Chapter 21Luke
CHAPTER 21
LUKE
Jumping out of the engine the second it stops in the bay, I don’t bother taking my pants and boots off before heading towards the main living quarters. There was a lot going on at the scene and it didn’t occur to me that something was wrong until I looked up to find Hailey sitting in Captain Bernard’s truck.
The look on her face said it all.
I couldn’t worry about it right then. I had to trust that the Captain had whatever was going on well taken care of. While we were on scene I had to prioritize work over her, which wasn’t easy, but I got the job done. It wasn’t until we were headed back to the truck that I could ask Nate about it, but he didn’t give me a lot to go on. All he’d tell me was Hailey couldn’t be at the accident, and he thought the Captain had taken her back to the firehouse.
I’m halfway around the engine when I hear someone call my name. When I round the back of the truck, there’s our receptionist, Irene. “Someone is here for you. She says she’s your fiancée?”
What the…?
Three things happen simultaneously.
Priscylla stepping out from behind Irene catches my attention first, her black hair swishing over her shoulder, giving me what she probably thinks is a cute wave. She croons, “And baby momma.”
My blood boiling is the second.
The third is Liam, who is standing a few feet away from me, putting something away on the truck, muttering, “You son of a bitch.”
I have time to half turn before he slams into me with the force of a linebacker from my football days. It sends us both careening to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. Pain explodes from my side, through my chest, but I can’t think about it when I have to defend myself against the blows I’m about to take to the face. It’s all I can do to put my hands up to protect myself as Liam starts throwing punches amidst multiple shouting voices.
“She’s not my fiancée,” I manage to gasp.
It feels like ten minutes before his weight is pulled off me, though I know it isn’t that long. I struggle to breathe, wheezing as agony shoots through my upper body. I’m vaguely aware of Nate telling him to calm down while Brody holds onto him as he continues to cuss at me, but the heck if I care while it feels like I can’t suck in any oxygen.
I should stay on my back and try to relax so my breathing gets easier, but I need to get up and explain before someone else comes at me. Except panic seizes me before I have a chance to do anything. Explaining this hasn’t been easy in the past. I can count the number of people on one hand who believed my word over Priscylla’s from the jump. It took me getting proof for anyone else to accept my story.
Proof that I have. That I can show. They’ll have to believe me.
Rolling to all fours, I slowly push up to kneeling, my eyes locked warily on Liam who has stopped fighting against Brody. He looks angry and confused, his eyes darting back and forth between me and Priscylla, who has stepped closer to all of us.
Sucking in another harsh breath, I get the rest out, “That ain’t my kid.”
This bloody woman. She’s been the cause of so much drama and stress for countless months. Considering she’s into her third trimester, it’s been close to a year I’ve been dealing with her.
Pushing up to my feet, I lay my eyes on her with a scowl. “What the hell are you doing here, Priscylla?”
“What do you mean, sugar? I’m here for you.” The smile she shoots me has dazzled many men, but I’m not one of them. “And silly, you know I prefer just Scylla.”
Which is exactly why I don’t use it. Someone once told me she liked using it because it was some legendary man-eater—another reason for me not to use it. I refused to let her eat me alive.
“You’re not supposed to have any contact with me,” I remind her, informing the others at the same time. I glance at Nate. “There’s a court ruling on this. I’ve got the paperwork.”
“Luke,” Priscylla starts, her tone changing from sweet to nervous. She takes a step towards me, but Brody steps in front of her. She can’t see over him, so she pokes her head out from around him. “You know I forgave you for all that. It’s just a silly piece of paper.”
Fishing my phone out of my pocket beneath my turn out gear, I pull the judgement up and hand it to Nate, ignoring Priscylla. This is the first time since I moved to Santa Rosé that I’ve had to get it out. I can’t help but wonder how she found me, but my guess is it has something to do with my cousin, Angela.
“Miss, I’m going to need to ask you to leave,” Nate informs her, satisfied, handing my phone back to me.
Her eyes dart from him back to me. They’re pleading with me, but I have nothing but disdain for her. She has no right to be here, showing up at my place of work.
“Luke, please. This is all a big misunderstanding.”
I would love nothing more than to snarl something at her, but my lawyer made it very clear I shouldn’t say anything that she might be able to use against me. Controlling myself and keeping my cool is something I’ve worked really hard for. I’m not about to screw that up now.
I cross my arms over my chest, hiding my shaking hands. “You have one minute to get out of here before I call the cops and have you arrested.”
“Luke, please. Don’t be like that,” she begs, trying to sidestep Brody.
