Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“No.” She focuses on him and licks her lips. “Absolutely no hospital. I’m fine. It’s nothing I haven’t had before.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
“I have to clean that condo,” she continues.
“Definitely not.” I shake my head and take her hand in mine, lacing my fingers through hers. “You’re going home. Or to my house. And we’ll call someone else to take care of this.”
“I’m the only one who can.”
“Then we’ll call the owner and tell them they have to find someone else. You’re not working today,” I stress when she tries to argue, and then she deflates, blows out a breath, and nods.
“I can’t go home,” she says softly. “Daisy is just next door, and she’d see me come home and would want to be with me, and I need some time.”
“Polly’s house,” Chase says, sparing me a glance before he calls our soon-to-be sister-in-law. When she picks up, he says, “Tell me your house in town is empty right now. Good. I need to take Abbi there. She’s okay. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, Polly.”
“I’ll drive you. Shit, where are your shoes?”
“Inside,” she says, looking down. All I want is to pull her against me and soothe her. “I need my purse.”
“I’ll go get your things,” Chase says before jogging back inside.
“Come on.” I tug her out of her car and get her settled in my 4Runner. “Everything’s going to be okay, baby.”
“Would you really kill him?” Her voice is low, but she’s watching me shrewdly.
“In a motherfucking heartbeat.” I let the anger show in my eyes and in my voice. “He fucking touched you. He marked you. If Chase hadn’t stopped me, he’d be a dead man.”
She swallows hard and turns to look out the windshield, and I worry that I said too much. Chase returns with all of Abbi’s things, including a bucket of supplies, and we stow them in the back of the 4Runner.
“I have to come with you,” he says grimly. “I need to get her statement.”
“Let’s do this, then,” I reply with a nod, and we follow Chase down the road into town.
Polly decided to keep her little house near the high school and use it as a short-term rental property. I’m surprised that it’s empty right now, given that it’s the holidays and rentals are hard to come by.
But I won’t complain about it.
Abbi’s quiet as we make the short drive, and when I park in the driveway, she wiggles into her shoes, pushes the door open, and steps out. I take her hand to lead her inside, where Chase is already waiting.
“How are you doing?” Chase asks Abbi as I close the door behind us. Abbi sits on the comfy sofa, then drops her head in her hands. “Is that a stupid question?”
“No,” she says as I cross to the kitchen and open the freezer, pulling out ice to make a pack for her face. “I’m okay. A little shell-shocked. Sore. Dealing with some PTSD.”
Her eyes slide over to me, and she licks her lips.
“You don’t need to tell me about your past,” Chase says as he sits across from her. “I just need to know what happened today.”
“Okay.” She accepts the ice pack from me and gently presses it against her cheek and eye, sighing when the cold hits her skin. “Oh, that helps. Thanks, Brady.”
I sit next to her, not sure if she wants me to, but I’m relieved when she takes my hand and squeezes, holding on tight as if I’m a lifeline.
“I’m short-staffed,” she begins. “Some of my people are on vacation for the holiday. So, I’m cleaning places this week that I normally wouldn’t. I also don’t have a partner, and I demand my people team up for just this reason.”
She blows out a breath.
“Anyway, I had two short-term rentals to clean up there today. I knocked and called out that I was there, and the place felt empty. There was no response when I called out, so I started on the kitchen. It was a fucking mess. I got the dishwasher packed up and had just turned to start on the stove when I heard him.”
She swallows hard, and her hand on mine tightens.
“He was a slimy piece of shit. Suggested I get in bed with him. I said absolutely not, that I’d just go and come back later, and he b-blocked my way.”
Her voice wavers, but she clears her throat.
“He said he’d fuck me whether I was into it or not, so I should just calm down and go with it. Grabbed me. Smacked me.”
Seeing red, I have to stand and pace the room. Christ, I want to hurt him. I want to tear his heart out through his fucking asshole.
“I reached for the frying pan on the stove and hit him, hard, and then I just ran. I didn’t stop to see if he was chasing me. I knew I had to get out of there because he was going to rape me, and I had to run.”