Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
I knew something was off. Though I’m closed in, I still hear Sydney barking.
Falcon? Where are you?
But he told me to stay here.
And stay here I will.
It’s not the first time I’ve had to cower down, fear for my life. But it’s the first time I’ve had to do so unarmed.
And that scares the hell out of me.
Sydney’s still barking, and then Falcon’s voice—loud, dark, and menacing.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?”
I hear nothing after that.
I’m not sure how I heard Falcon over the sound of the tub and behind this locked door, but I’ve been in situations before where my senses have been heightened.
Where I’ve feared for my very life.
But now all I hear is my own heart pounding in my ears.
Falcon is out there. Alone. No weapon. Only a mother dog and her pup to protect him.
He had no weapons in prison, and no dogs either.
Those facts should relieve me, but whoever is here is most likely armed.
I dart my gaze around the changing room. What can I use for a weapon if need be? The wooden benches are secure, no loose boards. I draw in a breath, push my fear to the side, and open the closet. A hanging rod holds hangers and robes, but the hangers are all plastic. With a wire hanger, I could fashion some kind of device to at least poke an eye out, but plastic hangers give me nothing.
The changing room has separate enclosed stalls with hooks for clothes. I grasp one of the metal hooks. It’s bolted solidly in place. I check each one in each stall. No luck. Nothing in the shower, either.
The lockers are equipped with combination locks. I grab one, but what can I do with it? I check each locker, but they’re all empty. Not even a lone sock to make a slock—a lock you put inside a sock and swing at a target. You’d think I learned this trick from a parolee.
I didn’t.
I’ve known about slocks since I was a kid, unfortunately.
Damn!
I hate feeling helpless!
I was determined to never feel this way again.
Then I gasp and run into one of the stalls.
An oblong mirror is attached to the back wall of each stall. I curl my fingers around the metal lock in my hand and then hurl it at the mirror.
The glass shatters with a crash, and I turn quickly, covering my face with my arms to avoid any flying fragments.
I turn back around. Only a few fragments are large enough to use as weapons. I grab a towel from one of the shelves and place the fragments on it.
Then I repeat the process with the mirrors in the other two stalls.
I end up with five fragments in triangle shapes that could cause significant damage if aimed right.
I sigh. I’ll cut the hell out of my hands trying, though. I quickly grab another towel, and using the sharpest of the fragments very carefully, I rip through the towel and tear it into strips, which I wrap around both my hands. My dexterity will be compromised, but at least I have a better shot at not bleeding to death.
I wrap the fragments in the other towel and sit by the door.
And I wait.
3
FALCON
We’re here for her.
The words ring in my mind as I try to make sense of them. Her? Savannah? What the hell?
But I don’t have time to dwell on their meaning.
“Her who?” I growl.
“You know damned well.” Blond hair says with a lascivious grin. “Your little slut. Savannah Gallo.”
Rage torches the back of my neck. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”
“I got a fucking piece trained on you that says differently, friend.” Abel spits on the grass.
Chills slither up my spine, but I stand firm. “Then you’d better be ready to fucking use it.”
“You’ve got balls,” the blond says.
“I’m going to take him out, Carlo.” Abel spits again.
“Shut the fuck up.” From Carlo, apparently. “We have our orders. We take the woman, and no one else gets hurt.”
Sydney has finally stopped barking and has herded Sammy to a corner in the yard.
Good, two fewer things to worry about.
But my main worry is Savannah, and if something happens to me, they will get to her eventually. They can shoot the lock off the fucking door to the changing room.
Which will not happen on my watch.
“The two of you get the hell out of here,” I grit out. “I’ve already tripped an alarm from the pool house. The cops’ll be here any minute.”
“You’re bluffing,” Abel says.
I stare him straight in his bloodshot eyes. “You think? Do you even know who the fuck I am?”
“Do you think we care?” Blondie says.
“You should.” I gaze at the knuckle tats on my right fist. “I’ve seen the inside, and I’ve fended off scarier beasts than the two of you.”