Read Online The Rhythm of Rain by C. L. Scholey - Free Book Online

hand. Jaron stood and looked around. Jaron was also minus his cell phone. Telor helped Rain up.
    "No sign of Carver," Jaron said.
    "Then we can all go back to my truck and have a nice chat with the police," Telor said, sounding smug.
    Jaron glared at him then centered his attention on Rain. "Where do you think Carver is headed?"
    Rain frowned. "Back to your apartment," she guessed.
    "If I were Carver, I'd be headed back to your grandparents'. He's no doubt figured out with your boyfriend now here with you, and me having just saved your life—again—the elderly couple are looking mighty vulnerable. I bet Carver's wondering just what you'll do to save their lives," Jaron said. "By the time we go to the cops and they take a report and do more fooling around, what do you suppose will happen during that time? Especially with a shit named Carver ?"
    "Oh no," Rain whispered.
    "You're a nasty bastard," Telor ground out.
    Rain grabbed Telor's shirt. "He's right. Carver will go after my grandparents. They're at your home. The only phone you have is a cell. You've said it before, why have a home line when you're always out. My grandparents don't have cell phones; they never learned to use them.
    "Please, Telor, we need to hurry. We have to save them," Rain said.
    "We can call…someone." Telor took his cell phone out. It was dead, water-logged.
    Jaron took Rain by the hand. "Any more bright ideas, cowboy?" he snickered and walked away with her.

Chapter Nine
    Telor kept glancing from Rain to Jaron. They had only stopped to swipe some clothes from lines near Jaron's apartment, thinking it foolish to return to it. Carver could have been waiting; none of them were certain. The three of them were a sorry-looking lot and filthy. Telor didn't think he had ever smelled so bad in his life.
    Telor's gaze settled onto Jaron. He had to get Rain away from the guy. Once Jaron realized Telor had no idea where the doll really was he would most likely kill him out of fury; the man was a bomb waiting to go off. Then he would undoubtedly hand Rain over to Carver.
    Telor was hurt by what Rain had done. He had always suspected there was something in her dance that he missed, some vital part. If Rain said Jaron saved her, he must have. She had only slept with him out of gratitude and now it was done. Telor just needed to convince her she owed the man nothing. What had happened to Jaron wasn't her fault. She had only been a child.
    Rain must still be blocking whatever happened to the doll. The night Rain had lost the doll, Telor had placed it on her porch the next day. He had waited behind a bush until he had seen Rain come out for the doll. That was the last time he had seen it.
    Rain just wasn't thinking right. All she could see in her mind were the images of her grandparents being killed by Carver. Her memories were blinding her to the fact Jaron had been charged with her mother's death.
    "Rain, isn't there someone you can call who is close to your grandparents?" Telor asked. The moment he asked he knew it was useless. Her grandparents were loners and kept to themselves in the small town. People knew them to wave or say hello, but they never let anyone close. Perhaps it was out of fear. The only way Telor had known of their circumstances was because Rain had confided in him years ago. Telor had never told anyone her parents were murdered.
    Rain cast him a quick, worried glance. "Telor, you know what Papa and Grams are like. You know how suspicious Papa is. Even if you contact a friend at the fire hall they wouldn't trust them. They haven't met any of your friends."
    "What about Sandra and Trace?" Telor asked.
    Rain was shaking her head. "I thought of that already, but I never brought them to my home. My grandparents only know them from what I've told them."
    Before long they were flying down the highway at a rate so fast Telor was feeling a little ill. But there was no way he would ask Jaron to slow down. Rain was in a hurry.
    That night Telor and Jaron