Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
I couldn’t explain why I was so mad. Mostly it was directed toward Sam. He’d been acting strange ever since he’d met his brother last year. I realize it was a shock and all, but it didn’t give him a ‘get out of jail free’ card for being a douchebag.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up beside Shiloh’s Blazer and killed the engine.
The soft ticking of the heated engine filled the air as rain continued to pound down in torrents.
I surveyed the area, seeing that there was, indeed, an apartment attached to the diner. It was also unsafe as hell. There was no fire escape. Only one-way in and one-way out. The door looked like it would fall with one kick of my booted foot, and to make matter’s worse, there was a strip club directly behind the diner.
Not a good one either.
Bailing out of the truck and running towards the diner, I ducked inside and stopped on the carpet so I didn’t track water throughout the place. The young hostess, who was all of fifteen at best, smiled brightly at me.
“Can I help you, sir?” She asked.
“I’m looking for Shiloh. She here today?” I asked.
Her smile left her face, and a look of concern replaced it. “She got hurt on the way to work today. She called in, which is why I’m here.”
My heart started to beat a little harder in my chest. “Where is she?”
She raised her hand and pointed at the ceiling. “Her place.”
I gave her a nod of thanks and left. Rain poured down harder now than before. I tried to stay close to the building and let the edges of the roof shield me, but still ended up getting my whole right side drenched.
Once I got to the stairs, my anger was being replaced with concern.
Her stairs were a fucking joke. At least every other one was broken in some way, if not missing completely. Gingerly, I made my way up the stairs and stopped at her door.
I knocked four times before I tried the door handle.
Locked.
Getting out a credit card from my wallet, I shimmied it in between the lock and the door jam, popping it open with hilarious ease. I made a mental note to get her a deadbolt and a reinforced steel door as soon as possible.
A woman as beautiful as Shiloh shouldn’t be living in an area of town such as this. However, since she did, she needed to be prepared and safe.
In fact, now that I thought about it, I planned to get her an alarm system as well.
Stepping over the threshold, I sidestepped numerous pots that were catching the leaking water from the roof, and came to a halt in the main part of the apartment.
The area was an open floor plan, minus the bathroom that was off to the side with the door open. The kitchen was off to the far right corner, and in the closest left corner was a bed with cloud sheets. The place itself was spotless as could be.
From the outside, you wouldn’t even be able to tell that it would actually be nice inside; but, surprisingly, it was.
Scanning the room, I frowned when I didn’t see her. Which left only one other place she could be.
“Shiloh, its James.” I called out.
No answer.
“Shiloh.” I called out a little louder.
Still no answer.
Walking cautiously towards the bathroom door, I peeked inside and my heart nearly stopped. Shiloh was on her side, curled into a tight ball on the floor in front of the toilet, shivering. Her hand was cradled close to her chest, and her face and usually vibrant hair were wet with tears that were still leaking out of her closed eyes. She was wearing the same clothes as earlier, except now the dress was torn and scuffed in many places.
Two long steps later, I dropped down on my knees beside her. Placing my palm on her neck, I felt for her pulse. It was beating rapidly. Her face was flushed, and as I placed my palm over her cheeks, I could feel the heat emanating off her face from a fever.
Running my hands down her cheek, I called her name. “Shiloh.”
Her eyes opened, and the fever was apparent there too. Her eyes were glassy and distant. She blinked multiple times before giving me a small smile.
“Hi James.”
“Hey sweetheart. What happened?”
“Fell.”
“Fell where?” I asked gently, stroking her long, wet mahogany hair.
Her eyes opened wider, and I was treated to a smile that reached all the way up to her caramel colored eyes. “A fox scared the crap out of me and I dove into the ditch.”
I held my smile in check. “What hurts?”
“I think I broke my hand or arm.”
“Why didn’t you go to the ER?” I asked quietly, sitting her up to where she rested against the bathroom wall.
“My truck broke.” She said as tears welled into her eyes.
“I remember, honey. I kept waiting for the tow truck to bring it in and it never showed, so I decided to come to you.”
“That’s sweet of you.” She said and tried to stand.
Her breath hissed as I helped her to her feet, and the arm that was cradled to her chest was now clearly visible. And very clearly deformed.
“I think we should take you to the hospital.” I explained carefully.
“I don’t have any insurance.”
“That’s okay, honey. We’ll figure something out. Let’s go. Do you have a jacket?” I asked.
“No. I don’t have any winter clothes. I just got a blanket last week.” She explained.
“What happened to all your clothes that you came here with?” I asked as I helped her out her door and down her stairs.
There was a lull in the rain, which I was severely grateful for. I didn’t want her catching a cold on top of the broken arm.
“It got stolen when I went out to eat at the diner.”
“What?” I barked, and immediately regretted it when she jumped.
“Yeah, that place over there is a shit hole. They said they would send me a reimbursement check, yet I haven’t seen hide nor hair of it. I go over there once a month to check.” She shrugged.