AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Gloria had a hand in that arrest, working with a dogged detective in the area. Bailey’s father, Dale, was a slippery guy. Charming in the most toxic way possible. He had a lot of people under his spell. It took serious work to finally get him arrested. Even more work to undo what he’d done to Bailey. She was so conflicted when I knew her. He turned her all around. Messed with her mind.”
“Maybe things are different there.” King was hopeful that this could possibly be a misunderstanding. Some overreaction that could easily be resolved. But he also understood men like Dale did more than just control the people he was around. He could poison a well and have an impact long after he was gone.
“I can feel it in my bones.” Carmen cleared her throat. “I know these kinds of things. That goosebump feeling every time I called her. The little edge in her voice. A defensiveness just a beat after we said hello. There is something there.”
“If there is, I’ll find it.”
There was a voice in the background on her end of the call suddenly and he knew what that meant.
“I appreciate the updates,” she called out in a singsong voice. “Talk to you soon.”
And just like that the line went dead. He’d wondered since she first made contact how serious she was about keeping this quiet from her team. The people who she claimed were her family. The more she randomly hung up on him the clearer that became.
The gas light popped on the dash again, this time flashing more urgently.
“Perfect,” he whispered to himself as he tossed his phone onto the passenger seat. Now all he had to do was drive and let the rest fall into place.
CHAPTERTWO
King
The car sputtered to a stop a half mile from the spot he’d programed into his GPS. It was going to be the entry point into the community Bailey lived in, according to the research Carmen had sent over. It would be dark within the hour. There was spotty cell service and if Carmen was wrong about this location, King knew he was screwed.
Walking the rest of the way gave him a chance to clear his head and power down his phone. This only worked if he seemed truly stranded.
Approaching the small shack-like building just as the sun was creeping lower in the sky, he knew his timing couldn’t have been better. Rustling his hands through his hair as though he was all worked up, King made his way to the front door of the little store. The sign above the door was crooked, one chain holding it up was longer than the other and it was made of a piece of scrap wood.
It read D’s. No other indication of what might be in the small building. But perhaps that was intentional. Anyone passing it on the road would have driven right by. There clearly wasn’t gas for sale. And the building looked mostly uninhabited. From everything Carmen told him, this was the gateway that would get him into Cinderhill.
The door was barely on its hinges as he knocked gently. “Hello?” King called and the door creaked open on its own.
“Yes?” a timid voice called back, and he hesitated to step in. He was always aware of how his build and height could instill fear in people, even when that wasn’t his intention. He moved cautiously, not wanting to spook anyone inside.
Instead, he stood in the doorway and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim room lit only by some small oil lamps. “Sorry to bother you. I ran out of gas.”
“Oh.” The woman stepped forward from behind a dust-covered glass counter. “Way out here?”
“I was just passing through and didn’t realize how far it would be to the next gas station. I’ve lived in a city my whole life, there’s gas on every corner.” He chuckled trying to put her at ease. He tucked his hands into his pockets, attempting to show her he meant no harm.
The curls in her hair bounced, the rusty brown color catching the light that came in through the doorway he was standing in. She was petite with lush lips and the kind of eyes that seemed forever in awe of what they were looking at.
The dress she wore was pale lace, simple in its cut, but intricate in its pattern. He took her in for too long, forgetting to look around the room.
She raised a brow curiously at him. “There are signs. Warning signs for miles. They indicate how far it is to the next station.”
“I’m notorious for ignoring the warning signs.” He reached up and pushed the hair off his forehead. He hadn’t worn it this long in ages, but his time recovering in the hospital had made him less worried about keeping his head nearly shaved. No suits to wear. No bodyguard duties to have to look intimidating for. Longer hair was the kind of rebellion he felt he needed right now.
“That makes two of us.” She moved toward him, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he was a hundred pounds heavier and a foot taller. Or that they were alone in this isolated area. It made him certain she had some sort of weapon or protection he couldn’t see. No one was this blindly trusting.
“My name is Bailey Raine. Let me see if I can find a way to help you out.”
“Thanks,” he replied. “I’m King.”
“King, that’s a cool name.”
“Don’t ask if it’s my real name. I’m not sure. It’s the stuff of family lore.”
“You don’t have a birth certificate?” She glanced up at me peculiarly.
