Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“Subject one in the living room. I can tell it’s a man, but that’s it.” I called into my mic.
“Clear shot?” Luke rasped.
“Affirmative.” I confirmed.
“Stand by.”
Downy’s voice came over the line. “Movement in the backyard.”
“It’s the boy.” Diablo, another member of the team confirmed.
“Can you get him?” Luke asked.
“Affirmative, stand by.” Diablo acquiesced.
Moments turned into a minute. A minute turned into minutes, and just as we all started to get anxious, Diablo came back on the line.
“Got him.”
I let out a breath. One down, two to go.
The distant sound of loud pipes coming closer and closer confirmed that Sam did, indeed, get appraised of the situation. And by the sound of it, there was the rest of the team with him as well.
Once the sound died about half a mile away, I waited, eyes never wavering, for the next set of instructions.
“The negotiator is twenty five out.” Luke said.
Fuck.
My thought was seconded by nearly the entire team, minus Luke. Which wasn’t surprising. We depended on the nearest town, Longview’s, hostage negotiator. Our town was just too small to warrant such an expense. When Luke had come on four years ago, he’d started working on the captain to start a SWAT team of his own instead of relying on Longview’s SWAT team as well. He’d agreed, but some things, such as a negotiator of our own, just cost too much for such a small city.
“Guess we’re in for a wait, boys.” Luke commanded.
***
Shiloh
“I’ve got her here, sir.” Frank said into the telephone at his ear.
The baby behind me was still just as silent as he’d been when I was secreted to the corner over thirty minutes before. I could tell by placing my hand on the child’s chest that he was breathing, and I wondered if he’d been given something to make him sleep. It wasn’t normal for a child to sleep this much in the middle of the day. Nor was it normal for the child not to stir when I’d purposefully tried to wake him when Frank had left the room only moments before.
“No, sir. She’s alone.” Frank said, nodding his head.
He drew up to the window, and drew one of the blinds down. Not being able to get a good view, he pulled on the cord, and raised the blinds up to their highest height. Once he looked around, he withdrew from the window, leaving the blinds open as he went.
“Frank! The boy went outside.” Mrs. Newman rasped from the front room.
My nose was itching, and I could smell the distinct smell of pot wafting from the direction of the voice. Just wonderful. That’s exactly what I needed. A stoned old woman in the back room, and a psychotic old man in the front. What the fuck?
“Leave him. He’s feeding that mutt in the backyard like he was told to do on his next shitter break.” Frank bellowed back before returning to his phone conversation.
Good. I knew that meant that the boy would be in safe hands. I knew that James was out there. The man that was now on the other end of the line was relaying what was going on to me. Talking to me, reassuring me. Which meant a whole lot. I’d be a nervous wreck right now without him. When I got out of here, I’d give him a kiss smack on the lips.
Well, maybe not on the lips, but he’d for sure be getting a hug.
“She’s five ten, one hundred and fifteen pounds. Brown hair. Wavy. Good boobs. Nice hand full. Pasty white skin. Her legs look a little chunky. Ass is nice and round.” Franks said from across the room.
What a dick. I was five foot seven inches. He was definitely off on my weight by more than thirty pounds, but who was I to complain? My hair was a nice shade of auburn. My boobs were more than a handful to most men, but when it came to James, they fit perfectly in the palm of his hands. My ass had been getting bigger, but I didn’t think it was that big. As for the pasty white skin, it was November, what did he expect to happen when it wasn’t summer?
Anyway, who would he be talking to? It was like he was expecting me, even though the visit itself was unannounced. That was the whole point of an unannounced visit, so they wouldn’t be expecting you.
“I don’t see any cops. Her phone hasn’t vibrated or rang. I don’t think anyone is any of the wiser.” He explained to the person on the other end.
Hah. That’s what he thought. I couldn’t wait to see his face when he saw the SWAT team storm his house. I hope he accidentally got shot, too.
“The missus’s got bingo at the Elk Club at seven. You’ll be able to get in by yourself?” Frank asked.
His face turned into a frown, and you could tell he was upset about what he was hearing. “If I take the kids with me, then it’ll be a shit night. You can’t play bingo with those little shits. They’ll be awful.”
He listened to the other end, his scowl becoming more and more fierce as he listened.
“Fine.” He snapped and slammed shut the phone, tossing it against the couch cushions.
He looked at me, and pointed his finger. “Look what you’ve done. That bonehead biker had to push his beat up nose into my business, and now I’ve got to deal with the frickin’ CPS and take them to Bingo night. Can’t wait to listen to this for the next week. Great.”
He walked out of the room, and I shot to my feet like my ass was on fire. I knew that they were out there, even though I couldn’t see them. James was probably up on top of one of the roofs.
I scanned and scanned, still not seeing him. Finally, I decided that maybe he’d be able to see me, and it was my best hope.
Using my hands instead of speaking it aloud, just in case he was close enough to hear me, I held up two fingers, then signed the letters a-d-u-l-t as slowly as I could, and then held up one finger, and spelled out b-a-b-y. I wasn’t sure if whoever was out there would know what I was spelling, but I figured it was worth a try in any case.