Hey guys. I just got back from vacation, and now my entire family has Covid. (Crying face.) I plan to finish this book this week, so please hang in there, it's kicking our butt for a second time.
The searing pain in Patch’s shoulder throbbed in sync with his heartbeat. He’d never been shot before, and he realized quickly he was glad for it. Delaney's voice wavered in and out of his hearing, her soft touches seemed light years away. Patch didn’t even realize the EMTs had arrived until they lugged him up and onto the gurney. They lifted him with a struggle up the spiral staircase as he heard the police reading Delaney's father his rights. He knew everything would be cleared now. The police had no choice but to drop their case against Patch and his mother. They figured it out. They knew who was behind the killings, and The South Side. Most likely other killings as well. Maybe they could settle solve other murders or mysteries now that he was caught. But Patch knew that the struggle wasn’t completely over. His best friend and his girlfriend just found out that their father was a murderer. A serial killer. A man they didn’t know him to be. The hurt in Delaney's voice and her
The sound of Delaney's car door slamming behind her, and peace the front seat of her car brought, made her smile. She'd spent most of the day studying in-between her grad school classes, before she needed to get home to whip up something for dinner. She'd spent the majority of the semester, trying her hardest to get the last few months out of her brain. Well, the bad parts of it at least. Those months brought her back into Patch Larson's sight. The mention of his name still gave her goosebumps. After his shoulder healed, and she made arrangement for grad school in Florida, they moved. Witout second thought, they gatered their things and moved. No more small town drama. No more of her father's problems, not that he hadn't tried to reach out by phone, and write Lucas wanting her to stop by. Maybe one day she could stop by, but at the moment, she didn't want to hear his lies or excuses. Having to go back for the trial would be enough for her. She hated that Patch had to relive a
“You’ve put on some love chub.”She hadn’t expected anymore from her older brother, Lucas. Eight years older than her but none the wiser. He’d looked the same since he graduated seventeen years before. His career in the military had only added to his good looks. Turns out girls really like big arms, tattoos and Marine cuts, who would have thought? Plus having a purple heart because you saved someone’s life really gets ‘em hot.Hence the nice farm house he lived in with four-wheelers and ATVs, on top of owning the small lumber store down town, he had done well for himself, which put a lot of pressure on her to do so, too.“Yep,” he said, picking her up a bit from the floor. “Definitely love chub.”“Wow, I feel so beautiful. Thank you for that.” Sadly, he wasn’t wrong per se. She had put on some weight in the last few years but it had turned int
Sweet, little Delaney … Patch placed his empty plate on the edge of the coffee table, and leaned back against the loveseat so he could look at her without drawing attention. Delaney wasn’t what he remembered of her, not even in the last few years when he stopped by for the holidays. There was an evident few pounds she’d gained, he was sure because she’d gotten too comfortable with what’s his name, but damn him to hell, if she didn’t wear it well. She’d definitely matured since the last time he’d seen her … when was that again? The latest he could remember was around Christmas in 2019. She hadn’t brought her boyfriend—well, ex-boyfriend with her that year--which, had been fine with him. He had no desire to meet the guy, especially since Lucas filled him in on his lack of knowing how to do anything but study. Entitlement came to mind from what Lucas told him. Patch never imagined Delaney being with a man that couldn’t take car
“Breakfast!” she shouted.It didn’t surprise her that no one answered. She’d gotten into the grove of getting up early for classes for a while. Her brother was used to waking up when he wanted since he hired a manager to look after the lumber store for him.“Lucas!” she shouted again.Nothing.She took the last piece of bacon off of the griddle and put it on the paper towel with the rest to drain. Lucas made a grunt from the other room after a few moments, which gave her a few minutes before he actually made it to the kitchen.She wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and looked out of the blinds. Patch’s motorcycle wasn’t there which shocked her. Where did he have to go that early in the morning, not that it was her business, but she was a little curious.Lucas’ shuffled in a few short minutes later, no shirt and a pair of basketball shorts riding lo
Patch slammed his fist against the kids jaw once again, watching blood fly out of his mouth and sling against the concert. It’d been easy to say that this would be an easy distraction from what he’d seen in his best-friend's kitchen the night before, but sadly, it wasn’t. Patch hadn’t stopped thinking about the way she looked in her swim suite, and the way it clung to her, and the curve of her breasts. She’d turned into one hell of a woman Patch had promised to stay away from. Go figure. That bright pink suite would be engrained into his head for the rest of his life. He knew she wasn’t the most experienced girl in the world, and it turned him on so badly it ate at him. He could show her how to feel good. He wanted to be the one to show her. That stupid promise he made buzzed into his view, every time he even thought about looking at her, like a gnat. The guy picked his head up and slobber slung from his tongue, the bandana he wore was some kind of South Side stuff they cam
The house was quiet when Delaney arrived home that afternoon. Her brother left a note for her not to wait up, he had plans, which gave her some time to herself, not that she needed it but a little time to drink a glass of wine and cool down didn’t sound too bad. Delaney opened the chicken wrap she’d grabbed from the corner store on the way home and poured herself a glass of red wine. She curled her feet underneath her and turned on some rom-com she’d passed when channel surfing. By the middle of her glass she could feel it in her toes. It’d been a while since she drank, with finals she used every free moment to study. She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep, or how tired she had grew at the store. The girls were crazy busy, but a lot of fun to work with. Delaney didn’t even mind the work they had her doing. Seeing her work on the display shelf made her proud, and she’d missed that feeling. The sound of a truck door slamming woke her from where she’d fallen asleep on the couch
Patch shut the hood of the woman’s convertible and watched as the twins relentlessly flirted with her in the lobby. She seemed vaguely familiar from high-school, but he knew one thing for certain, she hadn’t ran with their crowd. It was evident by her perfectly straightened hair and the nice whip he’d just changed the oil for, not to mention the clothes he would have never even dreamed of having growing up. If she did ever consider dating or sleeping with one of them it would be done in secret. It was the socs and the greasers all over again. Snake raked his fingers through his dark black hair, and gave the girl a sheepish smile. “I’m free any night for you, Princess.” The girl liked the attention, it was apparent, but Patch could see the worry in her eyes. What would her parents think about her dating someone like Snake, or even someone that went by name of Snake? “Your car is ready,” Patch said. She stood up from her chair