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 know why I didn’t. Our parents would have had questions.” Ted didn’t seem to feel the need to be quiet. His voice reverberated through the woods. “I did what I had to do to keep them off our backs.”
“No, you didn’t. You could have done what I told you to do,” Micah argued.
Oh, she hoped they kept hashing out all their differences because time meant Landon was closer to coming for them.
“I wasn’t going to kill our parents,” Ted barked back. “I know you think we can get away with anything, but you’re clinically insane.”
She wished she hadn’t left her cell phone in her purse. She’d dropped it and hadn’t picked it back up. Josh could have found her if she had her cell phone. She thought he could. Her hand went up to play with the small diamond solitaire Jack had given her as an “I’m sorry I cubed your car” present. She’d thought the car was enough, but he’d insisted. When she’d realized Olivia had one exactly like it, she’d felt like part of the family.
She would miss them so fucking much. If Micah killed her, wherever she went, she would miss them all.
“You didn’t mind when I managed to get us out from under their thumbs.” Micah seemed to get closer.
His voice was to her left. The river was to her right. She could hear it. It was full at this time of year. If she got in, she could float to the ranch. She simply had to make it there without Micah seeing her. It would take her far faster than running, and there would be no mistaking where she was going. She couldn’t get lost in the river.
“You got us all in trouble. Now I have to find a way to get us out. Maybe I should find a way to get me out instead,” Ted said. “You’re on your own, brother.”
“Fuck you. I’m doing what I have to do,” Micah growled back.
There was the sound of footsteps striding away, leaves crackling underfoot.
“Nora. Nora. I think we’re alone now.”
A chill coursed down her spine. Memories sparked through her, remembrances of the times he would call out her name right before he made her ache. Right before he would make her bleed. He would use that singsong voice. It haunted her dreams.
“I’ve missed you, baby. I’ve missed you so much.”
He was closer. So much closer. Her fists clenched as she fought back the urge to cry. She had to stay calm. How close was he? Sometimes sounds bounced around the woods.
“You took vows, Nora. Until death do us part,” Micah said. “I mean to honor our vows.”
He wasn’t her husband. He’d never been. He’d been the con artist who tricked her and then the monster who abused her.
Josh and Grim were her husbands. They loved her. They trusted her. They shared their family and their hearts and their futures with her.
She was not fucking giving up. She was not letting Micah Holloway take one more thing from her.
In the distance she heard a shot ring out.
“Damn,” Micah said with a huff. “Guess we’re not getting out of this. Well, at least I can take you with me.”
Adrenaline pumped through her system and she chose. Fight.
“You can’t hide from me.”
She wasn’t going to.
Anything can be a weapon, Nic. Look around. Get creative. But mostly remember the cardinal rule.
She could hear Harlow’s voice in her head. Her friend had spent weeks training her for this moment.
And she remembered the rule.
Never fight fair.
“When I find you, I think I’ll make it last. What my brother doesn’t know is I’ve left a trail that should lead straight to him,” Micah was saying as Nicole glanced around, looking for any advantage she could find. “I have the money. I stole far more than I ever let on. I’m going to take care of you and then I’ll disappear. Thanks for becoming a problem again. I was getting bored. Laura doesn’t cry the way you did. You were so pretty when you cried.”
There was nothing around her but sticks and rocks.
Sharp rocks.
As quietly as she could she leaned over and grabbed the biggest rock she could find. It had a sharp, nasty edge to it that felt good against her palm.
“Those nights we spent together. They were the best nights of my life. Laura was a pitiful comparison to you,” he said, and she felt his presence.
A step or two more and he would be on her.
Timing. They’d taught her timing was everything.
It was what a family did. They taught the other members what they knew so everyone could benefit. Abby had taught her to stay away from the patch of poison ivy a few feet away. Jack had shown her around the woods so she would know how to find her way out. Harlow had taught her how to fight.