Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
A minute passes, and then the burner phone starts ringing. At the same time, my regular phone registers a return text from Tor, but it just says, “Next time, you better listen to me so you don’t miss out.”
I swipe the phone screen and put the burner to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hey.”
My scrambled insides calm a little at the sound of his voice. “Hi.”
“You said a variation of that already,” he points out, lightly amused. “Just testing out the code words, or…?”
“No. Is it okay if we talk?”
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
“Um… after you left, I was about to go in my house, but it turns out Russell was waiting on my front porch when you dropped me off.”
“Your ex-boyfriend.”
“Yes. I don’t know how much he heard, but I know he heard you saying you had my back as long as I have yours, and he was really mad.”
“Why was he mad?”
“I—” I pause, unsure how to even answer that without feeling immensely awkward. “He heard about what happened, and whoever told him must have mentioned the part about me sleeping with you. He seemed… jealous. And then he told me he wants his gun back, but of course I don’t have it. He said all this stuff… and then he said he’s going to the cops tomorrow to tell them everything he knows.”
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, of course not. I mean… he was an asshole, but I’m fine. I don’t know how long I will be, though, because like I said, he was really angry, and he can tell the cops I had his gun. Since the gun was his, he knows more about it than I do. He can probably even give them the information they need to match his gun to the bullet that was used to kill Tim, so… I’m probably fucked, but I don’t want you to get in any more trouble than you have to, so I think you need to ditch the gun if you still have it, and tomorrow you should probably talk to your lawyer or the cops. Get ahead of it.”
“Okay. But Russell’s not there anymore, right? He left?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure he’s gone?”
“Yeah. He’s walking home. He probably lives like ten minutes away.”
“Okay,” Tor says, and I can hear his gears turning. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I don’t want you to stay at your mom’s tonight. Are you in the house?”
“No, I’m in the car.”
“Go inside and pack an overnight bag for yourself. Make it quick. Toothbrush, charger, clothes, just whatever you need for the night. We’re going to meet up at the motel by the freeway, the one next to the gas station the semis use. You know where I’m talking about?”
I nod, but realizing he can’t see me, I add, “Yeah, I know the place.”
“Okay, good. Get your stuff together and head there as soon as you can. Text me on your regular phone that you’re there. I’ll go in and get us a room. There’s a camera in the lobby, so we’ll be seen checking in together. Then you can settle in and go to sleep. I have to go out and ditch the gun, but I’ll come back. We need each other for an alibi, and since we went on a date tonight, it’s not suspicious if we get a motel room.”
We went on a date?
My mind snags on that casual statement, but it’s obviously not what I need to focus on right now.
“Okay,” I say. “I’ll see you there.”
CHAPTER 9
CASSIE
I hang up the burner phone, and looking at both phones in my hand, I have a lucid moment of wondering what the hell my life has become.
There’s no time for that right now, though, so I shove both phones in my purse, double-check the rearview mirror and around the car to make sure Russell isn’t lurking in the shadows, and then I get out.
It’s dark, and I’m spooked after everything, so I rush to my front door, my gaze focused on it as if not looking into the darkness will render anything lurking there harmless.
I can breathe a little easier once I’m inside with the door locked, but then a whole different sort of unease settles over me because I’m in my mom’s territory. What if she’s still awake? She usually watches TV in bed until she falls asleep.
Can’t worry about that right now. I need to do what Tor told me to.
If I had a second to stop and think, maybe I could wrap my head around how fucking crazy it is that I’m taking marching orders from Torrance Walters now, but I don’t have that kind of time.
Realistically, a few hours are probably all I have left.
That solemn thought settles over me like a blanket of fog.
I go through the motions of packing an overnight bag, but the whole time my mind is on what’s coming tomorrow.