Meeting Danger (Danger #1) by Allyson Simonian, Caila Jaynes Read Free Book Online

across loud and clear. She and her two children had escaped an abusive husband and were living at a shelter in Albany. Through an outreach program, the woman had obtained her GED, since she hadn’t graduated from high school. She was now attending college online.
    Autumn startled as Butch grabbed the remote and jammed the O FF button.
    “What the hell is this?”
    She’d been so engrossed that she hadn’t even heard him come in. How much of the program had he seen? Obviously enough to piss him off.
    She swallowed hard. “I-I was just watching the news. This was part of it.”
    Butch crossed his arms over his chest. “Since when do you watch the news?” His eyes narrowed as he waited for a reply.
    Autumn blinked rapidly. He hadn’t told her what time he’d be home from Philadelphia. She’d known it would likely be this afternoon, but with nothing left to do, she’d sat down in front of the TV. Clearly, that had been a mistake.
    Hoping to distract him, she stood. “Are you hungry? I’ve got dinner ready. I just need to warm it up.” She forced herself to move past him and prayed his mood would improve as she walked into the kitchen.
    But Butch’s mood deteriorated. Throughout dinner, he grew even more irritable, ranting about how it wasn’t just an open invitation for her to sit in front of the TV whenever he went away. And in bed that night, she found out just how deep his anger went.
    Whether it was due to her sins of the day or a culmination of all her wrongdoings these past weeks, Butch’s anger was bottomless. He was on top of her, pounding into her, when he put a hand around her throat and began squeezing.
    He’d done that before—several times, in fact. But he’d always released her once she’d batted his hand away.
    This time, though, his grip tightened rather than letting up. Panic galvanized her as she tried in vain to pry his hand off, but Butch only squeezed harder. Spots danced in front of her eyes. Desperate for air, she clawed at his wrist.
    When Butch finally let go, Autumn choked as she struggled to breathe. Sputtering and coughing, she turned onto her side and gripped at her throat. A minute later, still trembling and not fully recovered, she turned to look at Butch. Expecting to see anger on his face, she shuddered when she saw his lips twitch into a grin.
    My God, he’s actually pleased with himself. Scaring her to death had clearly made him happy.
    Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned back to the wall and curled into a ball.
    The bed creaked as he got up and walked out of the room. Sounds from the television filtered down the hallway moments later.
    Tears left warm trails down Autumn’s face as she let out shaky breaths. Her panic had subsided, but it had been replaced by an all-too-familiar sense of horror.
    Butch Cobb was a monster.

CHAPTER 9
    Scranton, Pennsylvania
    The last two weeks had seemed like years, but Camden’s “parole hearing” with Warden Frake had finally taken place that morning. Camden had passed along the information he’d gleaned in the last three weeks he felt the warden should know.
    Afterward he headed to the gym and found Colton Phillips there. Camden said good-bye and then left a pregnant pause, angling for the invitation he’d been working on for weeks.
    “Where are you gonna go?” Colton asked.
    Camden ran a hand over the scruffy beard he’d grown since arriving at Edgewater. “Not sure. I have to stay in Pennsylvania for the next year, so wherever I can find work, I guess.”
    Phillips studied Camden for a moment. “The Wicked Disciples have a bike shop called the Wrench in Scranton. Go there and tell Beck Ruiz it was me who sent you. He’s the chapter president and should be able to help.”
    Camden bumped the man’s knuckles. “Thanks.”
    As he walked out of the gym, relief flooded through him. He’d done it, had made a contact with the Wicked Disciples’ organization. The first part of this assignment had been a success.
    A few minutes