The Beast on Her Leash novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: Fourteen

Sam came to the boathouse on Friday night with a laptop and a thermos of tea.

It was the eleventh of December, the night before the Dinner.

He set the laptop on Bram's table, under the pinned clipping, and did not look at it.

"A retired audio man in Erie did this for me," he said.

"He took the hiss off the tape and pulled the voices apart. He wouldn't take money."

"I had it back Wednesday. I haven't played it for anyone."

"Why not?"

"Because it's his first," Sam said, nodding at Bram. "You don't hear yourself on a thing like this with other people deciding for you."

Bram sat very straight on the cot with his hands on his knees.

Moose lay across his feet.

"Play it," he said.

I took the place beside him and laced my fingers through his.

They were cold.

Sam pressed a key.

First came rain, very close, drumming on a metal roof.

Then a boy's breath, quick and wet.

"Please," said the boy. "Please. They're still breathing. A man hit a car, River Road, please send somebody."

I had heard it hundreds of times, thin and tinny on a phone.

← Chapter 18 · All chapters · Chapter 20 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend