Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
I see a flash in the distance. “Keep looking in that direction,” I tell her, pointing toward the horizon.
“I don’t see anything,” she says, looking at nothing but the vast open water.
“Any second now,” I say into her hair.
“What exactly am I looking for?” Her answer comes in the form of a bright blast of light on the horizon, rising quickly into the sky. “Wait, why is that star…is that the space shuttle launch?” Her eyes go wide with her excitement.
“It is.”
We watch it take off into the night. White clouds painting a trail behind the shuttle as it rises further and further into the sky before disappearing from sight.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. The text I read instantly shatters what little peace I feel.
PREPPY: Tico Ricci put a price on Lenny’s head. 200K alive.
Three bubbles appear as he types out the next text. The second I read it, I want to crush my phone in my hand.
PREPPY: 100K dead.
* * *
LENNY
Nine checks something on his phone, then angrily shoves it back into his pocket. The mood changes. His body stiffens.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, as he stands, his belt undone and his jeans open at the front. He walks toward the water, tugging on his hair and pacing from side to side.
“Nine, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
“I thought I could protect you.” He laughs as if the idea itself is ridiculous.
“You still never told me why you’re trying to protect me,” I say, trying to understand why now of all times he’s chosen to bring this up. “What’s changed just now? Why are you so upset?”
“Because I can’t lose you again!” he roars, turning his face up toward the night sky and holding his arms out with clenched fists as if cursing the stars.
I can’t lose you again! I repeat his words in my mind.
I stand to face him. “What do you mean by again?”
His back is to me. He’s looking out over the water. He speaks, but doesn’t answer my question. “There are men after you who won’t hesitate to hurt you. I can’t let that happen. I won’t.”
“But what did you mean when you said you can’t lose me again?” My heart is beating so erratically it’s sputtering out of control in my chest. My palms sweat. My throat is dry.
He stares out over the water silently with his back to me.
“Tell me! When did you lose me before?” I shout, standing directly behind him.
“Come on. I’ll show you.” He grabs my hand and we silently make our way back through the fairgrounds to his truck.
The ride is silent. Whatever we shared on the beach is still there, but instead of crackling heat, it’s a cloudy fog, lingering around us.
We’re crossing the causeway, and I’m just about to ask where the Hell he’s taking me when he parks the truck in the bike lane and gets out, leaving the engine running.
I follow him over to the railing. A sense of déjà vu washes over me brought on by the salty night air. The breeze at my neck. The memories of the last time I was here. I’m shaking by the time I approach him.
Nine begins to speak. “The second I saw you walk into Pike’s Pawn shop I felt…” He shakes his head and blows out a long breath. “No, I feel this overwhelming need to protect you. At first, I didn’t know why. I thought it might be because I’m insanely attracted to you. I wrote it off as lust, but deep down, I knew it was more. Even in the alley, I wanted to kiss you more than I’ve ever wanted anything before.” He slowly turns around to face me. His gaze hardens. He clenches his fists. “More than I wanted to kill those men for hurting you. I couldn’t save you that first night, but you saved me.”
“That night?” He’s offering no clarity, just more questions, just more confusion.
“That night I couldn’t save you was the night we met. The last time we were up here together.” His eyes seek mine. “Four years ago.”
Four years ago, I wasn’t with Nine. I was with…
It’s impossible. It can’t be.
I can hear the blood racing in my ears as the truth begins to unravel in my mind. “Why are we here right now?” I need to hear him say it. That I’m wrong. That he can’t possibly be who I think he is right now. “On this bridge? Standing in this very spot?” I’m yelling now. Frustrated. Confused. “Why, damnit!”
For a moment, I think he’s going to yell back, but his words are gentle. “Deep in the earth, my love is lying, and I must weep alone.”
“That’s…Edgar Allan Poe,” I whisper.
“The one and only. And now, I understand why you like to quote him so much. Because your name is Lenore, from his poem, The Raven.” His hazel eyes light up the night as they search my face, looking for something. Waiting for me to understand.