Chapter 12 #2
Why not? I was in the mood to wrestle a bear. Maybe because I didn’t feel like my house was my own with Viper being there. What in the world had possessed him to act as if I should turn Mr. Smith and his dog away? What?
Jealousy?
That’s the way he’d acted. Was that almost wishful thinking?
While I didn’t know, the lack of understanding didn’t stop me from making a hard right turn into the parking lot.
As I swung into a spot, my anger continued to increase.
Enough so I was worried about what I’d do to the jerk behind the counter.
But maybe he deserved a little ugliness in his life, which was exactly what he’d offered Viper. As I approached the office, I plastered a smile on my face before throwing open the door.
I remembered the night I’d stopped, the sky a horrific shade of purple.
I’d been in shock, incapable of driving any longer.
The trip itself had been a blur and at that point, I hadn’t known what I was going to do.
I’d ended my life in Chicago in three days, selling or giving away more than the items I’d had shipped.
The truck hadn’t arrived until a full week later.
I’d had a truck that had seen better days, the trip taking a full two days of driving twelve hours a day. While I remembered very little of checking in and falling face first on the bed with Ellie May curling up beside me, I’d remembered the man behind the counter.
The same one as had appeared from a back room even before I’d smashed my hand on the old-fashioned bell. The entire setting could be used in a horror movie.
“Can I help you?” he asked, far too interested in what I was wearing.
I leaned over the counter, instantly repulsed but the anger kept me going. “Do you remember a handsome man who stayed at your luxurious hotel up until a couple days ago?”
The smile on his face faded. “We’ve been very busy. And as you might imagine, I don’t really notice the men who check in.”
“Uh-huh. Well, he noticed you especially since you tossed him out of your pristine property all because he had a dog with him.”
The stupid man tried his best to hide the plaque highlighting that they accepted pets. I snapped my hand around his, leaning closer.
“You little pig. You discriminated against him. Didn’t you?”
“I have every right to decide who will stay in my hotel.”
“You? This isn’t your hotel. You just work here and you can’t decide to discriminate based on lies.”
“Lies? Do you know what that man did? Do you? He is a killer. A monster.”
“How many rag magazines have you been reading, John? That is your name. Right?” I caught him off guard. “Do you remember when I stayed here a few weeks ago?”
He was more nervous than before. “Yes, of course.”
“I’m sure you do since I woke up and found you inside my room.” I had, but at the time, I’d been checking out and he’d had a decent enough excuse. Why hadn’t I called the police?
“I was… I work here and I check on my guests.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I have pictures to back up what I’m saying. Now, I’ve been very busy with my life, but I assure you that I’m friends with the chief of police. He would find it very interesting that you just walk into the rooms of guests. I’d watch myself if I were you.”
I don’t know what had prompted me to throw all that in his face other than he’d pissed me off then, and more so now. I’d allowed myself to play a victim of a dirty little man and in turn, he’d been an asshole to someone who… Who didn’t deserve it.
I’d learned a long time ago not to allow any man to take advantage of me. At the same time, I’d learned so many men were pigs. Thank God, Viper had come along. The thought brought both a smile and a need to drill this little cockroach into the ground.
“Is that a threat?”
“Just a promise that I intend on keeping along with calling the owners and warning them about your vile behavior.”
Little things could make me happy. Given I was committed to making my life more adventurous, telling the man off was small potatoes but satisfactory for the day. I’d already opened the door when I felt him behind me.
“The owner called me. He warned me not to allow Mr. Locke to stay here.”
I didn’t turn around. Not sure why other than I couldn’t stand to see the man’s face. “Why?”
“Just look him up. Rory Locke. In Colorado. You’ll find out.”
Was that even possible or was the jerk just lying?
“Pfft.” I headed out, so furious with the asshole that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.
When I ran into someone, I was knocked against a vehicle. “I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, Doctor Monroe. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Mr. Smith. Oh, how’s the little tyke?”
“Oh, she’s doing much better.”
I glanced around the parking lot. “Where is he?”
“Oh, my wife has… him.”
“You’re staying here?”
“Just for the night. We have a rental house and we’re going to look about buying a house.”
“Oh, excellent.” My phone rang and I backed away, almost ready to warn him to select another hotel. “I gotta run. You know how to get ahold of me in you need anything. Stay out of the woods.”
