Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“I’ll drive you,” I say. “I have room for all of us in my truck.”
Autumn exchanges looks with the three other men, especially Garrett, who shrugs and agrees to my offer. It’s not that I don’t trust these guys to take care of Autumn, but now that I’ve seen the emotional state she’s in, I want to make sure she’s safe and that she gets her stuff handled.
“Do you need to go inside before we leave?” Garrett asks Autumn, gesturing with a nod toward the house.
“Maybe I should bring my guitar case?” she says, sounding uncertain. “I can run in and get it.”
“I’ll go with you,” I say, starting toward the door.
Night 3
25
Autumn
“No one else is home,” I tell Duke. “No other cars are here.”
“No problem,” he says as I search for the key and unlock the front door. “Three of you rent this place?” he asks.
“Kelly and I pay rent to Lindsey. The house belongs to her family.”
“Do you have a lease agreement?”
I nod. “It’s month-to-month, though.”
Once inside, Duke’s eyes scan the room. “Good.”
“Do you want to wait here?” I ask him.
He gives a curt shake of his head. “I’ll follow you.”
On one hand, this gruff man is intimidating, with his size, his bold tattoos, and the way that he’s questioning me, but I’m grateful to have him with me. It’s not as if I expect Lindsey to leap out from behind a door and attack me, but with Duke behind me, I’d actually like to see her try. He puts his questions on pause as I lead him up to my room.
My guitar is still in pieces on my bed, but I look only long enough to verify that it’s in the same state as when I left it. No further damage has been done — not that much more could be done to it — and from a quick glance around my room, everything else looks as it should be.
With a sudden jolt of panic, I remember my amp and microphones, but breathe out a sigh of relief when I verify that they’re safe in the closet.
“Where are the clothes she damaged?” Duke asks, following closely behind me.
I gesture to the closet door.
“Just this?” he asks, briefly handling the fabric before continuing to scan the room.
“This is all I saw, but I didn’t have time to search thoroughly before I left for work this morning.”
“We can do that when we get back. Can you lock the room?” he asks.
“Oh, shit. I meant to get a lock during lunch, but I forgot.” We were slammed at work today. Garrett and I just drove through a fast food place for lunch, and he spent the ride reassuring me that everything would be okay for Rusty’s tomorrow. “No, I have no way of locking it.”
Duke takes the guitar case from me, lifting it like it’s a feather. “Anything else you want to bring right now?”
I shake my head but say, “I need to change, though. I’ll be right back.” I grab a pair of jeans and a casual shirt, and slip into the bathroom to get out of my work clothes.
Even though I’d have never predicted Lindsey would attack my belongings, I really don’t see her causing more damage, at least, not today. Her aim was precise; she knew just how to hurt me the most.
Garrett told me that Lindsey propositioned Trevor and Adrian as they were leaving this morning, and he suspects that their rejection was her motive for hurting me. It seems ridiculous, and also incredibly ironic, considering she was the one who hired Trevor to come here in the first place, with the intention of him having sex with me.
Of course, she probably knew that I wouldn’t sleep with a strange stripper, and I imagine she’s just as surprised that the stripper became my … friend? I don’t really know how to label Trevor, but he’s definitely a friend, because why else would he be here supporting me tonight? And he brought along his security guard buddy.
I toss my slacks and blouse on the edge of my bed and collect Duke, who’s standing in the center of my bedroom floor, chest out, hands clasped behind his back as if he’s on patrol.
Once the five of us are in his giant crew cab truck, I think about how bizarre this situation is. A couple of nights ago, the only one of these men I knew was Garrett, and I’d never seen him outside of a work environment. Now there are his two school friends and this massive man who feels like a hired bodyguard.
I’m sitting up front with Duke, while the other three men are in back. I’d feel more comfortable next to them, but Duke is counting on me to provide directions when we get close to the music store.