Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
In all fairness, the lighting wasn’t the fault of the maintenance guys. They were old and burned through bulbs quickly, so days after they’d replaced the broken ones, others decided to give up the ghost.
Because of how dark it was, I dug through my bag to find my keys before I exited, the routine a familiar one to me. You only made that mistake once—the mistake of not having them in hand and searching in the dark while you made sure no one was sneaking up on you.
Once I had them, I kicked myself for not wearing my coat with a hood on it as my ponytail bitch smacked me across the eyes and walked quickly across the parking lot to where I’d parked. It was just after I’d unlocked the vehicle that it happened—a large arm appeared around my neck and picked me up off my feet.
“It was you, wasn’t it, bitch? You did this.”
Digging my nails into whatever skin I could find, I tried to cause whoever it was pain to get him to let go, but instead, his arm just tightened. Finally, he loosened it once he heard me choking but kept me clutched against his chest.
I want to say I kicked his ass with the self-defense my brother had taught me, but no matter how hard I tried to remember even one piece of it, my fear was too intense for that to happen.
“I don’t know how you did it, but I’m gonna make sure you, your mom, and the rest of your family pay for what you’ve done to me,” he hissed, the sour stench of his breath making me gag involuntarily. “I want that money back. I had plans for it.”
That’s when it all clicked.
“I-it wasn’t yours,” I croaked, leaning my head back as much as I could as the muscle in his forearm twitched.
“Made a new account. Put the money in it and call this number.” His free hand appeared in front of me, and through the dim light, I saw something white being waved around. “If you don’t, I’ll kill you all.”
Instead of allowing me to take the piece of paper from him, he shoved it in the pocket of my jacket, and then I felt an immense amount of pain in my head, and everything went black.
Joshua
It was closing on midnight when my phone began vibrating across my desk with Harry’s name flashing on the screen. I almost didn’t answer it so I could finish up the claim for the insurance company, but something had felt unsettled inside me all day.
“Hey, wha—”
“You need to get to the hospital Eva works at, man. Laura just called, and Eva was attacked in the parking lot after she finished working.”
I was on my feet and heading out the door before he finished talking. “What happened?”
“Laura didn’t know the details. All she said was she got a call from someone in the hospital after they found Eva unconscious in front of her car. Laura’s at a computer convention in Vegas, and her brother and sister aren’t answering their phones, which she says is normal for them.”
I vaguely remembered Eva mentioning that they put them on silent at night to stop the alerts from apps and social media waking them up. Still, it made me irrationally pissed that on the one night they were needed for a family emergency, they were unaware because of it.
“I don’t have Laura’s number. Can you text her mine and tell her I’m on my way to Eva? If I don’t hear from her before I get there, I’ll text you the update to pass onto her.”
How I was keeping my shit, I didn’t know, but with each word that came out of my mouth, the more pissed I was getting. I just didn’t have anything to direct that anger at right now, so I was able to hold tight to the fury I wanted to unleash on whoever had done this to her.
“Okay, keep me updated.”
The drive from the club to the hospital went by in a blur, and as I parked in a spot near the entrance, I frowned as I looked over at where I could see a police car in the distance. If they were over there, it’s likely where Eva was attacked, which meant they had women leaving work in the dark who were parked in an area that was perfect for someone to attack them.
What the fuck? I knew the City and the hospital were both responsible for maintaining the streetlights, so how was it so dark?
Following the directions to the reception desk, I waited anxiously for the people in front of me to stop being pains in the ass. The woman who was nervously watching me from behind the desk when it was finally my turn looked all of twenty.