Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“Just a coincidence,” I murmured to myself as I crawled into my bed that night, tension creeping up my spine between my shoulders in an uncontrollable chill. As a mother, I could blow some things out of proportion because I would rather be safe than sorry, so I hoped that this was another one of those instances.
My life was crazy, but it wasn’t that crazy.
Swallowing hard, I pulled my white sheets up to my chin and tried to settle in, listening to the trill and chirp of frogs and insects outside of my bedroom window. It sounded like any normal night, and slowly, I let that thought comfort me, allowing my body and my eyelids to grow heavier and heavier with each passing minute.
Right before I fell back into the dark throes of sleep, the sound of a thud from the front of my house made me sit straight up in bed. The hammering of my heartbeat throbbed in my head as I stared at the doorway of my bedroom with wide, scared eyes, listening and hoping that I’d just made up that noise in my head.
But it happened again. I could distinctly hear the squeaking and clicking of someone trying to open my front door as they turned the handle. Someone was trying to break in here, and the only person around to protect me and Chloe was… myself.
As fearsome as I could be for my child, I knew that I wouldn’t be much of a match for some huge, armed intruder. I needed help from someone who could face off with whoever was trying to come in here and probably hurt me and Chloe. Only one person came to mind who I could actually reach and who could get here in time.
I scrambled for my phone on my nightstand, snatching it up and scrolling through my contacts until I found the name I was looking for. It was around midnight, but I was desperate at this point. I hit the call button and listened to each ring, my heart racing faster and faster as I faced the possibility that he might not pick up.
Then, he did.
“Hello?” Marcus’s sleepy voice sounded over the phone.
“Marcus, it’s Madison. I don’t know if you remember me, but I came into the tattoo shop a few weeks ago,” I said, my words speeding past my lips.
“Of course, I remember you. Everything okay?” Marcus asked, already sounding concerned.
“I think someone is trying to break into my house,” I told him in a hushed voice, fearing that whoever was outside might hear me. I didn’t hear any other thumps, but what if the person was searching for another way inside?
“I need you to hide. I’ll get some of the guys, and we’ll be there soon. I promise,” Marcus told me in a firm voice, the noise of shuffling sounding in the background.
His words sent a gentle wave of comfort through me, but the sound of another thud made my blood run cold. I managed to breathe out two more words before my throat closed up from fear.
“Please hurry.”
Chapter 8
Marcus
Bright headlights glowed behind my Mustang as I raced down the road to Madison’s house, going off memory from the first and only time I went there.
My jaw was tensed so tight that my teeth ached, but I was too focused on getting to Madison and her daughter as fast as I could. Who knew what had happened between the time she hung up and now?
Gus drove close behind me, making every turn and accelerating whenever I did. When I pulled up behind Madison’s car, he parked alongside the street, shut his white truck off, and hopped out, his brown boots hitting the asphalt with a loud thump.
I slung myself out of my car and glanced around, peering through the dim area that was only illuminated by a few, orange-hued streetlights. The neighborhood was eerily still and quiet as a half-moon hung up over us in the dark sky. It seemed like whoever was here was gone, but I turned to Gus regardless.
“Check around the house. I’ll go find her,” I told him, a plan already unfolding in my mind. I was particular and precise about every move I made, especially when it came to Madison’s safety.
We’d only had one interaction, but it lingered in the back of my mind like a shadow for the past few weeks. I waited for her to call or walk through the door of the tattoo shop, but she never did. Until now. Until she needed me the most, and I promised her that I’d be there.
Gus nodded curtly and jogged around the side of the house.
I approached the front door and paused, deciding to text her and let her know that I was there instead of knocking and scaring her some more. By the time she answered the door, Gus rounded the house and met me on the front porch, shaking his head. Whoever was here was gone.