Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Back during one of the summer parties out at the property, Ashley had told me about how she used to accidentally lock her keys in the car all the time. She’d known the locksmith’s number by heart and had called him so often that he’d assumed that she was just trying to manufacture ways to see him. He was hot, so she’d admitted that she played into that instead of admitting the truth—that she was an airhead who kept locking her keys in her car. They’d ended up dating for a few months, and when they’d eventually broken up, Ashley had started stashing a key outside her car just in case. She did the same with the RV when she bought it.
There was a key stashed in a little magnetic case just inside the passenger side wheel well.
I figured bringing the cake to the party would remind Cian that I wasn’t there just to make his life harder, but I also came with some benefits too. I was thoughtful. Willing to lend a hand.
He’d see right through it, but I didn’t care. At least he’d know that I tried to extend an olive branch, even if he was also fully aware that there would be something else that we disagreed on tomorrow.
The property was deserted and quiet, and the house was dark, but they must’ve all ridden together because there were still three cars parked out front when I pulled up. I unconsciously threw my purse over my shoulder as I climbed out of my car and used my flashlight to light the way over to where the RV was parked in the carport. I’d forgotten how dark it was without any of the lights from town.
Carefully watching where I was going, I hurried over to the RV and reached up into the wheel well, searching blindly for the little key Ashley had hidden. I finally found it on my third pass through. My hand was disgusting by the time I was done.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I guess.
Saoirse’s cake was sitting right on the little table inside, and I grabbed it quickly since Ashley didn’t know that I was even in her little home away from home. It would definitely be weird to linger.
I’d like to say that I was paying attention to my surroundings—it was dark and I was in the middle of nowhere—but it didn’t even occur to me to have my guard up.
So when I stepped back outside the RV and realized that there was a man in the yard, I yelped and dropped the cake, effectively ruining the whole reason I was out there in the dark in the first place.
“Can I help you?” I asked, fumbling with my purse.
The guy didn’t say anything at first. It was almost as if I’d surprised him, too.
“This is private property,” I added. “You need to leave.”
My hand wrapped around a familiar shape, and the comfort of it steadied me a little, even though I was still shaking with nerves.
“Looking for Richie,” the guy said, taking a step toward me.
There wasn’t anything wrong with his tone. There wasn’t anything threatening about the way he was standing or behaving. There wasn’t anything off about him at all.
But I’d been raised to keep my guard up. To watch for things that other people took for granted. I’d been told over and over again to pay attention to my gut. That if something felt wrong, it probably was.
“You need to leave,” I ordered.
“I’m trying to find Richie,” he repeated.
Now, later, I’d realize that it was very bizarre that someone would look for Richie all the way out in Oregon. It made absolutely no sense. But right then, I was just confused and a little weirded out that I’d have to break the news to some strange man.
“I’m sorry,” I said, taking a small step toward the RV. “Richie’s dead.”
The guy laughed, and ice slid down my back.
“No, he’s not.”
“He is,” I argued. “I was there.”
“Richie is definitely not dead,” he said through a chuckle.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“I think you know where he is,” the guy said, ignoring me.
I had the distinct impression that he was stalking me, trying to get close enough to rush me before I could get back into the RV.
“I know where his ashes are,” I retorted. “Now you need to leave.”
“Hey, I know you,” the man said, taking another step forward. “You’re the brother’s girlfriend. What’s his name? Cian, right?”
I couldn’t let him take another step. I was clutching my purse to my stomach, the strap wrapped around my back.
“You have no idea who I am,” I replied. “Get the fuck in your car and leave.”
“We could have fun, you and me,” the guy said, a smile in his voice.
Something about him was wrong. The situation was wrong. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I knew with a certainty born of instinct and my dad’s voice in my ear—this was going to end badly for one of us.