Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 53529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“Man! You’re fuckin’ awesome, dude. Gonna name my first kid after you.”
“You want to name your kid Huff?” What’s the matter with him? It’s a horrible name.
“Naw, man. If it’s a boy, Ultro. If it’s a girl, Ultra.”
His kid’s going to hate him. “Wow. Thank you? Hey, don’t want to be rude, but can I see my friend now?”
“Absolutely.” He looks at desk guy. “Which room’s his friend in?”
“Thirty-four,” desk guy growls.
“I’ll show you the way.” Carl gestures to follow him.
My heart starts racing. I can’t wait to see River, but more importantly, I want to make sure she’s okay.
I follow Carl through a maze of brightly lit hallways until we get to her room. He unlocks the door with a key card and says I can go in.
“Why’s she locked in there?” I ask.
Carl ignores my question. “I’ll be out here if you need anything.”
I step inside the beige-everything room—walls, tile floor, bed linens. River is sitting in a chair, facing the wall.
No window? “River?”
She doesn’t respond.
I walk over and crouch in front of her. Her warm brown eyes are glassy orbs. “What did they do to you?” My heart sags seeing her like this. She’s staring through me like I’m not even here.
Why did her parents bring her to this place? I know they want what’s best, but River was never one to lie or make shit up. They should’ve known she was telling the truth about me.
“I’m getting you out of here.” I stand and scoop her in my arms. I’ve zipped with her before, but I’ve never gone through walls carrying another person.
I maneuver my hand to the doorknob and pull. Carl’s standing there suddenly looking nervous. “Are-are you taking her out of here?”
“What’s it look like?”
“But you said you just wanted to see her.”
“And?” I ask.
“If you take her, it’s kidnapping.”
I laugh. “Then they can come get me. But to be clear, she’s not crazy. She never should’ve been locked up.”
“I hear she tried to kill herself,” he whispers.
My eyes twitch. That can’t be right. “I’m taking her anyway.” I head for a door marked Emergency Exit. The alarm goes off as I leave, and once we’re outside, I zip to the front door of my lake house.
I unlock the security bars and go inside, laying her floppy body on the bed. She’s mumbling something, but I can’t understand.
“Riv, what was that?”
She mumbles again.
“I don’t know what you’re saying. Try again.” I lean over her, putting my ear to her mouth.
“About fuckin’ time, ath-thole,” she mutters.
I smile. That’s my girl. “You rest. I’m going to order some groceries.” I can’t stay long because I need to be somewhere public and very visible. I’m hoping Morris takes the bait and comes looking for me. But at least River’ll be safe here for a few days. I hope.
“River, did you really try to hurt yourself?” I ask, standing in the doorway.
She stares catatonically at the ceiling, and part of me is thankful she’s out of it. I really need to paint that ceiling.
“Okay. We’ll talk once those nice, calming drugs wear off and you’ve had something to eat.” I go to the living room and text my standard order to our local delivery guy—milk, bread, eggs, etc. I get my stash of cash from under the sofa and put some in an envelope under the welcome mat.
Then I go out back and turn on the water and gas. I’m just about to tinker with the hot water heater when my phone vibrates.
I pull it from my pocket.
Kyle: Where are you?
Me: Why?
Kyle: Turn on the news.
I fire up my dish and flip to the news channel. The screen is flashing red: Alert – Shelter in Place Issued for Los Angeles. The scene streaming is utter chaos—people burning buildings, throwing bricks, fighting in the streets.
“I didn’t know it was an election year,” I say to myself.
The ticker on the bottom of the screen reads: MAD CHEMIST RELEASES DEADLY POISON IN LA WATER SUPPLY. MILLIONS WILL DIE IN THREE DAYS.
Oh. Shit. Who leaked this?
I call Kyle, who picks up immediately. “So you saw it.”
“Yeah. What the hell happened?”
“Morris saw your appearance on the news and called your bluff. That’s what happened. He probably figured out it was a trap. So…great job.”
I’d like to talk to Kyle about his great job—lying, manipulating, etc., but now’s not the time.
He adds, “Morris has doubled his price. He wants ten billion plus the data sheets for every chemical MJP dumped into that pond.”
That’s a tall freaking order. “And if you don’t?”
“He claims he just poisoned Atlanta.”
“What happened to Dallas?” I ask.
“He knew we’d be taking measures to prevent him from tainting their water. Now we have five hours to comply, or he’s going to inform Atlanta that they’re all going to die.”
Christ, man. Morris is playing “take no prisoners.” From the looks of what’s going on in LA, just the mere hint of their water being poisoned won’t be good. People are completely going apeshit.