Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Corbin maneuvered out of his way, but slid a foot out, tripping the other guy, who stumbled and fell.
“What else?” He should probably just end this. Put the guy down and rip off that mask to see who he was dealing with.
But he had a lot of pent-up frustration right now and this was helping him get through it.
The guy let out an infuriated roar and jumped to his feet. This time, Corbin got in a few hits before he stepped away. The guy was fumbling, moving away as he cradled his jaw where Corbin had hit him
Now, to go in for the kill.
Someone yelled out in alarm and Corbin sighed.
Damn it! Way to end his fun.
Sirens sounded close and his attacker started swearing. Turning, he stumbled unsteadily before he ran off.
Corbin knew he could catch him if he followed, but the voices grew closer, calling out to him.
Hmm, he had an idea about who had attacked him. Although how he’d gotten back here quickly enough to wait for him in the parking lot of The Wishing Well was a mystery.
Yeah, Corbin definitely wasn’t winning tonight.
2
Corbin ran along the path through the woods.
Something changed in the air. He couldn’t put his finger on it . . . but something was off. Suddenly, he whirled, catching sight of his attacker as they rose out of the bushes.
His attacker’s reflexes were obviously excellent as they dodged his immediate punch, then moved to the side, disappearing into the trees. Corbin watched warily, keeping his breathing even.
He kept his heart rate slow, his hands steady as he waited for the attack.
Again, he felt him rather than heard him. He managed to duck, getting clipped slightly on the top of his head. Dropping and rolling, he moved up behind the large man.
But the other man whirled before he could attack.
Both of them stared at each other before Corbin grinned. “Well, that was fun.”
Jed shook his head, his face not changing. “How did you know I was there? I know I didn’t make a sound.”
“Nope, you’re as silent as ever. I just felt it coming.”
Jed eyed him suspiciously.
“Plus, I thought you were due to try and sneak up on me,” he confessed. “And I knew you had downtime today. So I was on guard.”
“Bastard,” Jed said without heat before disappearing.
Corbin just kept grinning as he headed off to finish his run. Cooling down, he moved past the barn and spotted Clint standing next to the fence. With a sleeping baby attached to his chest.
Baby Annabel had arrived six weeks ago. She’d been eight weeks premature and it had been a shock to everyone when she’d made an appearance.
She’d spent the first five weeks of her life in hospital and had only been home a week, but she was a fighter. She had a lot of her daddy and her mama in her.
Corbin was ecstatic for them, along with everyone else on the Ranch, especially Clint and Charlie had been trying to get pregnant for a while and it had been a difficult pregnancy.
Still, he wondered how Clint was going to survive raising a girl, especially given how overprotective he’d always been of Eden, his younger sister.
It was definitely going to be funny as hell from the sidelines.
“Morning,” he called out to Clint as he focused on his breathing.
He needed to head to his cabin for a shower as he had a meeting in an hour with Kent.
Along with Hayes. The new guy.
Hayes was an old friend of Zeke’s, they’d been in the Navy together. Hayes had just recently started working for JSI.
He’d lost his wife several years ago, something Corbin couldn’t even fathom. And you could still see the pain in his eyes.
“It’s morning?” Clint squinted up at the sky.
Corbin took in the state of him as he swayed back and forth with the baby. His dark hair was a mess. His T-shirt was on back to front and there was a stain on it just above Annabel’s head. And he had something on his cheek that looked a bit like ketchup.
Not to mention the black marks under his eyes and the way he was looking around as though he didn’t know where he was, let alone what day it was.
“Are you all right? Did you get any sleep last night?” Corbin asked in concern.
“Sleep? What’s that?” Clint grumbled.
“It’s the thing you need to keep functioning during the day. And so you don’t get sick.”
Clint just grunted, obviously too tired to even talk.
That wasn’t a typical thing for him. Sometimes, the guy never shut up.
“You do realize she’s asleep, right?” Corbin said. “You can stop swaying.”
Clint eyed him like he was stupid. “If I stop swaying, she stops sleeping. I do not want her to stop sleeping.”
Yeah, that sounded like a fate worse than death.
Corbin had to hide his grin. No way did he want Clint to think that he was laughing at him.