Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I looked around the cabin in utter shock. We were standing in my rented cabin, and Michael had no idea. I almost laughed at how absurd it all was.
“What’s wrong? If you’re worried I’m going to take advantage of you, I hope you know me better than that.”
I did laugh then. “You killed someone, Michael. You kidnapped me, and you’re bringing me to your father, who is most likely going to kill me. Of course, I’m worried.”
He scoffed. “Do you have to keep bringing up the fact that I killed someone?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, does it bother you?”
“Yes!” he yelled back. “It does fucking bother me. I can’t sleep at night because I only see his face.”
“Not my problem,” I said as I turned and walked toward the bedroom. I doubted he would look in the closet, but if he did, did I have any clothes he would recognize? Would he figure it out that I rented this place? I didn’t have much that I brought with me from Boston, but I couldn’t risk him even thinking I had a connection to this cabin.
“Food is in the fridge, so someone lives here for sure,” Michael called out. “Wonder when they’ll be back.”
“Sooner than you think,” I softly said. Turning away from the closed closet, I walked back into the main living area.
He was opening the pantry and looking inside. “I think we have enough food here to make it through the night. I figured once they realize you’re gone, the first thing they’ll do is assume I’m taking you back to Boston. So, we’ll stay here tonight and then head there tomorrow.”
I rolled my eyes. He really was terrible at this.
“I’m not hungry.”
He shut the pantry door. “We’ve got all day, and tonight, you will be hungry.”
“What do you suggest we do, Michael? Cook up a meal together and pretend all is well?”
Giving me a dirty look, he walked over to one of the bags and unzipped it. He reached in and grabbed something and tossed it to me, and I caught it.
“Protein bar?”
He shrugged. “I needed something to eat while sitting in my car trying to work out my plan.”
Little did he know his plan would have been great if he hadn’t brought me to the very cabin I was renting.
Opening the wrapper, I took a bite and walked toward the front door.
“Don’t even think about it, Katy.”
Sighing, I stared out the window as I spoke. “I’m not stupid, Michael. I’m not going to run.”
“Good. I don’t want to shoot you.”
I turned and faced him. “Not yet, you mean.”
He blanched but then quickly recovered. “If it were up to me, I’d let you go.”
“Would you?”
“I know you don’t believe me, but I do care about you.”
“Then don’t do this, Michael.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “What else can I do? I told you I don’t have a choice. I’m in too deep now.”
I sat down on the sofa. “Why don’t you just go to the FBI?”
“And do what? Tell them I killed someone? They’ll put me in jail and my father will still get away with everything he’s done.”
“You could testify against your father. You probably have so much on him they could put him away for life.”
He stared at me. “You want me to turn against my father? He’d have me killed.”
“Listen to what you just said, Michael. You can’t even entertain turning your dad in, but he wouldn’t think twice about killing you. That isn’t normal.”
Michael’s shoulders slumped, and he stared at the floor. “He has people everywhere, Katy. You have no idea. He’d be able to get to me in jail.”
“What if you didn’t go to jail? What if you worked out a deal to testify against him but were put in some kind of protection program?”
When he looked at me, I swore something in his eyes changed. Was that…hope? Did Michael want out from under his father’s thumb?
“You don’t have to do this.”
He closed his eyes. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Everyone has a choice. You’re scared, and I get that. I was terrified after I saw you shoot that man. So scared, I ran away from the only life I’ve ever known. From my family. If I can do it, you can do it.”
Michael stood and started to pace. He was thinking about it, and that was all I needed—a little bit of hope. I could work with that.
“Nothing is tying you to Boston. You could go anywhere, start a new life and put the past behind you.”
He stopped and looked at me. “What about my sister? My mother? Melanie? I wouldn’t be able to ever see them again, and God knows what he would do to Melanie.”
“Maybe she could come with you. You’d be free, Michael. You wouldn’t be forced to do your father’s dirty work.”