Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
It softened just slightly when he said, “Melissa, get in the passenger seat.”
Without hesitating even a fraction of a second, she maneuvered over the console between the seats and cowered against the far door.
“She’s off limits,” Rocky growled.
“Says who?”
“Do yourself a favor and walk away,” Rocky advised.
The roof of the car blocked Melissa’s view, and she could only see their torsos. She watched her former neighbor’s hand shift in his pocket and knew that wasn’t good. Before she could yell, the jerk lunged forward.
Curling her fingers into her palms, Melissa clamped her mouth close. She didn’t want to distract Rocky. Her heart raced inside her chest. Melissa leaned forward. She needed to see what was happening. A flash of light on a silver object lanced into the car, blinding her for a second. Is that a knife?
She slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from distracting Rocky as she scrambled for her phone. Dialing 911, she tried desperately to see what was going on. All she could hear in the darkness were thuds and masculine grunts of effort. Was that Rocky?
“911. What’s your emergency?” The strong masculine voice steadied her.
“There’s guy demanding I get out of my car. He’s pounding on my window. My… my boyfriend is out there with him. I think I just saw a knife.”
“What’s your location?”
“I don’t know. It’s the macaroni and cheese restaurant. I just put it in my GPS.”
“Look at your navigation program. See if it’s still there,” the dispatcher coached her.
“They’re fighting now,” she reported before reading off the address.
“There are police officers on the way. Stay on the phone with me so I can update them.”
A body fell past the window and thudded to the ground. She yelped into the phone.
“Are you okay, Melissa? What’s happening?”
“Someone just fell. I’m trying to see who it is.”
“Can you look safely from inside the car? If not, stay inside. The police are almost there. Can you hear the sirens?
She froze, trying to decide whether to get back into the driver’s seat to see. A thump on the roof of her car made her jump.
“Call the police, Lissy.”
“Daddy! I did. They’re on the way.”
“Tell me what’s going on, Melissa. Your Dad’s okay. I thought your boyfriend was outside,” the dispatcher asked. Was that humor in his voice?
Her face heated, and Melissa shook her head in disbelief at her stupidity. “I call my boyfriend, Daddy. Sorry.”
“Ah. That makes more sense. So, he’s okay?”
“Rocky? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Lissy.”
“He says he’s fine. Are they close?”
“Pulling into the parking lot. Stay in the car until they get to you,” the dispatcher ordered.
“I can see the lights. Thank you.”
“Be safe, Little girl. Wait until an officer or your—boyfriend gets you out of the car.”
She stared at the screen as he disconnected. Little girl?
“Stay there, Melissa,” Rocky told her.
They sounded so alike. Was that dispatcher a Daddy?
“Sir, I had a report that someone was threatening a woman in a car.” The officer’s voice was hard.
“He’s here. I’ve got him pinned to the ground. He’s my fiancée’s former neighbor. There’s a history of threats that we reported to the police,” Rocky told him.
“Step away, sir.”
“Get ready. He’s going to run,” Rocky advised.
“Leave that to me, sir. Step away.” The officer had his hand posed by his weapons belt.
“Of course.”
The minute Rocky moved, the jerk jumped to his feet and took off. Immediately, the police gave chase.
Rocky focused on Melissa. “Open the door, Lissy. I need to hold you.”
She pressed the button a million times on the remote to open the doors and flew out when Rocky opened the one closest to her. “Daddy! Why’s he doing this? How did he find me?”
Rocky hugged her close and kissed her lightly. “You’re okay. That’s all that matters.”
At the sound of loud complaints about being permanently injured from Rocky’s action and then the police apprehension, Rocky moved Melissa behind him. The cops didn’t seem inclined to investigate his allegations. They hauled him to the squad car, checked his pockets, and locked him in the backseat before walking to Rocky to ask a million questions.
“He’ll be at the police station while we figure out what’s going on. If he hadn’t run and resisted arrest…” one police officer reported, letting them fill in the blank that they might have been limited in what they could do.
“Thank you for coming, officer. He’s a problem,” Rocky told him, shaking his head.
“You’re Rocky Harrison. I go to your gym. That bout for the middle-weight title was epic,” one said to Rocky. “He’s yelling about assault, and you could have taken his head off.”
An “eep” escaped from Melissa’s mouth at that visual image.
“Sorry, ma’am. Go inside and have a good dinner. If he’s released today, it won’t be for several hours,” he suggested.
“Thank you. Stop by the office the next time you’re at the gym. I’ll give you some pointers if you’d like,” Rocky offered.