Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
As I turn to pace the room again, I notice I knocked all the files to the floor. I guess in my panic I wasn’t paying attention. Kneeling down, I gather some of the papers up, but I don’t know which order they go in. I should probably look through them, but I wanted to do it with Ryker.
Bear wanders over to the coffee table in front of me and looks down at what I’m doing. He watches me as I try to straighten the papers, but when I hear a creak on the wood floor, he arches his back and lets out a loud hiss.
“Bear?” I say, shocked at his behavior just before I look towards the noise.
As I turn, I feel pain burst against the side of my head and my vision dances with black spots. I don’t pass out, but I can’t see, and the wind is knocked out of my lungs. The pain comes so quickly that it’s too much for my brain to process. My body goes limp and falls to the floor, and somewhere in the back of my mind I hear a man’s voice cursing.
My thoughts are scrambled and I can’t make my arms and legs move. The only thing I can feel is the throbbing in my brain as I lie there and force myself to breathe.
Ryker! my mind screams at me. Call for Ryker!
There’s no air in my lungs, and my lips can’t form the words, but I push myself to try. I will my body to come back even though the pain is beyond anything I’ve ever felt. I have to get help.
“You stupid bitch,” I hear through the dark cloud surrounding me, and I blink a few more times.
Some of the darkness fades, and the fuzzy morning light brightens the room as I try to make out the man standing over me.
“Fritz.” I can barely whisper, but I know it’s him.
That voice sends chills down my spine as pain once again rolls over my body as he yanks me up by the back of my neck.
“Do you know how hard it was for me to get to you?” he hisses in my ear as he drags me out of the house.
I never thought Fritz was a strong man, or even capable of lifting me off the ground, but rage is fueling him as he hauls me out the front door and drags me to a waiting car. When I see the vehicle parked there, terror floods me and I begin to fight. A memory flickers through my mind…Ryker had said he had other reasons for taking me, a need to keep me safe. It had something to do with Fritz…
I don’t know what the hell is going on, but he can’t take me to a second location. I know that from all of the true crime shows I’ve watched. If he makes me leave this house, I might never come back. My arms and legs are still limp, but I force myself to kick at him and punch with all the adrenaline I have left in me.
But in the end, it’s futile because he stuffs me in the car like a Kleenex and slams the door. I reach for the handle, and my hand slips on the first try, and on the second, it won’t open. It’s then I notice the blood on my hands and I reach up to touch my head. I can see my reflection in the window and realize half my face is bloody. It’s probably why I couldn’t see at first. I’m surprised I didn’t pass out, but then I remember someone telling me that head wounds bleed like crazy.
I flinch when I feel the driver door open, and I turn my body so it’s plastered against the passenger side. I hold my hands out in defense as Fritz gets in and starts the car. He hits the gas and I hear the tires screech as he pulls out of the driveway.
“Fritz, why are you doing this, what’s going on?” I say, trying to keep the tears out of my voice. I want to break down and cry, but I’m scared shitless and need to be calm.
“You fucked everything, Blair. Everything!” he shouts and swerves around a bend in the road. “But I’m going to fix this. I’m not going down for this shit.” He grasps the steering wheel in a tight grip.
The folders from Ryker’s house are in his lap. I look up, and this time I really see him. His blond hair is greasy and ratty looking. He was always so careful with how he styled it, never a hair out of place. Now his eyes have dark circles under them, and his cheeks look hollow. When did he last sleep? His hands are filthy, and his clothes look just as grimy, like he’s been rolling around in dirt. This is the complete opposite of the Fritz I knew. He looks like he’s having some kind of breakdown.