Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Chapter 16
Serenity
After one look in the mirror, I sank onto the toilet seat and closed my eyes. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth to calm down. Still, I’d just been shot in the head. Well… maybe not shot, but grazed by a bullet. What the freak?
After seeing Stone get shot in my vision, I hadn’t even hesitated. I’d just run right at him like a freaking kamikaze. Of course, how could I stand by and watch it happen when I could stop it? I couldn’t. Plain and simple… I did what I did because I had no choice.
A tiny little voice whispered that wasn’t the only reason. Besides the physical attraction, I cared about him. He might be a pain sometimes, but he wasn’t a bad person. I knew he’d spent his time in the army trying to save people. He could have left that soldier behind, but he was fiercely loyal, and that was something I admired. Besides that, my psychic ability didn’t seem to faze him, which was even more unusual.
I sighed. Whatever the reason, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. My vision of seeing him die had hurt my heart a lot more than I’d let on. I craved his touch, his nearness, and that sexy smile. I didn’t want to lose him, even if he was a pain in the ass.
Feeling more settled, I let out a breath. No one had died. My head hurt a little, but other than that, I was good. It was also kind of nice to realize I’d made a difference with my psychic ability. I’d changed Stone’s fate. He was alive because of me, twice now, and that meant I could finally trust my visions.
Feeling stronger, I went to work washing my hands. Then I pulled my shirt off and tackled my neck and face. While I was at it, I took a look at my wound. Stitched up tight, it was only about an inch and a half long, and there was plenty of hair around it to cover it up.
I might end up with a scar, but it wouldn’t be visible. Considering all my other scars from the accident, this was nothing. In fact, after going through that awful experience, this was hardly worth mentioning.
It took a little longer to get the blood out of my hair, but I did the best I could and hurried into my room. I found a turquoise scoop-neck t-shirt and slipped it over my head. Feeling a slight chill, I slipped on my black leather jacket and opened the door. I found Stone sitting at the kitchen table.
“I’m ready.”
Glancing my way, the worry in his eyes changed to relief, and he jumped to his feet. “Great. Let’s go out the back.”
“Okay.”
I led the way down the hall to the laundry room and unlocked the deadbolt on the door. Out of habit, I touched the knob. Sensing nothing bad, I pulled the door open.
Stone followed me out and locked the door behind him. “Are you okay to take the stairs down a couple of floors?”
“Yeah… sure.” I held onto the railing and started down. Surprising me, Stone wrapped his arm around my waist. I hesitated and met his gaze.
“I know you’re fine, but I’d feel better if you let me keep my arm around you. Okay?”
I didn’t need it, but having him to lean on was too much of a temptation to resist. “Okay… but only to help you feel better.”
He huffed, but a grin tilted his lips, and I enjoyed having him so close. For the first time, it felt like we were finally a team.
We came out of the stairwell a couple of floors down, and waited for the elevator. After it came, we took it to the lobby so we could cross the street to the building.
Outside, the sun had gone behind a cloud, which relieved my worry that he’d get shot again. Still, we walked quickly across the street to the building.
In the lobby, we found a directory of businesses listed beside the elevators. The twenty-sixth floor didn’t have a business name attached, and I narrowed my gaze. “Is it safe to go up there?”
“Yeah. Ricky’s waiting for us. He said they’re doing renovations on that floor, so no one’s there.”
“Oh… that makes sense.”
We stepped into the elevator, and it soon opened on the twenty-sixth floor. A tall man with wavy dark hair and a short beard stood in the hall waiting for us. He gave me a nod. “Hey Serenity. I’m Ricky. Mr. Vanetti filled me in. If you’ll follow me, it’s this way.”
Stone waited for me to go first, and we followed Ricky down the hall to where another man stood in front of the doorway guarding an office. After a quick nod to us, he stood aside, and I stepped into an empty office space. The broken window let in a cool breeze, and a shell casing lay on the floor.