Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97409 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97409 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
I wait for them to drive past me. What I’m not prepared for is for the truck to stop in the middle of the road.
The passenger-side window rolls down. “Hey, need a hand?” It’s a man’s voice, but I can’t really see him from here, and in the darkness, I’m not about to get closer.
My head screams to tell him no, but then I think if I don’t say yes, I’ll be out here for hours and hours. “Depends,” I answer him, “are you a murderer?” I’m waiting for him to immediately deny it, but instead, he laughs.
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, that’s not a no”—I walk to the front of my car and look down at the flat tire—“but it’s not a yes either.”
“How is this? How about you wait in my truck?” he offers. I tilt my head to the side. “If anything is off, you can leave me here, take off with my truck and the four good wheels that I have.”
“Hmm.” I know the only other option is to call my rig partner, Roman, which would suck since he has to be at work in four hours. Maybe I could call one of the guys at the station instead. While I’m thinking, his truck starts to move, and he pulls over and parks right in front of my car. The door opens, one booted foot comes out, and then the other. In the glare from the lights on his truck, all I see is his silhouette as he walks toward me. Only when he’s standing in front of me am I able to take him in. And what a fucking sight he is. His face is rugged, his hair cut really short. I immediately think he is, or was, a military man.
“Hi,” I say, trying not to gawk at him too much. His eyes are a dark brown, maybe even blue, but I can’t tell in this light. He is wearing a light-green T-shirt with a pair of black jeans.
“Hi.” He smiles at me. “I’m Theo Williams.” He holds out his hand for me, and all I can do is look at it and then back at his face. “Would a serial killer introduce himself to you and give you his full name?”
“Yes.” I nod my head. “That is the first thing they would do.”
He laughs again and this time I can’t help but laugh too. “Well, then forget I told you my name.” He goes over to the front of my car and crouches down in front of it, picking up the jack. “Do you have a lug wrench?”
“Um.” I squat down beside him. “Are you playing with me?”
He smirks. “Not playing with you. It’s going to be easier to take the tire off if we remove the lug nuts.”
“Wait a second.” I get back up and move away from him. “Is this when you tell me to go and look in the trunk for it, and then you hit me over the head and murder me?”
He stands. “I’ll get it, and you can watch me.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” I retort as he walks to my trunk. “You could use it to knock me out.”
“Let me guess,” he leans into the trunk and comes out with the tool in his hand, “you watch murder mysteries.”
“I’m neither confirming nor denying that. But I will say I’m probably seven steps ahead of you if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I’m going to take that as a yes then.” The musk of his aftershave floats past as he walks by me and kneels down again next to the tire. I make my way back to his side gingerly, squatting down beside him, and only when he finishes loosening the lug nuts do I speak.
“I’m Collins,” I finally tell him.
He looks over at me. “It’s nice to meet you, Collins.” He uses his jeans to dust off his hand before putting it out to me, and this time I shake it, not knowing this handshake will change my life.
CHAPTER ONE
THEO
NINE WEEKS LATER
I tap the steering wheel to the beat of the music coming out of the radio, my mind on autopilot as I make my way over to the office. I pull up and see my cousin Caleb’s truck is here already. I park behind him, leaning over to the passenger seat and grabbing the box of donuts from Ms. Maddie—the best donuts in town.
As soon as I get out of the truck, my ears fill with birds chirping and a lawn mower rumbling in the distance. The smell of freshly cut grass lingers in the air. The sun already shining down from the cloudless sky is another sign it’s going to be a nice day. I can’t help but grin.
I walk up the concrete path to the front of the building, climbing up the steps that lead to the big black-bordered door with the CW Construction logo shining in gold on the frosted glass in the middle, the phone number under it. I came to Montgavin to help Caleb finish a few jobs since he was getting more contracts than he knew what to do with. I planned to go back home, but the jobs kept coming in, so many that I stayed in town. At first, I would stay at the local motel, but then I got sick of eating out, so I started renting an apartment, so it could be more like home. When Caleb moved in with his girlfriend, Sierra, I moved into his house and just paid him the rent, so I could at least unpack my bag. Finally, I caved and decided to officially live here. When I admitted as much to Caleb, he made me his business partner. He would not take no for an answer, but we agreed I would be a silent partner.