Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“He’s not her boyfriend, dumbass,” Rex says, shoving me more firmly toward the vehicle. “You’re the one who said she was with McGuire and has probably been helping him plot this scheme to cut us out of the take. That’s how you got your cat back, right?” he asks Bear. “These two offered to return it if you gave them control of the toys, instead of us, didn’t they?”
Thinking fast, I pipe up, “No, we were going to give Clyde back to Bear free of charge. I made Matty do it. I made him steal Clyde and give him back to Bear to prove he wasn’t a bad guy and that it’s okay for us to get serious and for him to finally meet my grandmother. I can’t introduce Gram to a guy who aids and abets a catnapping. That would be deeply messed up.”
“Just shut up and get in the van.” Rex makes a frustrated sound and shoves me hard enough to make me stumble.
“Get your hands off her,” Bear booms, earning a box of his ears from Wimpy, who’s still crouched behind him.
“Don’t hit him,” I shout. “He’s just sitting there, completely helpless, holding a cat in labor in a kittening box. Where’s your humanity?”
“Then get in the fucking van, bitch,” Rex says, digging the prongs of his stun gun into the small of my back. “Or I’ll shock you and toss you in there myself. And trust me, a shock won’t kill a healthy young lady like yourself, but it’ll hurt like you swallowed lightning.”
I heave a sigh and cast a quick glance over my shoulder, praying to see Matty running through the door behind me. But the door is still closed and the alarm blaring. Even if I screamed for help, no one would hear me.
And I really don’t want to know what it feels like to swallow lightning.
I don’t even want to touch lightning, let alone swallow it.
So, with one final prayer that Matty will figure out how to find us, I surreptitiously toss one of the earrings I removed on the way down the stairs onto the ground as I spit into Rex’s face, “Fine, but don’t call me a bitch again. If you want to call me names, please call me an asshole or a jerk or some other non-gendered insult.”
Rex rolls his eyes. “Whatever, woman, just get in the van. The longer you talk back, the longer it’s going to take to get what we need and drop you and your friend here off at a vet.”
My brows lift. “You’d do that?”
“Why not?” he growls, looking uncomfortable. “I don’t want the cat to bite it, but I’ve got to get those toys or I’m dead meat. I’ve got a grandmother, too, and she doesn’t fuck around.” He shrugs. “But once I’ve got the goods, I can help you out. I like belching cat videos as much as the next guy with a sense of fucking humor.”
“Okay, thank you. That would be…nice.” Filing this small sign of humanity away for later, I step into the van, settling into the empty seat by the sliding door.
But I’m not going to fool myself into trusting Rex.
He’s a bad guy. He’s kidnapping me and Bear and Clyde. And so he uses a stun gun instead of real gun? So what? That’s still a weapon, and a dangerous one at that. If I have the chance to bash him over the head with something and get away, I should take advantage of it.
Though I doubt that’s going to happen in this van, speeding away from the hotel toward a warehouse far away. And Clyde will probably have finished giving birth by then—or be in such serious distress it might be too late to save her or her babies.
As the alarm suddenly cuts off, seconds before Rex slides the van door closed, I send out a silent prayer—Find that earring, Matty. Find it and check the hotel’s surveillance cameras and come find us.
Before it’s too late.
Chapter Twenty-Five
MATTY
On the way down the stairs to the front desk, I call Aaron, crossing my fingers that he’ll have what I need.
And that he won’t decide to beat the shit out of me for losing his sister…
I know I’d be tempted to rain down misery on him, if he lost mine.
“What’s up?” he asks, answering on the second ring. “Does Melissa need a ride? I’ve been watching the water levels rise out by her place on the news. It’s getting bad. She shouldn’t wait too long to decide or there won’t be a decision to make.”
“She’s fine for now,” I say, hoping it’s true. I feel like a shit brother for not checking on her again since this morning, but I’ve been a little busy. “I was actually calling about Nora.”
His tone cools. “What about Nora? Is she okay?”