Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Holy fuck. Fuck!
There was my girl with some fucker holding a gun. She sat at the kitchen table, hands resting on the wood surface. Was she shaking? Her back was to me, so I couldn’t see her face. But I could see the man. I’d never seen him before. He sure as shit wasn’t from Cooper Valley.
I could storm in and rip his fucking head off. Literally. Snap his neck. Destroy him. But Riley was right there. I might be able to survive a bullet wound, but she wouldn’t.
Who was the guy, and why the hell was he holding her hostage?
I needed help. Legit help, not a bunch of wolves wiping out a bad guy in the deputy sheriff’s kitchen.
Against every instinct in my body, I retreated from the house, only pulling out my cell and using it when I was on the sidewalk three houses down.
“Abbott.”
“This is Cody. We have a problem.”
“Yeah, it’s you. You’re my fucking problem.”
I couldn’t contain my wolf growl. “Someone’s got Riley at gunpoint in your house.”
“What?” I heard the sound of footfalls, like Kyle was already running to his car.
“If you’re not here in two minutes, I’m going in.” I only had so much patience when my mate was in danger.
“No! Do not go in. This is a police matter,” Kyle barked. “Stay where you are.” A car door slammed, and I heard the engine start. The station was only a few minutes away. Still, that felt like far too long.
There was no way in hell I wasn’t going in. “Park on Elm. I’ll meet you there.”
30
CODY
He didn’t park on Elm.
I was carefully watching through the back window to make sure Riley was still alive when my shifter hearing caught the sound of a car arriving and parking on the opposite block.
Fucking asshole.
I sprinted in that direction.
He wanted to leave me in the wind. There was no way in hell I was letting my mate’s father walk in that house. Not when I’d already surmised that the gunman was there for him. I remembered what Levi had said about the death threats that had come in related to the trial Kyle had been on last week.
And Riley had called me “Daddy.” Like she’d been pretending she was calling her dad and wanted him to come home.
I came around the back corner, running way faster than a human could and saw Kyle, approaching the house, drawing his weapon. I launched myself at him, dragging him backward and throwing him against Bernice Elton’s fence.
“I said, Elm, asshole,” I whisper-shouted.
“He’s a dead man,” Kyle hissed.
Kyle tried to raise his gun, but I caught his wrist and held it in an iron grip.
His mouth dropped open in surprise. I was revealing my secret to another human by showing my superior strength. I was breaking pack law again, but I didn’t care. My mate was being threatened. Nothing else mattered. Hell, I could get his mind wiped.
I needed to get in there and save Riley, but I also couldn’t do it at the risk of her father getting shot. My mate needed him alive, whether he approved of me or not.
“Yeah, he sure as hell is. Listen to me. I’m going in,” I whispered fiercely. “Bullets don’t hurt me.” It wasn’t entirely true. A bullet to the head would kill a shifter, but I was willing to take that risk. “You shoot the fucker through the window when I’m between Riley and his gun.”
Kyle stared at me. He relaxed his struggle, and I released him. “You’re one of them.”
So he already knew about our kind.
He cocked his gun. I wasn’t sure if he intended to shoot me, or was just preparing to follow my orders.
I nodded. “He’s here for you. No clue why, but Riley got caught up in it. You brought your work shit home to her. Now give me your hat. I’ll go in the front pretending to be you.”
Kyle’s eyes widened at my barbed words. Yeah, it was his fault his daughter was in danger, but I knew he’d do nothing to intentionally harm her. He handed me his sheriff’s hat and holstered his gun to unbutton his shirt. I ripped mine off over my head.
“Do you know who he is?” He yanked off the brown sheriff’s shirt and thrust it at me.
I shrugged it on, buttoning as I jogged toward his patrol car. “No. Never seen him before. She called me but made it sound like she was talking to you. She called me daddy and said she’d broken up with Pete–”
“That football player from her class? She wouldn’t date him–”
“Exactly.” At least he wasn’t dwelling on the “daddy” thing. “She was trying to tell me she needed help because someone who wants you has her hostage. Now give me your keys.”
“Motherfucker.” Kyle handed them to me.