“Will do.”
I grabbed my phone on the way to my truck, realizing only then that he’d called his baby boy a girl. When I reached my door, I snatched a quick look over my shoulder. He’d disappeared. Even so, I had a slightly creepy feeling that must have everything to do with John. The jerk.
“Hey, Darlene. You can’t get enough of me.” I crawled inside, starting the engine.
“You’re going to be angry with me.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, because I had a talk with my dad.”
I froze even before I shifted the gear into reverse. “About?”
“Your house guest.” She squealed when I was quiet. “I know. I know. I ran into my dad at the store and he asked about you and… So I blurted it out.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I worry about you. You’re my friend.”
The lovely day had just turned to shit. I even beat my head on the steering wheel. “And you’re just dying to tell me what he had to say. Aren’t you?”
“You need to know.”
“What did Viper do?”
“Honey, he killed a man.”
“Why?” What the man at the motel had said lingered in the forefront of my mind, a knot forming in my throat. That couldn’t be possible. That just…
“Does it matter? He didn’t bother with a defense, although his attorney insisted it was self-defense, but evidently, Viper was found over the body in the woods where Viper had dragged him. He’d beaten the guy to death.”
I took a sharp breath, holding it in my lungs.
“I’m sorry. Dad didn’t think to discover too many details. He just knew that having Viper in town could be dangerous.”
“Then why the hell is he out? Huh?”
“I know you’re angry with me,” she managed. “I just worry about you.”
“Well, stop. I’m a big girl. Okay? Whatever he did, he paid for. He’s trying to get his life back in order now.” The anger only grew. So did the disappointment. Why hadn’t he at least told me? Why? Oh, this was a nightmare I didn’t need.
“Honey, he could be dangerous.”
“My own goddamn godfather wanted him on the smokejumper program. Are you going to tell me he would dare put a horrible monster in our community?”
“Like I said, I knew you’d be angry, but just think about it.”
“No, Darlene. I understand the decision I made was impetuous, but you had no right to go behind my back. None. Now, I just need a little time to process this. Myself.” What I needed was to have a long discussion with Viper.
There had to be a reason he didn’t even try to defend himself. “You don’t know him like I do.”
“And you don’t know him. Not really. Do you?”
God. Why was a tear sliding down my face?
I was a big girl. I was an excellent judge of character.
With the exception of my last boyfriend who wasn’t worth talking about.
“For about a dozen reasons, I’m feeling a little unhinged right about now.
Not only because I suffered the humiliation of finding out my boyfriend had been cheating on me since the beginning of our less than illustrious relationship.
Not simply because my parents suffered in their deaths, the son of a bitch responsible for what happened yet to be found with the police less than interested.
Not even because a man I finally connected with might be a killer.
And to add icing to the cake, my best friend, the one person I thought I could count on went behind my back. ”
“Grace. Come on. Don’t say it like that.”
“Like I said. I need a little time to think this through. Okay? So, I’m going home and opening a big bottle of wine and I’m going to paint my fingers off.
Maybe we’ll talk tomorrow after I calm down.
Maybe we won’t.” I wasn’t the kind of girl to hang up on anyone.
Oops. There went another little change in my personality.
I drove home with no music on, no real thoughts in my head. I was furious, enough so that I wasn’t certain how I should handle the situation. What I would do was discover the truth. Somehow. Someway. I would. When I put my head to something, I usually accomplished my task.
The dogs were happy to see me, but Viper’s truck wasn’t anywhere that I could see it.
Maybe a tiny part of me was disappointed.
I’d learned a long time ago that everyone had a story.
While there were people born with silver spoons in their mouths and trust funds doubling every day even before they were a thought in their parents’ eyes, that didn’t mean they were happy or hadn’t faced difficulties.
A part of me wanted to know Viper’s. Another didn’t because I had a story of my own that had kept me on a plateau of uncertainty since I’d returned. I’d been holding onto the past and my guess was that all Viper wanted to do was let go of his.
Not tell some chick he’d had sex with once why he’d killed a man with his bare hands.
While the pups did their business and did zoomies around the yard, I walked toward the corral, thinking about the little fawn. Viper had been so happy to see the deer in the yard. So had I.