Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
He went from a few feet away to nearly at the door. His hand came out, and he was just about to close his fingers around the wood of the door when there was one word spoken behind him, startling us both.
“Darlin’.”
That deep, baritone voice had me glancing away from the man in front of me, to the man behind him.
And if there could be polar opposites in man form, the two standing in front of me would be great examples.
Sheriff Graydon was shorter, more compact, older, and ultimately not very attractive with his graying silver hair.
But the other man was lithe, muscled, and looked like an avenging angel sent from the heavens to rain death upon all who opposed his rule.
He had short, clipped hair that grayed a beautiful silver at the temples, with a deep, rich black covering the rest of his head. And his eyes were a sharp, intense gray that looked almost eerie in the morning sun. He had rich, light tanned skin that denoted Asian descent of some kind, and his tattooed hands—the only tattoos I could see on his entire body—were clasped around a travel mug of what I assumed was coffee.
But his eyes…
They matched the sky…
“Who are you?” Graydon whirled around and swore, showing his apparent startlement more than me.
“The better question is, why are you asking if her man is home when you clearly saw him walking away earlier?” the newcomer asked carefully. “We both did. Though, obviously, you have selective sight.”
Oh, wow.
I was glad that I hadn’t lied.
Though Tex hadn’t been with him, he obviously hadn’t been here.
And with the way that the sheriff was acting right now…
“Who are you?” Sheriff Graydon repeated.
“Name’s Kobe. What’s yours?” he asked just as rudely.
The sheriff narrowed his eyes at the man. Kobe.
That was a cool name.
“You know damn well who I am.” Sheriff Graydon slammed his hand down on his chest where his badge and his nametag lay. “Now, please be kind and leave.”
“I’m here to escort her to work.” He gestured at me. “But it’s nice seeing you, too.”
Graydon ground his molars together, and I had a feeling that he didn’t like being outmaneuvered.
“When will Wake be back?” Sheriff Graydon asked.
I snatched my keys out of my purse and fisted them before saying, “Would you mind stepping back so I can close the door?”
Without looking rude and confrontational, he couldn’t very well deny me the request.
He did so, causing me to inwardly smirk.
I didn’t know who this Kobe character was—though I knew one thing for sure, he definitely wasn’t anyone Wake had sent here—but I’d take him for however long it would take to get the sheriff off my lawn.
I stepped out, locked it, then shoved the keys into my pocket instead of my black hole of a purse.
As I shouldered my bag, I said, “I’m sorry to leave so quickly, gentlemen, but it’s time for me to go to work. Kids to help. Lives to save.”
Sheriff Graydon opened his mouth to say something more, but Kobe was suddenly at my side, placing his big body in between me and the intruder.
“Have a good day, Sheriff,” I cooed, feeling the sickly sweet sound of my voice was just a bit over the top.
Kobe stayed at my side until I was inside the truck.
“Safe travels,” he said to me, his eyes still on the sheriff who was standing stiffly on my front porch still.
I looked at Kobe to find his intense gray eyes on me.
“Don’t allow yourself to be alone with that man ever again,” he said carefully, then closed the door before I could say a word.
I started my truck up, pulled out, and promptly ran over the curb as I pulled out of the driveway, momentarily forgetting that I had an RV attached to my bumper.
Whoops.
When I looked back, Kobe was nowhere to be found.
Sheriff Graydon was standing by his cruiser, looking around, appearing confused.
CHAPTER 27
Some days you’re the shoe. Some days you’re the dog shit.
-Wake to Aodhan
WAKE
Kobe Sano. In the flesh.
A wave of fear rolled through me for a few seconds as I watched him on my video monitor.
At first, he stood in the shadows, watching as the sheriff questioned Dutch at the front door.
When the sheriff shifted his body, his hand going to the front door as if to prevent it from closing, Kobe stepped out of the shadows that he’d been using to conceal himself.
I hadn’t, at the time, realized that he was there.
Hell, I’d practically walked right past him.
In prison, I’d never really known where I stood when it came to Kobe Sano.
Luckily, though, today he’d been on my side.
I rewound the footage again and watched it from the point where I thought that maybe Kobe had arrived.
An hour ago, I’d gotten a call from Dutch on her way to work, who’d told me about the entire incident with Sheriff Graydon and Kobe.