Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“And how sure are you that it was in fact her livin’ in New Mexico?”
“Oh, on a scale of one to ten, I’m giving it an eight.”
“No photos?”
“Nope. Just descriptions… I showed them the age progression photos at the condominium office. Everything else lines up. Seems she left in a hurry. Packs light. Wipes everything clean. She’s an expert at disappearing by now. This is what she does. When she gets suspicious, she takes off. She’s gettin’ older now, though. She’s going to slip up, be careless. Slowin’ down. Her time is almost up.”
“Her time was up a long time ago.” He took another sip of his water.
“We’ll get her. Don’t worry. I’m going inside to use the restroom.” Garrison patted his shoulder like an old crony, got to his feet, then headed towards the clubhouse.
Grandpa Wilde sat there looking out towards the golf course, with its perfectly cut grass and beauty.
Everyone wants to play games it seems lately. Roman is toying with me. I’m about to play golf. This is a game to you, ain’t it, Tina? He chugged the rest of his water, then crushed the bottle in his hand. This is Hide and Go Seek, right? I’ll eventually beat you at it. I don’t mind doing the chasing. You hide well, but not well enough. I’m a damn good hunter. You stole from me… What, you may ask? You took my heart and ran off with it. At first, I was just kinda sad about it. I understood that we had hit a rough patch, and things had gotten rocky, but that’s no reason to turn your back on me. Lovers fight. Besides, you knew what I’d been through, and every hoop I’d jumped through to get you, make you mine… I gave you everything, woman.
My heart and my soul. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe I spoiled you too much, and you no longer respected me. I don’t know—I don’t have all the answers, but you best believe you’re going to give them to me soon enough. Now, I’m not sad anymore. That emotion has come and gone. I’m a hundred percent pissed. I’m split between wanting to kiss you as soon as I find your ass, and wanting to shoot you in the fuckin’ feet for running away to ensure you never do it again…
Each day that passes, the madder I get. You better hope that I find you before we’re at the point of no return. As long as I still have love for you, I won’t kill you on sight.
He stood up, walked over to the clubhouse, and tossed the empty bottle in a trashcan…
Roman could see what felt like the entire forest from this vantage point. He was posted high up in the trees, looking through the spaces between the long, twisting branches. A coolness skated across his teeth from the slow but hearty wind as he smiled in wonder. He turned his head just so, tuning in to the sound of a vehicle slowly approaching the all but forgotten Elk Trail in the distance as he sat perched and waiting in the obscurities forming a crown of twigs and misshapen branches. A car door opened, then closed… then another…
The light chatter of men could be heard, their shoes smashing twigs and disrupting the grassy path. Roman’s heart played an off-key tune and the sound of drums thumped in his ears. He salivated as his body heated with sweet anticipation. He could not see them just yet…
A man yelled out, “Sir, we’re here! It’s me, Huey. Ted and Josiah are here, too.”
These men weren’t any kin to Roman but simply hired hands. Inferior products. Human acts of desperation on Grandpa’s part. Filler. Something Grandpa used to be opposed to, but it seemed he’d given in to hiring outside blood once he realized utilizing his own lineage for every damn thing wasn’t to his advantage at this stage in the game. There had to be guinea pigs and front liners. He’d learned that the hard way after fucking around with Lennox.
Roman raised his rifle in the air and aimed. The trees gathered light and shadows, and the birds flew away. A man emerged from the darkness of the trees, then another right beside him. They called out for Grandpa once again. Then a third looked at his phone. They were so close…
“He ain’t here. I’m gonna call him,” one said.
“Gotdamnit. I hate being out here… It’s fuckin’ creepy. If he’s buying land, why would he come here? Who in the hell buys a forest?”
“Hell, the whole world was a forest at one point. He might be. Anyway, he’s not here, so he might be in another location. Didn’t Jasper say come to this spot? Elk?” another stated.
“Yeah. I think—” BANG!!
“AHHHH!!!” Bullets filled the air like a hailstorm. Roman’s arms burned like fire as he reloaded and shot again. BANG!! A man tumbled like prey, lying on a bed of leaves. Stuck in one spot as blood poured from his chest. The other two scattered like roaches, firing their guns all over the place, shooting at an invisible opponent. Roman blinked one eye, focused as he looked through the scope… BANG! BANG!!!