Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 109086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Jesus. That was on me.
I put her there. I put her in the position where she hurt herself in order to escape.
I’d messed up. I’d messed up badly, but I would fix it. Somehow.
Until then, I needed to protect her and do what damage control I could.
An hour later, an attractive male walked inside. Asian. Similar age to Sawyer. He looked around six foot, maybe 210 in weight. Fit. He was dressed in jeans and a snug white sweater. I was guessing this was the cousin, as she perked up, her teeth sinking all the way down into her lip. Jesus Christ. I couldn’t handle seeing her do that anymore. It was mine to taste, but fuck.
Fuck!
I had to turn away for a moment, get myself under control.
When I looked back, I’d missed watching the first exchange between her and her cousin. They didn’t stay long, which I could tell was because of Sawyer’s urgings. She looked panicked. Her cousin was more relaxed, except he was giving her some serious questioning looks when she was looking away.
I almost laughed, wondering how that conversation went where she got him to come get her. He thought she was a nutcase. I could read it on his face. I had half a wonder if he was going to take her back to the city, and then take her to a hospital the next day. My guess was that he had reinforcements flying in. Her mom. His mom. Maybe the aunts? One or all of them?
Yeah. He’d wait. Take her back to the city. Wait for whoever else was flying in to arrive, and then they’d have a meeting. It made sense with him coming up so easily to get her.
They went to a nearby flashy car, not a vehicle for someone wanting to blend in. Sawyer’s shoulders slumped at seeing the car, but they got in.
She was anxious to be on the road, looking around behind them.
I didn’t move. I knew she couldn’t see me. She’d need to know to look through the café’s windows to the other side of the building. Her eyes skipped right over me.
She breathed out, looking like she could relax a little, as they pulled out into the road.
I eased my vehicle after them.
They paused at a stop sign a block away.
After maneuvering so I was two cars behind, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sawyer. She kept looking around. Her hand was tapping on the door beside her, up by the window. I could see it all. The guy’s car was built to draw attention.
They went another block before slowing once more.
Sawyer’s head whipped over to her cousin, but he flicked on the turn signal and pulled into the gas station.
I grinned, knowing that I could’ve read Sawyer’s mind in that moment. She thought she’d gotten away. Got her getaway driver and finally they could hit the road, put some mileage from here, only to need to get gas.
As they pulled into a slot to fill up, I went past that gas station before pulling over.
My vehicle was full and ready to go. Now it was about tailing them all the way back, but I had a good feeling they were going to her cousin’s place. Sawyer was forgetting I already knew where he lived.
When they pulled into a space behind his brownstone, I parked a street over.
I waited in the alley behind their place, keeping hidden until I noticed a good opening to slip inside. I got it when a car arrived, and two older women spilled out of their car.
I was guessing that these were the aunts.
They weren’t New Yorkers.
She’d said her mom was a Stepford wife look-alike. These two women were not that. One looked like a giant pit bull with almost white hair and a meanness emanating from her. She was decked out looking like she was going on a safari in Africa, complete with a hat and net over her face and a red fanny pack around her waist. The other was dressed in a pink leopard-print sweat suit. A gold chain hung from her neck, and she had a neon-yellow visor, also with a matching neon-yellow fanny pack. She was taller and bigger, like a lineman. Dark and graying hair. They both looked tough, but the darker-haired one seemed like she’d given birth to an entire brood of guys who ate rocks for their meals. She had a look to her that she could handle anyone, and my mom had that same look on her face growing up. And she’d handled plenty.
I grinned, remembering that about her.
The hit was on my head, not Sawyer’s. She was only listed as a point of contact. Some of the killers would lie in wait, grab Sawyer, and use her as bait to draw me out. Those were the nice ones. There were others that wouldn’t give a fuck. They would wade into that brownstone and kill everyone before grabbing Sawyer and, again, use her as bait for me. Either way, her family would only be safe if I got Sawyer and took her away, which brought me back to my current movements.