27. Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Sutton
M aci is only quiet for a moment as we pull out of the funeral home parking lot before she starts talking. “I can’t believe he had a secret life. Do you think he still does? Do you think Stephanie knows?”
Honestly, I don’t know how to answer her. “Maybe? He doesn’t strike me as the type to learn his lesson. He didn’t even acknowledge Colt’s mom.”
She stares out the windshield, her hands playing with the hem of her dress.
“You’re probably right.” Her eyes are vacant, and despite her words, I’m not convinced she’s talking to me.
At the red light, I check the rearview mirror out of habit. A dark Mercedes inches closer behind us. The entrance ramp to the highway is on the right, which I normally take for a shortcut out of town. Instead of turning when the light turns green, I test a theory and drive straight, fairly certain the person behind us is none other than Alan.
“Where are you going?” She scans the road before us, trying to find the reason for my alternate route.
“Checking on something.” I wink at her for good measure, but it doesn’t matter. She knows something is up.
As our truck crosses the overpass, I check the mirror again. Sure enough, Alan is right behind us. I don’t know what he’s planning, but he’s sure as fuck not following us home.
I whip into the next parking lot. He follows suit, but since I know where we’re going and he doesn’t, I pull a U-y so the truck faces him before he’s fully in the parking lot. He realizes his mistake too late.
“What the fuck?” Maci cries. “He followed us?” She turns to me for an answer.
“Seems that way.” I give her leg a gentle squeeze. “Wait here.”
“Like hell!”
Her door flies open at the same time mine does, but I don’t let go of her leg.
“Sutton.” Her voice is a mixture of pleading and surprise as she stares as me.
I don’t want to do this, but I’m not taking no this time. “For once, please just listen to me. Stay in the truck.”
“Sutton.” The pleading has intensified, but she’s about to give in. Her eyes are concerned, though softer.
I tap under her chin playfully with a knuckle before jumping down from the truck and slamming the door behind me. There’s no mirroring sound from her side, and despite her staying put for the moment, I know she’s one step from climbing down after me.
Alan steps out of his car quickly and shuts the door to his sedan. To his credit, he comes at me head on. “You can’t hide her forever.”
I snatch his dress shirt beneath the collar band, crumpling it in my fist and shoving him backward toward his hood. His knees buckle and I pin him in place. “You’ve been warned already, so you’re either really fucking stupid, or really fucking ballsy.” I lean closer to him. “But let me be clear. The big Irish guy isn’t the only one willing to end your life in a blink.”
Alan’s smug face doesn’t falter. “How romantic. Maci found a dumb redneck who’s a killer, just like her.” He enunciates the last three words slowly.
She’s had enough bullshit trying to process all of this on her own, and we don’t need any setbacks from this piece of shit.
“Maybe you aren’t aware, but they don’t arrest people for self-defense.”
Alan’s jaw ticks. “We’ll see about that. I knew I should’ve reported her when she stabbed me.”
“Oh, give it up!” Maci shouts from the truck, and I toss a look over my shoulder to find her with one foot in the cab and one on the open door, as she leans through the V the two pieces of the truck create. “It was barely a nick and you deserved it! You and Colt clearly needed a lesson in how to handle women.”
“Maybe you need a lesson in how I handle women.” A dark calmness washes over his face.
“Yeah, see, that sounds like a threat, and that’s the kind of thing I won’t fucking tolerate.” I tighten my grip on his shirt and give a solid shake, his shoulders bouncing off the hood once.
His voice lowers. “When I’m done with her, she won’t have a pot to piss in.”
“Whatever you say, but if you try to follow us out to my property again, I’ll assume you want a tour. And I have to tell you, I have four really fucking moody bulls, and a few pigs. And, I don’t know if you know this or not”—I pause for dramatic effect—“but pigs will eat anything .”
I don’t want to warn this asshole again. I want to bash his brains into the hood of his own car. Run him over with my truck. I don’t want to let him go.
Maci continues to stare her stepfather down.
With a final slam to his hood, I release him and turn to walk away. “If you have anything else to say, it can go through our lawyer.”
Before climbing in, I practically shove Maci back into the truck, buckling her seatbelt while she stares wide-eyed at me. Once inside, I whip around Alan getting back into his own vehicle. Whether he understood my threat or not, he doesn’t attempt to follow us this time.