Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
“A gun?” Mom gasps. “Where is it now?”
Matt taps his pocket.
“Oh, God, who are you?” Mom groans.
“Please.” Matt is looking at me now, looking deeply like he did last night, as if nothing and nobody else exists or matters. “Just trust me. If I wanted to hurt any of you, I could do it right now. Nothing is stopping me, but believe me when I say that I’d die before I did that.”
“You just expect us to trust you?” Mom protests.
He turns to Mom. “I know I’m asking a lot, ma’am. I wish I didn’t have to.”
“We can’t just go with him,” Mom says, glaring at me. Maybe she can tell I’m coming around to the idea.
“I think we should,” I say quietly.
Mom throws her hands up. “What?!”
“Mom, clearly, Matt is involved with some bad people, but they know where we live. If we stay here, we won’t be safe. If we go with him, we will be.”
“You don’t know him.”
I lick my lips, knowing this is going to sound crazy. “I may not know him, but I trust him.”
As nuts as that statement is, and I know it’s beyond nuts, it’s also the truth.
“What if we refuse?” Mom snaps.
Darkness cloaks every inch of Matt. He sighs and walks deeper into the apartment, causing Mom to back away, almost like he’s some wild animal, and she’s afraid to get too close.
“I’m sorry. I really am, but if you don’t come willingly, I’ll be forced to take you. Three dead women … I refuse to have that on my conscience.”
“Dead,” Mom repeats, shuddering.
“These are bad, bad people,” Matt says. “The lowest of the low. You’ll be lucky if all they do is try to take your lives.” Matt stares at me, eyes intense, as if imagining all the evil things that might happen. “You’ll wish that’s what the sick fucks did if they get their hands on you. Just kill you. I don’t want to scare any of you, but I have to. It’s the only way. I’ll give you a couple of minutes to make your decision. It’s the most I can offer.”
Mom quickly walks over to me, taking both my hands in hers. “You can’t seriously be considering this?”
“What other choice do we have?” I hiss.
“We should call the police.”
“They won’t get here for an hour. Even if they did, what would we tell them? They already know about the guy who threatened me. If Matt says we’re safer with him, I believe it.”
“But why?”
The question is absurdly complicated to answer, at least in a way that would be reasonable to Mom. She’s going to think I’ve let my common sense slip if I say, “I feel close to this man. I feel like he wants the best for us.” She’ll remind me he’s a virtual stranger, and she won’t be wrong.
“Because he’s right, Mom. If he wanted to hurt us, he could do it anytime he wanted. He has the money to pay people. Or he could do it himself.”
That’s not the real reason, though. Honesty would say, “Because I have a feeling …”
Nuts, nuts, nuts.
“Do you trust me, Mom?”
“This isn’t about that.”
“Please, just answer me.”
“Of course,” she snaps, “but it’s not fair to ask me that. It’s not fair to make it about me and you. The fact is, you’re a young woman who doesn’t even know who this man is. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I agreed to this and something happened to you.”
The passion of her words slams into me, making it difficult to think of a response. I look over at Matt. When he sees I need help, his expression softens slightly, but not a lot. Maybe the other two wouldn’t even notice it, but I do.
Stepping forward, he says, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but the only way something will happen is if she stays here.”
“Mom.” I take her hands. “You trusted me to work two jobs to help you with college. As a kid, you trusted me to run to the corner store alone, even when we both knew I shouldn’t have. Please, trust me now. Please.”
“Samantha,” Emily says, walking up beside me.
Mom looks at my bestie, her eyebrows raised. “You too?”
“I’ve never known Bella to misjudge somebody this badly. I stand by her if she thinks this is for the best.”
I look at my friend, her pink hair tied up in a messy bun, her features focused and full of emotion. Her button nose scrunches in a gesture only a longtime friend could read. I got you …
Mom runs a hand through her hair, sighing in a world-weary way. “I’m not going to win here, am I?”
Matt steps forward. “I’m sorry, but we haven’t got any more time. They could roll up at any moment.”
“Do we have time to pack our things, at least?”