The 7 She Saw (Blake Wilder FBI Mystery Thriller Book 1) by Elle Gray

Author:Elle Gray [Gray, Elle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty

Pacific Crest Motor Court; Briar Glen, WA

I walk to the edge of hotel lot and stare out at the Pacific. The sun is slipping toward the horizon, setting the sky aflame in vivid shades of orange and red. The vast and endless ocean in front of me shimmers, reflecting the colors in the sky like it’s a pool of fire. A cool breeze blows in, rustling through the brush and making the trees of the forest that surround the hotel groan mournfully.

I slip the Bluetooth ear bud in and press the button to make the call, then drop my phone into my pocket as I wait for the call to connect.

“As I live and breathe, it’s world-renowned monster hunter Blake Wilder on my phone. It’s like having Publisher’s Clearing House show up on my doorstep with one of those giant checks. Whatever did I do to earn such an honor?” Astra gasps, feigning breathlessness.

Despite the dark mood that’s settled down over me, I laugh. “Have you always been this big of an ass and I’ve just never noticed before?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” she chirps brightly. “Being observant was never really your strong suit, babe.”

I like that no matter how bleak my mood, Astra can usually get me laughing and lighten my mood. She’s a bright spot in my life, for sure.

“So how are things down in southern hickville?” she asks.

“Complicated. Getting more complicated by the minute?”

“Really?”

“Indeed.”

“Like, good complicated, as in you found yourself a rich, gorgeous man and you’ve decided to run off to the Maldives with him?”

I laugh and kick at a stone near the toe of my boot. “Fortunately for me, it’s not that kind of complicated.”

“I don’t know what’s fortunate about that,” she replies. “I mean, that’s the dream. What about this sheriff you’re dealing with? Small town sheriffs are known to be super-hot. I think it’s that Old West cowboy vibe or something.”

“Oh, Sheriff Morris is great. He’s a smart, tough, and good-looking older man,” I tell her. “I bet he’d fit right in with your daddy issues perfectly.”

Astra’s burst of laughter is so loud, I can feel my shoulders moving up towards my ears as if to protect them.

“That was a nice shot, Blake,” she says. “I hate you for it, but that was a good one. And they say you’re a goody two shoes, uptight prig of an ice queen who doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

“I see you attended Grant’s latest TED talk about me.”

“I just got the Cliff Notes version,” she replies.

My laughter and the good cheer she inspired in me tapers off as I stare out at the ocean, thinking about everything that’s happening. And right on cue, the darkness that’s been hovering at the edges, kept at bay by Astra’s humor, crawls back in and settles down over me.

As I stand there, I feel a prickling on the back of my neck. A sensation like a finger of ice sliding down my spine makes me turn around and scan the grounds around me.

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