Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 76022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Este stared down at the floor like she was seeing right through it. “What about the others?”
“My club brothers?”
“Yeah. Are they all ex-cons too?”
“All of ‘em? No. But me, Colter, Rook, and Judge. Oh, and Saint. But he’s not in the club yet.”
“And Rafe.”
“Rafe isn’t in the club. Rafe was stealing water and chicken eggs. He’s on his way out of town in the near future.”
“Are you helping him because you’d want someone to have helped you if you’d escaped?”
“Not necessarily. We got together as a group to decide what to do about him. Mostly based on his crimes.”
“Why?”
“Because even among criminals, there is a code. None of us like bastards who put their hands on kids and women. Most of us have families, women and kids we love. Women and kids we can’t protect when we’re on the inside. So when one of those bastards comes in, everyone is lining up to take out our frustrations.”
“So if Rafe was guilty of that, you’d have sent him back?”
“Bloodied and bruised and trussed up like a pig.”
“The news called him a violent criminal.”
“The original crime he was being brought in on was non-violent. But as they were arresting him, one of the cops kicked Steve.”
“No!”
“Yeah. Rafe saw red. Beat the shit out of the cop.”
“Honestly, I feel like any sane person would have done the same.”
“Agreed. Hence why he’s here. And why we got Steve back for him.”
“No wonder Steve seemed so sad. Not only did he lose his owner, but he’d been hurt by someone else.”
“Yeah.”
“What about the other guy? Colter?”
“Colter was in the military. He was away, fighting for our country. While his wife and his best friend were fucking behind his back.”
“No!” Este said again, eyes going wide.
“When he came home and realized, he took his anger out on his best friend. Went away for it.”
“And Rook?”
“Rook has a fragile mom. Mentally. It was really hard growing up. But she was doing well. Until she met this guy who ran a sweetheart con on her. Made her fall in love with him and he took everything she had. Rook’s ma went downhill fast. Had to be institutionalized. Rook lost his shit on the guy.”
“Again, I kind of think that’s an almost normal reaction too.”
“The system doesn’t always care why.”
“What about the last guys? Judge and…”
“Saint. Judge went away for charges related to organized crime. Saint went away for confessing to something his little brother did. Sure, Saint was guilty of some smuggling-type charges on his own too. Just didn’t get caught for those.” I paused, watching Este process the information. “Do you want to run?”
“Not yet,” she decided after a long moment. “It’s actually kind of nice to get some straight answers. I found some stuff online about this town, but it was all ‘alleged’ and ‘speculation.’”
“No one wants to get sued. Even if what they are saying is the truth.” I paused. “Do you want to know more about the town?”
Este’s head slammed back against the door.
“Honestly? Can we put a pin in that? I feel like all I’ve been doing is thinking about the town and its people.”
“Is that why you look like you haven’t slept in days?”
“That’s part of it.”
Clearly, something happened recently, if she was suddenly suspicious of our seemingly quaint, normal small town.
But I wasn’t going to press if she was seeking me to escape from it.
“What’s the other part?”
“My stupid neighbor!”
Her arm flung out as she spoke, her voice going high, just shy of hysterical. Lack of sleep could do that to you. I knew from experience. There’d been times in the early days of being locked up when I didn’t sleep for long stretches, too anxious in the small cell, too irritated by my cellmate’s snoring.
“What have they been doing?”
“Home improvement. I know, I know. I’m being a hypocrite. I’ve been doing a lot of it too. But he’s doing it almost nonstop. All day. All night. There’s no break from it. I don’t even know when they sleep. It’s driving me insane. Like, literally. I feel like I’m going a little crazy.”
She looked it right then.
Wide-eyed.
Muscles tensed.
She was practically vibrating with frustration.
“How about you two crash here tonight?” I suggested. “We’re not having any parties, so it’s going to be nice and quiet.”
“I can’t ask—”
It was clearly why she was showing up, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
“You’re not. I’m offering. You can have a nice, calming bath. Then climb into a comfortable bed in a quiet house and get the sleep you desperately need.”
“Really?”
She looked ready to cry in relief.
“Really.”
Tears flooded her eyes.
“Okay.”
“Okay. How about you take a seat here while I scrub the tub?”
I moved to the side so she could see what I’d been working on in my free time.
“Oh, wow. That’s beautiful,” she said, stepping forward toward the small two-seater dining table. “You made this?” she asked, her hand sliding over the mahogany surface with the intricate starburst inlay.