Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Someone’s in the house!” Kitt hissed.
She looked ready to drop, and the only thing holding her up was the grip on my arm and the wall.
“I know,” I said, patting her hand. “Let’s get you back to bed.”
“I’m not talking about the man in the kitchen,” she hissed. “I’m talking about the man that came in through my window.”
My heart froze.
“Where is he now?” I asked.
“Kitchen,” she whispered. “I followed him until I knew where he was going. He grabbed everyone’s phones, though. I saw him grab mine off the nightstand as he passed, then he locked me inside.”
“How’d you get out?” I asked, confused.
“There’s a secret passage that connects my room to Emily’s. It’s right there,” she pointed to the bookcase next to Emily’s bed.
I nodded and we walked into my room.
Dismay filled me as I saw that my phone wasn’t there.
I’d left it in my purse in the kitchen after all the excitement at the department had gone down.
Leaving me with nothing as well.
“Y’all don’t have a landline?” I asked in alarm.
She shook her head.
Her body started to tilt to the side, and I caught her by the shoulders and helped her to sit on the bed.
“Sit here,” I ordered, going over to the crib and grabbing Emily, who was now very much awake and cooing due to hearing her mother’s voice.
I smiled at the baby, placing her in the car seat that was on the floor next to her crib.
Once I had her strapped in, I dug around in her crib for the pacifier that I knew was in there, coming up twenty seconds later with ten of them.
I dumped them all in the seat and placed one in the baby’s mouth.
She latched onto it like an attack dog after a piece of meat, sucking so fiercely that Ridley could probably hear the sounds all the way in the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Kitt asked, her voice quivering as fear radiated out of her.
It was scary when she couldn’t do anything to help herself or her child, and I could practically see the condemnation in her eyes.
“I’m putting you in the secret passage,” I said, knowing that would be a good hiding spot. “Then I’m going to go help your brother and husband.”
Her eyes looked worried, but I ignored her and grabbed the blanket off Emily’s bed, throwing it into the passage.
Once I had it spread out, I helped Kitt into the passage, then placed Emily’s car seat in beside her.
The final add was the Gloworm from Emily’s bed.
Turning it on by pressing the belly, a soft warm glow filled my hands.
“Here,” I said softly. “I’m going to close the doors now.”
She nodded and I shut it, breathing a sigh of relief once I had it completely closed.
“Dammit,” I said under my breath, walking out of Emily’s room with a quick glance out into the hallway before I left.
My destination was my gun case in the corner of the living room closet.
I’d put it there because it was so big and bulky, and I wasn’t sure where else it might fit.
Now I was glad I’d done so, or the man surely would’ve seen it in the living room as he passed. It was hard to miss.
Once I had my weapon in my hands, I checked the chamber, loaded it, and then carried it into the laundry room, coming to a halt once I was in my same position as earlier.
The voice that I heard was familiar, but I couldn’t place it exactly. The man the voice belonged to was too emotional, too…something.
“You’re such a stupid fucking joke,” the unknown gunman growled, his gun pointed at Ridley’s chest. “I can’t believe you’re still fucking here.”
“What are you talking about?” Ridley asked, eyes hard and voice tight.
“I’m talking about the fact that I sent two fucking brothers to kill you, and neither one accomplished what I asked them to do.” He started to pace, but the entire time he kept his gun pointed at him. “Then I sent your brother to do it, and he didn’t even get it done.”
“Why?” he asked. “Why my brother? Why any of this? I thought you were fucking slow.”
I wanted to slap my palm against my head.
Ridley was most assuredly eloquent…not. But, at least I now knew who the voice belonged to...the reclusive slow brother – Brice Coller
The man didn’t look offended, though.
In fact, he looked almost…gleeful.
Happy that he’d been able to pull off the big deception he had.
“It’s easier when people think I’m slow. Then they don’t expect as much from me,” he answered without a thought. “People’s expectations become really low, meaning I can slide my habit by them without them thinking it might be me.”
“So you’re a sick fuck,” Kelly said through clenched teeth.
Brice turned his eyes to Kelly.
“Yes,” he answered. “Had to watch my brother do it for me,” he pointed at his bandaged leg where the lower half of his leg was wrapped and placed in a walking boot. “I get off on watching. Which is what I was doing the night this happened.”