opened and closed, and Sam came into the living room a few moments later. “Fuck its cold out there. The only thing warm on me are my balls, and that’s only because they’re hiding in my body.”
He stomped to the fire I’d lit and warmed his hands.
“Not much I can tell you. He wouldn’t talk. Held a gun to my head and then tried to take my gun. Got too close though.”
“Amateur.” Max muttered, studying our new friend.
“I thought so, too. No ID. Car’s a rental. Rental name is under fucking John Smith. What the hell were they thinking renting him a car? No ID on file there either.” I answered the unspoken question.
“Help me get him outside. I brought some plastic liner from the house with me.” Max said with an evil smile.
Five minutes later, I was sitting next to the fire with Sam, telling him about the funding for Freebirds.