Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Got it. Anything else?”
“Colter is the blond guy, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Have him drive the car. There’s not a lot of cars out this way, but the body is a blond guy.”
“Understood. You know how to handle that thing?” he asked, nodding toward the backhoe.
“Do you?”
“I married me a girl who likes to garden. Learned to drive one of those ages ago. I could handle it so you can go see your woman.”
“It’s not that I doubt your ability to do it, but this is my girl, my mess, our future… and I used to do this for a living.”
“Alright. We can go out there together then. Just give me a few minutes to fill in the others.”
With that, I watched him disappear around the other side of the house.
I glanced in the windows, wondering where Runa and Denali were—if Runa was out of her shock, if Denali had recovered from her fear.
I wanted to be in there with them. I wanted to put an arm around Runa and feel her relax into me, knowing I would take care of them. I wanted to treat Denali to anything from the groceries that were still in the trunk.
But to do that for them, I had to get this done, making sure that nothing could ever trace back and ruin what was becoming the most important thing to me.
A couple more hours, I reminded myself.
Then we were free.
Well, mostly.
I still had to deal with the hitmen.
But after that, we were done with this whole mess. We could start our new life.
Whatever that might look like.
Crow came back around, and the two of us took the backhoe around the hill, then deep into the more densely wooded area of the ranch.
Honestly, after just a few minutes of watching Crow dig with the backhoe, I was left to remember all the long, endless nights digging graves as deep as humanly possible to ensure the remains could never be found. Then dealing with aching arms, shoulders, back, and abs for days afterward from all the strain.
Once the hole was deep enough, I slid the body inside, said good riddance, then let Crow show me how to dump all the dirt back on.
Finished with that, I had him drive it back to the house so there were no suspicious lights out in the field to lead anyone to suspect anything if the cops ever came looking for Sonny.
I spent the next half an hour rearranging the dirt, grabbing rocks and tree limbs, and making the area look as undisturbed as possible.
I would venture back out in the morning to both sites, make sure there was nothing I missed in my haste to get the job finished.
But I knew myself. I was meticulous, even when I was distracted, even when I was in a rush.
By the time I neared the house, it was dark outside. The house was alight inside with a golden hue, and I could see Runa sitting at the kitchen island cradling a mug as Denali colored in Raff’s already colorful tattoos.
They were why I had to make sure I did the job right.
They were why I let myself in through the laundry room door, stripping out of my clothes and tossing them in the wash along with Runa’s clothes from before, adding yet more bleach, and running the cycle before I crept upstairs unseen, taking the long triple-wash shower I’d made Runa do—even though I’d been wearing gloves and a trash bag as PPE.
I changed into pajamas before taking myself back downstairs, smelling something spicy and tomato-based cooking in the kitchen.
“There he is,” Raff said. “How was your walk?”
“Daddy!” Denali called, turning to beam at me, but staying where she was—bent over Raff’s arm to color in what looked like a chuckwalla tattoo. Apparently, chuckwallas were neon green and bright pink.
“Hey, princess,” I said, touching the back of her head as I passed by. “Are you cooking dinner for us?” I asked her.
“I am doing the dirty work, but I am under very strict instructions from Chef Denny,” Raff declared.
“It smells great, honey,” I said as I moved behind Runa, wrapping one arm around her upper chest and the other around her stomach as I leaned down to press a kiss to her head. “You okay?” I whispered.
She gave me a tight nod that I knew she didn’t mean, but we both had to play our parts for Denali while she was still awake.
So we hung out while Raff cooked.
I introduced Crow, Colter, and Dylan.
We ate dinner as Raff mostly held up the conversation—telling Denali about all the animals they had in Shady Valley until she was so excited she was begging to visit one day.
After dinner, there was a bonfire—Denali’s request. But it conveniently worked as an evidence disposal system once she went inside to take a bath. Anything I didn’t bury in the hole—meaning anything that I was wearing or that might have my or Runa’s DNA on it—got burned up while I took Denali up to bed.