Crash and Burn Read Online Free PDF Page A

sucking him off. Life wasn ’ t perfect, but it felt pretty
damn good in that moment.

five.
     
    Avery heard a slam and she opened her eyes. It was only
supposed to be a few minutes since she closed her eyes.
    “ Fuck, ” Avery said when she looked
around.
    It was morning.
    It was fucking morning.
    She had slept in the bakery all damn night. There was a
little sunlight coming through the window she broke.
    “ We need
to get everything from yesterday out front, ” a voice boomed. “ Let ’ s hurry the hell up. ”
    Avery froze, trying to wake up her body. Her back felt like
someone had run over it and her legs were tingling and wobbly. She bent her
knees and bit her lip to keep from groaning.
    “ Hey,
Freddy! ” the same voice
yelled. “ You left a light
on in the back again. ”
    The light. Shit. The broken window. Fuck.
    Avery needed to make her escape right now. She hurried to
her feet and stomped them a few times to bring life back to them. When she had
her balance she checked her bag and saw it was empty.
    “ Damn, ” she whispered.
    She forgot to put bread in her bag. There was no time now
though. When she heard footsteps approaching, Avery turned and darted to the
window. She jumped through the opening and then tipped over a few trashcans
that echoed with thuds. In her mind she hoped the owners of the bakery were
dumb enough to maybe believe an animal had been rooting through the trash and
broke their window. There was no cash stolen from the place. No equipment
either. The only thing missing was a small loaf of bread. Did that matter? Would
they notice?
    Who cares …
    Avery ran down the back alley and cut to a main street and
slowed. She blended in with the morning the best she could. The sun rose and
the day quickly warmed up. It sent Avery down to the beach where she stood and
watched the waves crest and crash to the shore. Some people ran down the beach,
getting fit. If Avery was running on a beach it would be because someone was
chasing her. Other people were on their backs or bellies, soaking up the warm
rays of the sun.
    By afternoon, Avery couldn't take the hunger anymore. She
never thought her life would come to a point like this; staring at a trashcan,
wondering if anyone would notice if she dug through it, hoping to find a half
of a sandwich or something edible.
    It made her angry.
    She left the beach and felt disgraced. That ’ s when she spotted a small,
corner pizza shop. The building looked beat to hell and the hand painted BEST
PIZZA sign out front was faded and chipped.
    Avery made her pass twice. She saw an old man behind the
counter making pizzas. He looked like he struggled in every move he made. After
making a pie, he put it in the oven, took off his apron, and walked to the
back. Avery had snuck inside and scanned the shitty looking place. She could
make a score here. She had to. Slipping behind the counter, Avery kept her ears
open and her eyes searching. There were slices of pizza on the counter. The
register was cracked open too. Avery was tempted. She could grab a slice to go
and grab a handful of cash. She still had money from the sale of the motorcycle,
but that was traveling money. Right now, she needed to survive in this town
until she had a better plan.
    When Avery touched the pizza, she broke off a piece of crust
and ate it.
    It was absolutely delicious.
    Avery grabbed the slice and then felt something touch the
back of her neck.
    “ You
fucking cunt, ” a shaky
voice said. “ Turn the fuck
around. ”
    Avery knew the routine. She put her hands up and slowly turned.
She faced the old man and a handgun with a long barrel. The gun shook and the
old man had bloodshot eyes.
    “ Come
here to the wall, you whore, ” the man said.
    “ Listen
to me, ” Avery said. “ I can explain this …”
    The man put the barrel of the gun under her chin. “ No talking. ”
    Avery turned and backed up to the wall. Her eyes looked left
to right, but she couldn ’ t
come up with a good