Chapter 4 Pot Meet Kettle #3
By the time I stepped back outside the skies had cleared, although the storm had no effect on the humidity, which capped out at a whopping seventy-seven percent.
If anything, it was even stickier than before.
What I needed was a cool shower and a cold beer, both of which would have to wait.
There were a few stops I had to make on the way back to my rental.
First, grocery shopping. Noreen would have happily ensured my refrigerator was filled to the brim. However, I preferred a more hands-on approach when it came to picking out produce.
Thankfully, the store was relatively empty for a Tuesday afternoon. Once the rickety cart was bursting at the seams with the essentials, I paid for my purchases, then loaded them in the trunk of my SUV.
Next up—after a Google search of the area—was a florist. Before Waverly, I never would’ve considered myself to be overly romantic, but my girl deserved to be pampered, starting with a bouquet of fresh flowers.
Her reaction to our dinner on the beach gave me the distinct impression she wasn’t used to someone going out of their way to make her happy.
It was a travesty I’d make certain to correct. Starting now.
I pressed a button on the steering wheel, then said, “Call Waverly” after the tone sounded. Ringing filled the cabin of the SUV. Once, twice. The third cut off midway when she answered.
“What can I do for you, Finn?”
My dick hardened as I imagined her naked, on her knees, asking the same question. I shook the wicked thoughts out of my head before I ended up crashing the car.
“You can start by telling me what time you’ll finish up tonight.”
She sighed. “It might be late.”
“What do you consider late?”
“Seven, maybe eight. It depends on how much I can get accomplished over the next several hours.”
“How about you come to my place when you’re done and I’ll have dinner ready for you?”
“You cook?”
I smiled at her teasing tone.
“I’m no Gordon Ramsey, but I know my way around a kitchen.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Glancing in the rearview mirror, a large, dark pickup truck came into view. It sped around the last curve completely on the wrong side of the road and it was closing in fast. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Something was off.
“Shit,” I muttered.
“What’s wrong?”
In an instant, playful Waverly was replaced by Special Agent Mitchell. I quickly relayed what was happening as my foot pressed down on the accelerator.
“Where are you?”
“I’m heading south on Norway Avenue.” I was white-knuckling the leather steering wheel, like my death grip would somehow keep me from veering off the road.
As she spouted off my location to someone in the background, I had a moment of doubt.
“I could be overreacting. Maybe it’s a bad driver or a drunk driver. ”
“All of those are possibilities, but I’m not taking any chances.” A car door slammed in the background and an engine revved. “We’ve alerted Huntington PD. They’re on the way to you and so am I. How far away is the truck now?”
My eyes left the road for all of three seconds, but it was enough for my heart rate to skyrocket.
“He’s on my arse,” I cursed through gritted teeth.
“It’s a man? You can see who’s behind the wheel?”
“No. The windows are tinted.”
I chanced another quick look in the mirror. The arsehole was so close to my bumper, I couldn’t even see his headlights. A heartbeat later, the SUV pitched forward as the truck slammed into the back of it. The jarring motion pulled the seat belt tight against my torso.
“Son of a bitch,” I yelled.
Whoever this bastard was, he was ballsy.
“What’s going on?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to answer her when the truck suddenly swerved into the left lane, clipping the corner of the SUV as he sped past me.
The move sent my vehicle careening off the road.
Dirt and gravel kicked up as I slammed on the brakes, finally coming to a stop mere feet away from a grove of trees.
“Finn!”
“I’m okay.”
The lie spilled from my lips easily. I was the furthest from “okay” I’d ever been in my life. My heart felt like it was trying to pound out of my chest and there was a high-pitched ringing in my ears, but I was unharmed.
“What happened?”
Taking a deep breath, I said the words that would make what happened real. “The truck hit me.”
“Motherfucker.”
Despite having just been run off the road, I grinned at the vehemence in her tone. Obviously, I was in a state of shock or having some sort of mental breakdown. One thing was for certain; Joel was going to lose his feckin’ mind.
“I’m okay.”
“Stop saying that,” she growled.
The sound of sirens eased a bit of the tension in my shoulders; however, it returned when my car door was unceremoniously ripped open. A woman, with a badge clipped to her jeans, gave me a once-over with her assessing eyes. For some reason, it seemed she was looking for more than injuries.
“I’ve got him, Waverly.”
“I’ll be there in ten,” my girl responded before ending our call.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of there.”
She stepped back as I unhooked my seat belt then slid out of the vehicle. The second my feet hit the ground, I moved to the back of the SUV. Anger coursed through my body as I inspected the damage. A few scratches and dented metal were nothing compared to how bad it could’ve been.
When I stood from my squat, the woman was right there next to me. It was then that it hit me. She’d used Waverly’s name. Curiosity took over.
“Who are you?”
“Detective Shayne Black.”
“Finn O’Lachlan,” I returned, grasping her outstretched hand.
“Oh, I know exactly who you are, Kier. What I don’t know are your intentions with my best friend.”
Hell. I was in trouble.