Page 60 of The Wrong Drive-
“Turner! What the fuck?” He’s literallyscreamingin my ear. “There’s a witness! What the hell are you doing?”
“Roger…” I fight to come back to my senses, but my heart is pounding. “Um… I had a clear shot…”
“What the fuck! You didn’t!”
I peer back through the scope, the guy at the sedan now holding a knife to the woman’s throat, looking around.
Does he really think a knife to her throat is going to stop me?
“We can’t haveanyfucking witnesses, Turner,” Bradford’s level of distress is now evident. “This isn’t the time to play the goddamn hero!”
I breathe in. “Well, I’ll… I don’t know.” I peer into the scope, but as I do, there’s a black blur that obstructs it. “Passing vehicle a block over,” I mutter, waiting for it to clear.
But as soon as it passes, I’m met with a gruesome sight.
Oh fuck.The woman slumps to the ground, her neck gouged with the knife of the assailant.I was too slow. I was too fucking slow.
And for that?
I unload the whole clip into the blade-wielding asshole.
“Hey Bradford,” I press my mic on, letting out a chuckle. “I think for the situation trigger of killing assholes, I’ll pair it with relief.”
Bradford lets out a sigh. “Just get the fuck down here so we can clean this up. It’s going to be a long night.”
BONUS CHAPTER
Turner
Six months later…
“I’m feeling good,” I say, peering over at Bradford as he flips through my chart—or whatever the hell he uses to keep tabs on me. “I’ve worked through every single trigger, and I even went to the Fourth of July celebration at the lake last week. Gunner doesn’t even have a job anymore.” I gesture to the dog, curled up in the corner on his bed asleep.
“Yeah, but it’s at the high that you’re bound to hit a low. Recovery isn’t a straight line. It’s mountains and valleys,” Bradford sighs, raking his fingers through his dark hair. There’s more gray there than ever before, and I’m pretty sure it has something to do with his love life and the Cade situation.
But I’m not pressing about that.
“I get that you think I’m bound to snap, but I haven’t had anything happen in months,” I reason, leaning back against the couch. “I can do this, and?—”
“And you just saw that Emersyn is with Catie fifty miles south of us,” he finishes for me, shaking his head. “Thatis the exact sort of trigger that I don’t know you’re ready for, Turner. Youdon’t know what she’s doing with her personal life. You don’t know if she’s seeing someone. She could’ve forgotten you, andthatis something I don’t think you can handle.”
I take a deep breath, ignoring the way my heart starts to race at the thought of someone else touching Em the way I did. “There’s no way she’s fallen for someone else.”
“That’s the kind of statement that doesn’t prepare you.”
“I can handle it.” I shove myself upward from the couch. “You’re just pissed that you’re in a situation over the AWOL Marine from Camp Pendleton, and you’re in way too fucking deep.”
“You better watch yourself,” Bradford sneers, his calm demeanor slipping momentarily. “The fastest way to fuck up is to get cocky.”
“It takes some level of confidence to get somewhere. Fake it till you make it.” I reach for my coat as I head for the front door of Bradford’s house, calling to Gunner to follow. I rip the door open, and then stop, coming face to face with the younger, much more tolerable version of Bradford.
“Hey Turner,” Molly greets me, her backpack slung over her shoulder. “Is my dad in there?”
“Yep,” I deadpan.
Molly frowns, her mirrored eyes of her dad’s rolling. “He’s in a shit mood, isn’t he?”
I chuckle, stepping to the side. “Isn’t he always?”