Liam blocks the move without laying a hand on her, creating a two man barrier between her and me. I might smile in different circumstances since this is a big change from the way these two first treated me when I started at the firehouse.
“You’ve been asked to leave,” Liam reinforces.
Big, round eyes look him up and down. I swear she’s seeing him for the first time because her ginormous lips curl into a demure smile. “You want to show me out?”
Liam does a slow half-turn to look at me with eyes that question if she’s serious. I roll mine because this is nothing new for Priscylla. She spent plenty of time both trying to make me jealous and trying to find someone to give her attention when I wouldn’t. The former never happened, the latter usually found a victim in some schmuck.
“Thirty seconds, Priscylla,” I say, pulling up the keypad on my phone. “Or I’m pressing send.”
“Okay! Okay, fine. I’m leaving.” She knows from experience that I’ll do it. Her smile turns tight as she starts backing up to where Irene is still standing. “We’ll talk later then. I can see you’re not in the mood.”
Priscylla and Irene aren’t quite to the door that will lead them to reception when Liam turns to me. “Dude, I’m sorry. All I could think about was you fucking Hailey around.”
Damn it. Hailey.
“Hailey?” Priscylla whips around again. “Is she the plain redhead?”
I take a step forward, my hands dropping to clenched fists at my sides. This is one moment I’ll ignore the advice of my lawyer. Hailey’s name needs to stay out of her mouth. Lucky for me, Nate puts a hand on my chest, giving me a slight shove back.
“I’ll walk her out,” he tells me with a stern look. “Meet me in my office.”
He turns towards the two women, and I don’t spare him another glance as I head out the other door that will lead me to the rec and kitchen area. If Hailey is here, she’s probably there, waiting for me.
When I walk into the rec area that opens up to the kitchen behind it, my heart sinks towards my knees when I find it vacant. Turning, I meet Liam’s gaze as he comes up right behind me, Brody on his heels.
“Locker room,” Liam says.
I nod my agreement, but we come up empty handed there as well. My unease grows as we look at every place she could be, including the gym. When those are unoccupied, I head towards the front office area alone, hoping that Priscylla is gone. The only place left that Hailey could be is in with Captain Bernard, which means going through the reception.
The coast is clear, thank goodness.
When I get to Captain Bernard’s office, however, I find only Nate talking with him, and my stomach joins my heart in sinking. I can’t panic yet. I don’t know for sure that Hailey and Priscylla crossed paths. Maybe Priscylla was just guessing that Hailey was a redhead. Or maybe Angela has shown her the pictures from years ago that are still on my social media.
I give a light rap on the door to the Captain’s office. When both he and Nate look to me, I nod at them. “Captain, do you know where Hailey is?”
The Captain glances at his watch. “Left for an appointment about an hour ago.”
When I pulled my phone out to show Nate the paperwork, I didn’t have a single text from her. I wish I could say if that was weird, but I can’t. This thing between us just started. I know Hailey from ten years ago would have said something to me, but the Hailey of my present may not. Especially considering the circumstances of her disappearance at the accident scene. It didn’t escape me that the car we were working on looked exactly like hers.
“Cool,” I nod, trying to act more casual than I feel. I’m about to turn around when Captain Bernard says my name. I raise my eyebrows in question.
“Lieutenant Miller and I decided once Quinn and Shawn get back, you’ll ride with Quinn until we can find someone to fill in for Hailey. If we can find someone. Understood?”
I give him another nod, sliding my eyes to Nate. I might be the new guy, but I can read what he’s saying without words. Get to his office. Now. “Understood Captain. I’ll get ready.”
Without another word I disappear from the doorway before they can ask anything else of me. I’m pulling my phone out while walking back through reception, when I realize halfway through that my best bet to finding out if Hailey met Priscylla is standing right behind the long counter.
“Irene?” I call, giving her my most charming smile, dimples and all, when she looks up. “Do you know how long that woman was waiting for me?”
Irene, a sweet woman who’s worked the front desk for a long time, comes to stand at the counter where I’ve stopped. Her blonde curls bounce as she nods gravely. “I tried to tell her you all wouldn’t be back for quite some time, but she wouldn’t leave. Said she’d wait for you. If I had known?—”
“It’s fine,” I cut her off with an understanding smile. No one here knew, and I wanted to keep it that way. Priscylla is a pest that won’t go away. “You couldn’t have known. But do you know if Hailey saw her?”
“Oh yes,” she tells me with a deep frown. My blood runs cold over the confirmation. “I listened to the whole thing. Hailey thought she was here for Liam.” Irene gives a little smirk a and laugh. I try to join her, but my smile is lacking any conviction. “Then she found out the lady was here for you. Showed her a flashy ring and that big baby bump. That bump was nearly as big as her lips.”
