Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 14425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
Victor's unaware of how loud he's speaking. He's even less aware that I can hear the person on the other end, but I hang back in the kitchen until he ends the call.
"I have to head back to work. One of the business owners got back to me with their security footage. I'm not going to strain my eyes trying to pull it up on my phone, and I don't want to wait. I'm sorry to start and not finish." The subtle seduction lingers behind his coy grin like a promise to pick up where we left off.
"Don't apologize to me. You're just doing your job." I stroke the side of his face.
He nods and looks up the stairs. "I'm going to hop in the shower before I head in. I can drop you off wherever you want when I get out. I'd take you with me, but it's late. I don't want you to come all the way to the precinct, and the footage ends up being useless."
"You can take me to my father's house. I'll wait for you," I tell him.
Victor hops the steps two at a time and makes the dumbest mistake of leaving his phone on the kitchen counter. It takes me a few seconds to type in the passcode he hasn't changed since we dated. The video from one of the business owners near the jewelry shop is sitting in an email that's still open. Once I send the video to myself, I wait for the sounds of the shower running to reach me downstairs. The bathroom door closes, muffling my steps as I leave his house.
By the time I get to my dad's place, a sense of sorrow washes over me, the silence greeting me when I walk in. He's not coming back here anytime soon, and that infuriates me.
The person I used to be—uncontrollable, angry, and violent—that's the woman Victor fell in love with, and she's also the woman who had to leave this town.
The bond between Victor and me was insatiable and is still undeniable. We used to feed off one another. It pushed us to extremes, which came to a catastrophic end three years ago. I understand why he would try to place me at the scene of the crime, but I haven't been that version of myself in a very long time.
Yet, as I sit in the darkness of Dad's living room, replaying the video sent to Victor, I know what I have to do. After freezing the screen, I'm able to get a clear view of the men leaving my father's jewelry shop. They're going to learn very soon why attacking me and my father is the biggest mistake of their lives.
4
VICTOR
Does it surprise me that Chelsea's gone when I get out of the shower?
Not at all.
Shit, I'm more shocked that she didn't take my gun and phone. I can tell she's not that same person anymore, but I have no doubt that her father being in a coma tempts her to go back to her old ways.
There's no sense dwelling in the past or trying to figure out what she's going to do about it. Burying myself in work will have us crossing paths soon enough. Hopefully, it will be before she does anything that will land her in handcuffs, which I won't have the authority to remove.
Once I'm back at the precinct, my sergeant snarls and rolls his eyes at me when I walk by. Aggravation coats every word as he speaks from behind his desk. "I thought I told you to go home, Bennett."
"I did go home, but I got a call about this robbery. You might as well let me work it, Sarge. People in that neighborhood know me and are willing to cooperate with me. I already got a tip. One of the business owners sent me footage from their security camera. It shows the suspects leaving the scene of the crime. I might get an ID off it, too."
He rubs the bridge of his nose and relents. "Fine, but you close this case fast. Who was the girl?"
"Victim. She got knocked out while the robbery took place but managed to do some damage to one of the perps. I saw some blood on the floor at the scene that didn't come from her or the shop owner. Forensics has it, but I think I can bring these guys in before the trace comes back."
"Fine," he says and dismisses me back to my duties.
After I get a still image of the robber's face with a busted nose, I know he'll be easy to find if he's still in town. I'll have to get on the street to get to my sources. Someone's going to point me in the right direction, but that has to wait until the sun comes up.