Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 24016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
“What the hell?” I say to myself as I reach over to the passenger seat next to me and grab my gloves and hat.
Jumping out of the truck, I pull my hat down low to avoid the worst of the snow in my eyes and then tug on my leather work gloves. The closer I get to the glowing snow, the less it makes sense. I look up and down the road to make sure it’s not a reflection of something else before I finally walk over.
Reaching out, I put my gloves in the snow, but the lights are still blinking. I dig away a few inches and then my eyes widen when I see where the light is coming from. There’s a toddler stretched out on the back seat of a small SUV. She’s got on some kind of holiday sweater that’s glowing brightly, and that’s what’s causing the colors in the snow. There’s a woman in the back seat holding her, and they both appear to be asleep.
“Please be asleep,” I say to myself as I start frantically wiping away the snow. I don’t want to scare them, but I’ve got to get them out from under this snow drift as quickly as possible. They could freeze to death or even suffocate under snow this severe, but I try not to think about that and dig faster.
Once I’ve got the door completely unblocked, I try the handle, but it’s locked. When I knock on the glass the woman doesn’t flinch and so I knock harder the second time. That’s when I see the toddler stirring, and a small glimmer of hope sparks inside me.
I hurry to my truck and grab the emergency kit I keep in there for situations like this. After a second, I decide that breaking the glass should be my last resort because the toddler is right under the window, and I don’t want to hurt her. As quickly as I can I find the handle of the front door, and thankfully, it’s unlocked.
The automatic locks don’t work so I have to reach in and do it manually as I call out to the woman and her daughter. The woman appears to be breathing but she doesn’t wake up even when the toddler begins to whine.
“It’s all right, I’ve got you,” I say to the little girl when I open the rear door. She stretches her arms out, and I scoop her up before running her over to my truck and placing her in the warm cab. She doesn’t cry, and when I check her over, she seems to be okay. “I’m gonna go get your mom, but I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” she says and sniffs a little as she looks over my shoulder at the SUV stuck in the snow.
When I get back to the SUV, the woman is somewhat awake and is blinking like she can’t focus. “Mina,” she says in a weak voice. “Where’s Mina?”
“It’s okay I’ve got her,” I say, and then I’m shocked when the woman tries to swing a fist at me.
“Don’t you take her. She’s mine.” Her words are as weak as her body, and she falls out of the vehicle and into my arms.
“Whoa, easy, champ.” She’s limp in my arms, and it’s then I realize she’s burning up with fever. “Shit, we need to get you to a hospital.”
“Can’t go. No hospital.” Her voice is pleading as I carry her to the cab of my truck and place her next to her daughter, Mina.
“You need a doctor,” I tell her as I take one of the warm blankets from the back seat and drape it over the two of them.
“No.” She shakes her head, then reaches for Mina.
“I have to at least report this to the police.”
Her eyes widen, then she grabs the neck of my shirt. Her grip is the strongest I’ve felt since I found them, and her gaze is intense. “If he finds us, he’ll kill us.”
With those last words, she passes out, and all I can do is stare down at her and the toddler snuggled together in my truck.
What the fuck have I gotten myself into?
CHAPTER 3
NYAH
“She sleeping?” I try to open my eyes at the sound of Mina’s voice, but they refuse to cooperate. My fingers tingle to reach out and grab her and pull her close so we can cuddle back to sleep.
“Let her sleep,” I hear a deep voice rumble before I drift back into darkness.
“Come on, take this. I don’t need your fever coming back.” I hear the deep voice again before a hand lifts the back of my head. “Open up.” The authority in the man’s tone has me parting my lips. He slips two pills in my mouth before pressing a cup to my dry lips. The cool water flows in so I can swallow them down.