Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
There are people who roam these forests. Junkies and moonshiners, mostly decent people who’ve had a bad lot. But what if words gotten around that a woman and a little girl have moved into the neighborhood, alone? What if they’ve become a target?
I return to the house, knocking gently on the back door. Mira springs to her feet and gestures at the kitchen table. “Rhett, Sissy made you one.”
Steam curls from the third cup of hot cocoa.
Mira’s eyes widen when she realizes I’m holding a gun. “Whoa.”
Shit.
“I’ll stow this—”
“No.” Without standing, Elle turns to me. She looks shellshocked, like she’s seen a ghost, like she’s relived something she’s trying with every fiber of her being to forget. “Keep it in here.”
I lay it against the wall, then join them at the table. Meeting Elle’s eyes, I nod to Mira. She might not need to hear this. But Elle looks at me stubbornly. She wants her little sister to hear the truth, I realize. Doesn’t want her to be clueless… and therefore vulnerable.
“There was definitely someone out there,” I say. “The ground was disturbed, and I found a half-lit cigarette.”
Elle makes a choking noise. “I didn’t see him holding a cigarette.”
“Did you recognize him?” I ask.
“Why do you say that?” She hisses
“Just the way you said him. It was familiar.”
“It can’t be,” she whispers under her breath. “Nuh-no. I don’t think.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I said no, Rhett.”
“Okay,” I nod, sitting upright.
“Sor—”
“No more of that,” I cut in.
She laughs shakily, rubbing her forehead. “Maybe I’m losing my mind. But they would’ve told me, right? I mean, I changed my number. Kept getting spam calls. But they could’ve found my new number. Right?” She drops her eyes, looks at me, eyes clearing. “Ignore that. I don’t even know what I’m saying.”
But I do. She’s thinking about Lucian being released. His sentence was sickeningly short, but Marshall would’ve told me if there was an update like that.
“I bet the bad men would stay away if you had a big, strong boyfriend like Rhett,” Mira says, blowing on her cocoa.
I glance at her. The girl looks terrified, but she’s hiding it well. She’s easily the strongest kid I’ve ever met.
Elle makes a sound that’s half a sob, half a laugh. “The crazy part is, you’re probably right, sweetie. That’s how this world works. Men do anything they want, take anything they want, unless they think the thing they’re taking belongs to another man.”
“See!” Mira exclaims. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone beam with nerves clinging to them. “So, Rhett can stay and if anybody comes back, they’ll see him and see he’s your boyfriend—”
“Take it easy,” Elle says. “We can’t ask Rhett to do that.”
“I’d do it,” I say instantly.
Elle gasps, staring at me. “What?”
“I said I’d do it. Move in here for a while until I can figure out if that was some chancer jerk or someone casing this place. Perhaps I can scare them off just by being here.”
“Why on earth would you do that?”
Because you’ve been through enough.
Because you deserve it.
Because you’re beautiful, kind, and talented. You make me feel…
“You’re right,” I snarl. “There are twisted, sick men in this world who think they can do any damn thing they want. Who thinks they can scare innocent women and girls and get away with it. I hate men like that.”
“It would be pretend,” Elle says quietly. “You get that, right?”
“I’d be moving in here to help you, Elle,” I say fiercely. “Not to take advantage of you. I’m not that sort of man.”
She swallows, then lets out a delirious laugh. “Are you actually being serious right now?”
“Yes.”
Another disbelieving laugh escapes her. “How would this even work?”
“I’d drive us to my place so I can grab some things, drive back here, and stay in the spare room. Tomorrow, we’ll go into town and buy some security cameras. I’ll wire the place up and keep watch. When the person returns, or if they do, I’ll find out who they are and pay them a visit. Scare them off.”
Or maybe worse.
“Mira, go to your room,” Elle says after a pause.
“But—”
“Now, Mira!”
Mira huffs, pushes back from her chair, and walks angrily toward the hallway.
Elle leans forward and meets my eye.
“I want to trust you, Rhett. I really, really do. I need someone I can trust. But if I let you into this home and you hurt my sister… You have to understand, she’s all I have left.”
I lay my hand on top of hers. Stroke my thumb over her knuckles. “I’m glad you think like this.”
“You are?”
“The world is a cold, nasty, evil place sometimes. Far too many people refuse to look it square in the face.”
She shudders. “Some people don’t have a choice.”
“I swear, Elle, I would never harm you or Mira. Or any woman, any child. Ever. And I swear, if anyone tries to hurt you, I’ll show them what a real monster is.”