Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“You’ll kill me anyway,” Harlow replied. “Nicole, you need to run.”
Then Harlow was moving, her foot going back to catch Ted in the gut. He went down, his gun going off, the shot wild. Before he could hit the concrete, Harlow was turning, ready to take out Micah.
Who fired first. The sound rang in Nicole’s ears, and horror dawned as a red stain colored Harlow’s white T-shirt. Chest. He’d hit her chest. Harlow dropped to her knees and fell forward.
She’d killed Harlow. The world seemed to slow down and speed up all at once, fear and regret choking her.
“Get her,” Ted ordered. “We need to get out of here. Someone will have heard that and called the fucking cops. We need to get into the car and figure it out from there.”
If she got in the car, she would die. They would kill her, and she would never see her men again. They would come looking for her and find Harlow’s body… Harlow…she couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
And then she saw it. Harlow’s back moved slightly, proof she was still breathing. If she was breathing, she had a shot, and that meant Nicole needed to lead them away from her. Landon would be back soon, and he could bring the police and EMTs.
Would they kill her right here? It no longer mattered. What mattered was making sure her friend kept breathing.
Nicole made her decision. She took off across the parking lot, moving behind the big pillar at the end of the building. It was brick and gave her cover. Nicole’s heart raced as she heard another shot go off. She’d been faster, but she couldn’t hide here forever. She needed to put distance between them.
“Nicole? Are you all right? I called the cops,” a voice whispered. Claudine. She was in her room, the door barely open as she peeked outside. “Come inside. I’ll lock us in.”
It wouldn’t work. They would simply shoot until they got inside. They had no other choice. At this point they had to eliminate her or their whole game was over. Nicole shook her head. “Can’t. When you see Josh and Grim, tell them I loved them so much.”
“Nicole,” Claudine said, her voice cracking.
“Tell them,” Nicole said, and then made her move.
The motel was on the outer edges of town, one of the reasons it was used by the more criminal elements of the area. The woods behind the motel were thick and went on for miles. There wasn’t a fence for her to get over. It was her best bet.
Those woods would lead her close to the ranch. Jack had taken her out there, showing her how to ride a horse on different types of terrain. He’d spent an afternoon teaching her how to lead her horse through the woods, stopping for a lunch by the river that eventually ran through the south field of the ranch, supplying them with water. They’d sat and talked about camping and how to forage. He’d told her about his childhood, listening to hers as well.
It had been the first time in her life she’d felt like she had a father.
She was not giving up without a fight.
Nicole took off and then a loud sound boomed behind her. Something scraped by her arm, fire lighting her up, but she kept moving. Nicole forced herself to sprint despite the fact she could feel the blood on her left arm. It didn’t matter. They were following her. They were focused on her. It would give Claudine a chance to help Harlow.
The light seemed to dim as she moved from sunshine to the heavy canopy of trees that made up this part of the woods. Mighty oak trees rose high above her, blocking out the sun and heat of the day. Nicole hid behind one as she heard the men enter the woods behind her.
“Where the hell did she go?” Ted asked, his breathing heavy.
“How am I supposed to know? You think I spend a lot of time in fucking nature, brother?” Micah shot back. “You’re the one who couldn’t handle a single female.”
They didn’t try to hide the sounds of them moving through the woods. She could hear them shuffling along, trying not to miss a hiding spot.
“We should regroup,” Ted said after a moment. “Someone has to have called the cops by now, and we don’t know if anyone was watching out of their windows. We need to get the hell out of here.”
Nicole prayed they couldn’t hear how hard her heart was beating.
She took a long breath like Harlow had taught her. Panic was the enemy. She needed to be cool and assess the situation. Panic would send her running from a hiding place that was working for her. Three breaths in and four breaths out. Slow. Quiet. Calm.
“And let that bitch go to the cops? Not on your life,” Micah replied. “She can’t have gotten far. I’m not leaving until Nora is dead. You should have killed her the first time around.”