79. Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Thanks to Jules, David now had a full name and a face to attach to the prick who’d abused his son, and David immediately began checking out Liam Hollis on social media. Most of his accounts were public, which enabled David to find out Liam worked for a construction company and liked to hang out at his favorite bar, the Tap, quite a bit (apparently only going to high-end bars with Ashley). He was also a big fan of muscle cars, especially the one he owned, which was a classic 1970 red Chevelle SS, with black racing stripes on the hood.
At that, David frowned, because what a waste of a fucking cool car. Especially on an owner who drank Bud Light … from a can.
To David’s amusement, Liam posted more pictures of the Chevelle than he did of him and Ashley, making it clear who owned his heart … and it was then that David was struck by inspiration.
For the next several weeks, with Valerie helping out by watching Jacob for an hour here and there, David engaged in a little reconnaissance, cruising past the Tap and making note of the days Liam was usually there, and for how long. One night, seeing the Chevelle in the parking lot, David went inside to look around and watch Liam in his element, quickly coming to the conclusion it wasn’t unusual for Liam to have three or four beers under his belt before leaving the bar. And while he never seemed inebriated, it was still possible that he was over the legal alcohol limit.
After thinking through a few revenge scenarios—and observing Liam in the bar several times—David came up with a solution that not only checked off most of his boxes, but would also keep his ass out of jail.
One night, with his hair up and a trucker’s hat on his head, David went to the Tap and sat as close to Liam as he dared. David wanted to try and listen in on the conversation Liam was having with a friend, but didn’t want to be seen, since David didn’t know if he’d be recognized. Up close, Liam was even better looking, which only pissed David off more, because monsters were supposed to look like monsters.
However, the minute David got an earful of Liam’s conversation with his friend in a Chicago Bears hoodie, David came to the realization that sometimes monsters sounded like monsters, instead.
“So, how’s that hot piece of ass you’ve been seeing?” Liam’s friend asked.
“Which one?”
David, seated at the bar several feet away, raised his eyebrows at hearing Liam had more than one ‘hot piece of ass’.
“The one you said gives head like a pro,” the friend answered, then clarified with, “The one who looks like the pornstar version of Megan Fox, and has a kid.”
“Oh. Ashley.”
“Yeah, she’s hot. She doesn’t even look like she’s had a kid.”
“For the most part, yeah. I mean, she’s got a few stretch marks, but you can’t really see them. And the kid was on the bottle, so her tits are still good.”
“You’ve been seeing her for what, a couple of months? You must like her.”
“She’s all right.”
“She must be more than ‘all right’ if you’re willing to put up with her kid.”
Liam grinned. “Actually, I no longer have to put up with her kid, so ...”
“What do you mean?”
“She doesn’t have him anymore.”
“What do you mean, she doesn’t have him anymore? What’d she do with him?”
Discreetly, David glanced over to see Liam signaling the waitress for another beer before answering his friend. “She gave her ex full custody.”
“Shit, really? Why?”
“I don’t know. All I know is the kid’s fucking gone.”
“You seem happy about that.”
“Because I am.”
“Was he that bad?”
“The kid was a fucking brat. Cried a lot, too. And he wet the bed all the time.”
David’s entire body stiffened at the contempt and derision in Liam’s voice, and decided tonight was the night.
“How old is he?” the friend asked.
“Fuck if I know. Four? Five? Too old to be wetting the bed, that’s for goddamn sure. Thankfully, he’s no longer a pain in my ass. I hated it when he stayed with her.”
“How often was that?”
“Seemed like every weekend, man. And when he was there, we could only fuck when he was asleep, so he was a total cock-block. Not anymore, though,” Liam added with a grin as he took the can of Bud from the waitress, then checked out her ass when she walked away.
“I still can’t believe she gave away her kid like that,” his friend said. “Seems kind of cold.”
Liam shrugged, uncaring. “I don’t think she was that attached to him, to be honest. I’m pretty sure she got knocked up to get the ring, if you know what I mean? And that didn’t work out for her, so …”
“Jesus. What if she tries that with you?”
“Bitch can try all she wants, but I made sure that can’t happen years ago when I got snipped, because I’m not stupid. Last thing I want is a kid … or to have to fork over money for an abortion. Those aren’t cheap, you know.”
David had never thought he’d hate anyone more than Carter, but Liam, firmly entrenched on the far end of the douchebag spectrum, was a real close second.
Tonight was definitely the night.
Having heard enough, David got up and left to go sit in the parking lot, waiting for any pangs of conscience to make him put the brakes on, but none came. He did feel a little bad for Ashley, but it wasn’t enough to change his mind, because ultimately she’d chosen Liam—and chosen him over her own son—so any sympathy he had dissipated like a fart in the wind.
