Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
“Do you have ten K in it?” he asked, sarcasm thick in his tone.
Shaking my head, I whispered, “No.”
“Then no fucking deal.”
That was all the warning I got before he slammed his fist into my face. Pain radiated up to my skull, and I felt a trickle of blood drip down my cheek. A sob burst from my lips, and I would have fallen to the ground if his men hadn’t still been holding me.
The boss stepped closer, and I cringed back in fear. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“Save your begging for your brother. It’s up to him if you suffer more or not.” He looked up at his men, and they released my arms. I dropped to my knees, and he crouched in front of me.
“My roommate’s brother,” I whispered.
His eyes narrowed as he considered me. “You have me more than half convinced you’re actually telling the truth, but it doesn’t matter in the end. If Paul doesn’t get me my money, any woman who lives at this address is gonna pay for his mistake.”
He straightened and stormed down the hallway, his men following in his wake as he finally left me alone. Getting to my feet, I stumbled back into my apartment and grabbed my purse. As I yanked out my cell phone, I shoved my feet into a pair of shoes and grabbed a sweatshirt. Pulling the hood over my head, I slid my hair over my shoulder to cover as much of my face as I could while still being able to see where I was going. Then I headed out the door and down to my car.
Pulling out of the parking lot, I called Phoebe. I wasn’t surprised she didn’t answer since she was at work. When her voicemail finally beeped, I blurted, “Your brother is in trouble. Some guy came looking for him at the apartment. He…um…is dangerous. And incredibly insistent about finding Paul. You need to stay away from the apartment. Maybe go and stay with your parents for a while. Your brother owes the guy a lot of money, and he won’t hesitate to hurt you if Paul doesn’t pay him. Be careful.”
I skipped over the part about the punch to my face because I didn’t want Phoebe to worry about me. She had bigger issues to focus on at the moment.
Once I disconnected, a sob welled up my chest. I’d managed to hold back my tears while I was leaving her the message. I didn’t have a destination in mind when I left, I had just wanted to get as far away from my apartment as possible. When I hit a red light, I flipped down the sun visor and slid the mirror open so I could peer up at my reflection. My eyes widened when I spotted the cut in the middle of the apple of my cheek. I hadn’t realized how deep it was—or that blood was still dripping down my face. I definitely needed medical attention, so I figured that I might as well head to the nearest urgent care.
Glancing down at my sweatshirt, I groaned at the red speckles all over the front. I didn’t have much time to obsess over how hard it was going to be to get the stain out because the car behind me honked several times. My head jerked up, and I saw the light was already green again. When I pressed my foot against the gas pedal, my car leaped forward. I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles turned white, but it was the only way to stop my hands from trembling.
It turned out to be a very good thing that I was holding on so tightly because about halfway to the urgent care, there was a loud thunk from the back of the car, and the steering wheel yanked to the right. As I regained control and managed to stay in my lane, the sound turned into a persistent thump, and I realized my tire had blown. I pulled over onto the side of the road, crossing my arms over my steering wheel and dropping my head as I burst into tears.
2
ARROW
It had been a long couple of months, and I was looking forward to a few weeks of leave. As the Master Chief at the HQ for several SEAL teams, my job included sending sailors into life-threatening situations, and that could be a heavy burden to bear at times. One of our SEAL teams had been trying to capture a particular target, and though we finally tracked him to the right place and captured him, the slippery son of a bitch had cost us a couple of good men. I knew these sailors and their families well, so I had personally written the condolence letters, and the Casualty Assistance Calls Officer, who made the personal visits to the next of kin, had been from our command. With all the other shit I dealt with on a daily basis, I was burned out. So this break couldn’t have come at a better time.