Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Eli is silent for a while as he looks into my eye. I’m wearing the fake one, but he knows which one is real. “Maybe they deserved it for leaving you in Sullivan’s claws. I’m not sorry about the two people I killed. Does that make me a monster?”
Ridiculous.
“Of course not. But we’re not the same.”
He’s about to answer, but that’s when we both hear raised voices over the low hum of the generator keeping this place fed with electricity. I press my index finger to Eli’s soft lips and rise, quietly approaching the door. When I first hear the nurse’s voice, I’m convinced she’s calling the cops, but moments later, another woman speaks up in a shrill tone.
“This is last month all over again! I knew you were doing something under the table. Who are those people, and why do they need to grease your palm to be seen after hours, huh?”
Fuck. Apparently, this isn’t the first time Nurse Patch has drawn the suspicion of her colleagues, but I won’t shoulder the fallout, and neither will Eli.
He’s wanted, so the last thing we need is this nosy woman drawing attention to our presence.
I step outside, immediately shutting the door, and both Nurse Patch and a younger lady with blonde hair focus on me.
“And who are you?” she asks, showing me the phone she’s holding. “If I press this button, the police will be here in minutes!”
Just great.
“Lady, you need to stop participating in the system like a gullible child,” I improvise, but while she frowns at me, offended, there’s interest in her gaze, so I continue. “The government secretly implants chips in the backs of our heads, and the only way to find out and not be found out is to check it beyond the system. Mrs. Patch is just doing me a favor, and I won’t let you badmouth her!”
I’m a much better killer than an actor, but the new woman is gobbling it up.
Patch just watches me with dead eyes. “Yeah. He wouldn’t leave unless I scanned him off the books.”
The blonde wraps her arms on her chest and frowns. I brace myself for a slew of insults. “What… kind of chips? You know, my uncle has been complaining about an itch at the back of his head ever since he came out of the army.”
I point at her and nod. “Exactly what I’m talking about. I’m a vet too, but the government surveillance continues!”
The woman glances at Patch. “Okay, fine, whatever, just go, but don’t bring any of your friends here for this. We can’t lose the contract for working here. We will talk about this tomorrow,” she adds, opening her car. I watch her leave, and only once we can no longer see the back lights of her vehicle do I approach the nurse with a wad of cash.
“Thank you. We’ll be out of your hair.”
I go right back in, and before Eli can protest that he’ll limp instead, I pick him up. It feels as if instead of weakening me, the conversation with him has only made me stronger.
He pulls down his mask as we walk away so I can see his smile. “That was pretty funny.”
He always has a new compliment for me.
My urge to treat him is so strong I already have several ideas of how to do that.
Chapter 17
Eli
I’ve never napped this much in my life. Cesar’s presence is so reassuring, my body so happily shuts down under a blanket while he drives us someplace only he knows.
“Snacks?” I ask when he wakes me up. I’m not that hungry, but it’s becoming a joke between us, so I don’t miss the opportunity to brighten his day. He needs it. The horrific things he’s gone through have scarred him in ways deeper and more profound than any physical injuries he’s endured. I’ll do anything in my power to support him, even if I can’t offer that much.
It’s already dark, but as he leans over me, stroking the side of my head, I spot warm lights behind him. “Wakey, wakey. Time to treat ourselves to a nice time on Christmas Eve,” he says, pointing at the large Christmas tree right outside our car window.
I smile at him, because it gets me all fuzzy inside that he’s getting into the Christmas spirit. I want him to have that. So what if he’s a killer? Maybe it’s fucked up, but life is fucked up. Mine definitely is.
“You prepared something? Where are we?” I push off my blanket, trying to work out our new location.
He glances over his shoulder and smirks. “Prepared is too big of a word. But I think you deserve a break. Someone canceled their reservation last minute, and I snatched the room.”
I open the car door and I finally see it.
Holly Falls Lodge and Spa spelled in elegant letters above a grand entrance to a sprawling building sat above a gorge. I can see it all quite clearly thanks to the opulent Christmas decorations sparkling with colorful lights.