Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“Oh shit!” The fifty-something sheriff exclaimed when he saw us. He quickly scrambled down the uneven ridge. “What the hell happened here?”
“I don’t know exactly, other than this is Caveman and that is Michelle,” I gestured toward the very confused looking blonde slumped on the ground. “And that’s the bike they came off.”
I pointed to the smoldering motorcycle a few yards away.
Sheriff Buckman already had his mobile radio in his hand. “Delores, where the hell is that damned EMT?”
The radio fizzed. “They’re two minutes away, chief,” replied a crackly female voice.
“Well, get on the line to them, will you? Tell them to make it one minute!”
Sheriff Buckman knelt next to me. “Anything I can do?” he asked, and then as if a light bulb went off in his head, he recognized me. “Wait a minute … Indy? Indigo Parrish?”
I gave him a close-lipped smile.
“Jesus Christ! What’s it been…? Seven? Eight years?”
“Twelve.”
He looked stunned. “Well, I’ll be goddamned.”
The voice behind us startled me.
“When you two are quite finished with your fucking reunion…”
We both looked around, and there was Michelle pointing her goddamn gun again.
Sheriff Buckman leapt to his knees with one arm out to calm her down. “Now hold on there, Missy…”
“Don’t worry about her, Sheriff. She’s just concerned about her boyfriend.” Turning to look at Michelle, I said reassuringly, “He’s going to be okay, sweetheart. The best thing you can do for him now is to put that gun away.”
Her wide eyes bounced between Sheriff B and me, and it was like some fucked-up standoff. Thankfully, the sound of approaching sirens and the screeching of the tires on gravel gave us all a sense of relief. Michelle dropped the gun to her side and Sheriff B went to her, putting his arm around her as he disarmed her.
Within minutes, two EMTs had Caveman strapped to a gurney, and with the Sheriff’s help we got the six-foot-something biker up the embankment and loaded into the ambulance.
“Nice work,” said a very hot looking EMT called Rory.
“Thanks,” I replied.
“Would you mind accompanying us to the hospital?” He looked apologetic. “Paperwork. Plus, if he starts crashing again I have a feeling you’ll come in handy.”
I looked at Sheriff B and he nodded. “You go. I will arrange for someone to drop your car to your mom’s.” He gave me a questioning look. “You were going to your mom’s, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, thanks, Sheriff.” I gestured to Michelle. “What about her? You know… about the whole pulling a gun on us thing?”
He gave me a blank look. “What gun?”
Sheriff Buckman had been a strong ally of the Kings of Mayhem for as long as I could remember. He wasn’t a pushover but he was known to turn a blind eye to a lot of things. It was no secret he wasn’t a big fan of paperwork.
I nodded. “I guess I’ll see you at the funeral.”
He gave me a casual, two-finger salute and walked over to his squad car to call a tow-truck while I climbed into the back of the ambulance. Five minutes later, I watched the town of Destiny come into view as we rode toward the hospital.
I was back in town.
CADE
Now
I heard her as soon as I entered the building.
“It’s a classic, sonny boy, and you don’t fuck with the classics. Do you hear me? Or has that combover blocked your ears?”
I couldn’t help but grin. The voice belonged to Sybil Calley, my formidable, charismatic grandmother. Seventy-something-years old, she was a force to be reckoned with and very rarely backed down in an argument. Any poor soul who took her on was in for a fierce fight, and by the sounds of it, Tito was about to feel the full force of hurricane Sybil.
“It’s blasphemy! That’s what it is. Blasphemy! Why, I bet Deborah Kerr is rolling in her grave, God rest her beautiful soul. How dare you stain such a beautiful story with your weirdness, you rude little boy!”
As I rounded the corner, Sybil and Tito came into view. Tito was standing with his back to the wall with his arms in the air, while my formidable grandmother yelled at him. He looked terrified.
“Grandma Calley,” I interrupted, trying to contain my grin. Seeing me walk in, Tito looked relieved and relaxed his arms.
Sybil wasted no time in getting straight to the point. She held up a DVD so I could see the cover. “Did you know about this?”
I took it from her and couldn’t help but grin at the cover. Pure spank bank bullshit that sells. But definitely not what you wanted your grandmother looking at in front of you.
“How on Earth did you even know about it?” I asked.
“I might be edging close to buying the farm, Cade, but I’m not quite dead yet. You know I like to keep my finger on the pulse. It’s Tuesday, and I know you drop into this pit of despair on Tuesdays, so I came down to speak with you.” She gave Tito a withering look. “Ran into this little twerp and found this . . .”