Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“Abe? We’re kind of busy, Arabella is—”
He was cut off by a mournful cry.
Shit. Horse.
“You need to come. The dog is going crazy. Pawing at the door, crying, he wants out and I don’t want to let him as it feels like he’s going to run.”
Why would he . . . oh shit.
“Leave him inside, Abe. We’re on our way.” He ended the call and raced for the door. “That was Abe, he said Horse is acting odd, wanting out and crying.”
“Fuck,” Kellan said. “Maybe he scents her. They seem to have a strange tie to each other. Let’s go.”
41
Arabella woke up feeling awful.
Stupid cocktails.
“I’m never drinking again.”
Someone snorted. “I’d worry less about that and more about surviving if I were you.”
She sat up suddenly at that voice. Her head throbbed and her vision blurred as she nearly threw up again.
Nope. Wait.
Rolling over, she vomited onto the floor. A concrete floor. Where was she? Wherever it was, it was cold and she wanted out.
She wanted to go home. And by home she meant wherever Eli, Kellan and Horse were.
Glancing over, she blinked as she saw Ravina sitting on a crate, staring at her.
“Great, not only are we stuck in this bunker with no heating or windows. But you had to vomit and add to the fun,” she said sarcastically.
“What . . . how . . . what is going on?” She sat up, scooting back so she was leaning against the wall behind her.
“God, you’re annoying, aren’t you? And you managed to get two men? Not that I would want those two, and I already have a man.”
“W-who?”
“Liam Neale, but you know him as Lee Newsome. He’s so wonderful. So handsome and smart. And he loves me. Plus, he’s absolutely loaded. We’re going to have an amazing life together.”
“Wow. You’re dumb,” she told Ravina.
The other woman jumped up, storming over to slap her. “Shut up, you dumb bitch.”
Ouch!
That hurt so badly that tears instantly formed and her head throbbed even more.
She wasn’t taking that, though. Getting up, Arabella pushed her back.
Ravina’s eyes widened as she stepped back, wobbling on her high heels. She couldn’t recover her balance and fell onto her ass. Right into Arabella’s vomit.
Arabella couldn’t help but smile as the other woman gasped in horror. Although, gross. She wasn’t wearing any underwear and her short skirt had ridden right up.
Seeing Ravina’s pussy was not on her bingo card for today or any other day.
“That’s disgusting. Invest in some panties,” Arabella told her.
Turning away, she explored the room. Shit. There was a window above them that let in the only light. The rest was all concrete except for a large steel door.
“Why are we here?” she asked. “What does Lee want with me?”
“You’re the dumb one, not me!” Ravina screeched as she slid off her high heels and stood. “No one was meant to rent that house! I put everyone else off but Auntie Val saw your application before I could get rid of it and put it through to the town council herself. So I had to come up with a plan B. I thought I’d gotten rid of you when you turned up with that dog. But nooo, you complained to that crackpot sheriff and he contacted Auntie Val.”
Wow. Did this woman really expect Arabella to feel bad for her?
“I removed a lot of the furniture and damaged the hot water heater before you arrived in a bid to make you uncomfortable so you’d leave. When you were too stupid to take the hint, I hired some idiots to break in and scare you. Only you weren’t there so they trashed the place instead.”
“What?” she asked in shock. “You’re behind the break-in? Just to get rid of me? Do you realize the damage you caused?”
“Well, duh. That was the point.”
“I don’t understand why? Why didn’t you want me living in your aunt’s house. And were the lights and noises your doing as well?”
“Ahh, that. Funny, Auntie Val thought it was a ghost. Which worked in our favor because she decided to leave on her own accord. That saved me trying to pressure her into going. The lights were due to product being moved from the underground bunkers to the river to transport it out. The bunkers aren’t that far from Aunt Val and Abe’s houses so the lights and noises from the screech owls could sometimes be seen and heard.”
“Screech owls?” she asked. “That noise was from screech owls?”
“Yeah. They sound freaky, huh? There are so many of them in the trees. I told Liam to cut down the trees, but then I realized that meant people would be able to see the bunkers. And there’re too many to shoot. In the end, though, the screech owls did me a favor since Auntie Val thought the noise was ghosts and decided to leave.”