Luckily, David only had to wait about thirty minutes before Liam came out with his friend. They talked briefly before parting ways, each heading to their respective cars. David watched Liam carefully, noting that he seemed steady, despite having thrown back three beers, possibly four.
David started his car, then listened as the Chevelle roared to life; it really was a cool fucking car.
After Liam pulled out, David did the same, then called 911 on the burner phone he’d purchased specifically for this purpose. When the dispatcher answered and asked what his emergency was, he told her, “I’m following a red Chevelle, south on Jefferson, and it’s weaving. I don’t know if the driver is drunk or if something is wrong.”
Liam was actually driving fairly well, but that didn’t matter; it only mattered what the breathalyzer would show. David gave the operator the license plate number before disconnecting the call, and then continued to follow Liam.
It wasn’t long before flashing lights passed David and Liam was pulled over. David drove on by, only to circle back and pull into a deserted strip mall and park, killing his lights but keeping the radio on. With a virtually unobstructed view of the Walmart parking lot across the street (except for any cars driving by), he was able to watch as Liam was asked to step out of his vehicle and proceed to argue with one of the officers.
As Liam got increasingly belligerent, David sat and watched like a kid at the movies, thoroughly enjoying himself until the beginning notes of “We Built This City” came through the speakers. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered, immediately turning the radio off, not wanting anything to ruin the moment as Liam grudgingly submitted to taking a breathalyzer test. Moments later, David was grinning from ear-to-ear at the sight of Liam getting arrested and being put in the back of the police cruiser.
“You think the fucking brat was a pain in your ass? His dad is worse,” David murmured with satisfaction, as the black-and-white left the parking lot and drove past him. “Enjoy your DUI, motherfucker.”
Once Liam was out of sight, David pulled out into traffic and headed home, stopping briefly at a convenience store to break the burner phone and throw the pieces away in a dumpster.
The next morning, as David was looking through some proofs from a photo shoot, he received a call from an unknown number on his cell phone.
He was pretty sure it was Ashley, but answered with a hint of hesitation. “Hello?”
“Did you have anything to do with it?”
It was definitely her, but again, David went with hesitation. “Ashley?”
“Yes. Who else would it be?”
“I didn’t know, that’s why I was asking,” he said blandly. “I deleted your contact info, so you came up as unknown caller.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Now, what do you want? I doubt you’re calling to check on Jacob, so—”
“Did you have anything to do with it?” Ashley repeated.
He laced his voice with confusion. “To do with what, exactly?”
“Liam’s DUI.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He got a DUI last night.”
“He did?”
“Yes.”
With difficulty, David managed to keep the smile out of his voice. “Oh. Well, maybe he shouldn’t have been drinking and driving—”
“He wasn’t drinking and driving.”
“No? Then why did he get a DUI?”
“It’s not like he was drunk. He only had a couple of beers—”
“Which obviously put him over the legal limit,” David pointed out, before adding, “And here I thought he was a loser because he was abusive to defenseless children …” he trailed off as something occurred to him for the first time. “Wait a minute. Did that motherfucker ever drive with Jacob in the car after ‘a couple of beers’?” he asked, his voice now deadly.
Ashley didn’t say anything, and that told David all he needed to know.
Anger swept through him; if his phone hadn’t cost a ridiculous amount of money, he would’ve thrown it against a wall. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Jesus, relax. We were in my car, and it was fine. Jacob was in his car seat—”
“Holy fuck, you’re stupid,” he told her, conscious of Kim being nearby and trying to keep his volume down. “I can’t believe you let him do that. And I’m glad he got a DUI. That asshole deserves it—”
“Did you have anything to do with it?” she repeated a third time.
“How could I possibly have anything to do with it? I’m not the police officer that pulled him over.”
“I know you had something to do with it.”
“Considering I barely know anything about the guy—other than he likes to abuse defenseless children—how am I supposed to be involved with him drinking too much, then getting pulled over and being given a DUI?”
“You could’ve been watching him and called the police. Someone reported him, and I think it was you.”
“Watching him where, Ashley? I don’t know where he lives, or where he works. For fuck’s sake, I don’t even know his last name, or even what he really looks like, outside of a picture Jacob drew,” he said, the lies rolling off his tongue with impressive ease. “Which would’ve made it difficult to ‘watch’ him, even if I’d wanted to. Or had the time to surveil him in all my single fatherhood spare time. I know being a parent didn’t take up much of your time, but it takes up a lot of mine.”
He could practically hear her stewing on the other end, and David had to focus on not enjoying it; he’d do that later.
“So, are we done?” he asked sarcastically. “Yeah, I think we’re done. Quit trying to blame me for your boyfriend’s bad choices. Oh, and Ashley? Don’t ever fucking call me again.”
Then, with a satisfied expression, David disconnected the call and blocked her number, so that even if she did call him again, she wouldn’t get through.