If Irene hadn’t given me the worst news of the day, I might laugh. But this was bad. Really bad.
“Thanks.” I give her a nod because I can’t give much more and head to the back of the firehouse, pulling Hailey’s contact up as I go. I hit send and listen for a ringtone, but all I get is her voicemail.
“Hailey, call me. I know you met Priscylla, but it’s not what you think. She’s not my fiancée, and that isn’t my baby. I’ve never touched that woman in my life. I swear to you,” I say, pleading. “I need to know you’re okay. Whatever happened at the accident… I’m here for you.”
I hang up and send her a text, again asking her to call me as soon as she gets it. Captain Bernard did say she had an appointment, so with any luck her phone is turned off for that. I have to wonder what that meeting is. She was supposed to be at work all day so whatever it is, it was scheduled between the accident and us getting back to the station.
Walking into Nate’s office, I find Liam and Brody already in there. Brody is in one of the chairs while Liam leans against a filing cabinet. He stands up straighter when I come in.
“Dude, I’m?—”
I put a hand up before Liam says another word. “I know. It’s fine. I would have done the same.” There’s no point in holding a grudge when I know why he was doing it.
He exhales in relief, physically deflating with the stress. “Who the hell was that woman?”
There’re footsteps in the hall just outside Nate’s office, and I glance out to find him coming towards us. Stepping further into the room so he can get through the doorway, the small space is cramped with the three of us. When Nate walks in there’s hardly room for us all to breathe.
“Out,” Nate says to Liam and Brody while he moves around the desk to his chair.
“It’s fine, let them stay. I’d rather only go over this once,” I tell him. Neither of them made a move to leave anyway.
Nate looks between the two of them before looking at me with a shrug. “Okay. You want to explain who that woman was?”
Not really. Actually, not even a little bit. This was one side of my life I wanted to keep in Waco. I came to Santa Rosé for a fresh start, to get away from the people who didn’t believe me and never looked at me the same after finding out the truth. While I know these three believed me in front of Priscylla, getting punched in the face has me feeling a little apprehensive.
“Whatever it is, I can almost promise I’ve been through worse,” Nate says, pulling me from my thoughts.
Movement from the corner of my eye has me looking at Brody who nods, and then at Liam who grimaces and also agrees. Meeting Nate’s stare, I suck in a breath, blowing it out as I tip my head back and look at the ceiling.
“Priscylla is a friend of my cousin Angela. She’s a little unhinged.”
“A little?” Liam interjects with a disbelieving laugh. For a moment my stomach bubbles with dread but settles when he continues. “Jordan and Savanna are a little unhinged on girls night at the bar. This woman claimed to be your fiancée and then looked at me like she wanted my cock on a platter for dinner. She’s bat-shit crazy.”
I nod solemnly. “She would have been happy to have it. I met her about a year ago. Another cousin, Angela’s brother, warned me about her behavior, so thankfully I steered clear.” If I hadn’t gotten that warning, there’s no telling how this story would have played out. “But she set her sights on me. Angela talked about me, told her I was single and wouldn’t settle down with anyone. She got it in her head that she would be the one to tame me.”
Liam snickers. “Fuckin’ chicks, man. Always thinking they can tame us.”
“Her words, not mine.” I roll my eyes at the memory of her telling me that one night at the bar. “Now look, back at home I had a reputation. I slept with a lot of women.”
“Sounds familiar,” Brody says with a look at Liam, then clears his throat, his eyes landing on me. “Sorry.”
I frown at all of them. If they keep interrupting, I’m never going to get through this. “Long story short, Priscylla disappeared for a time, ended up pregnant, but it wasn’t with my kid. I never touched her. The thing is, she told everyone it was mine, and they all believed her because of my reputation. It wasn’t until I proved it with a paternity test they started to believe me.”
“How did you get a test done? The kid isn’t even born,” Liam asks, totally perplexed by this notion.
“They can do them during pregnancy,” I explain to him. I’ve been told about Liam and his lack of knowledge when it comes to women and anything besides sex. Emotionally stunted was the way Hailey described it. “Which she wouldn’t do until I got a court order making her do it. By then she’d turned half of Waco against me, including my own family. She wasn’t pleased when the results came back, but the damage was mostly done by then.”
“That doesn’t explain the restraining order,” Nate speaks up, leaning back in the chair behind his desk. “That’s pretty serious stuff.”
“So is breaking into my apartment on more than one occasion. The last straw was when I came home with a girl from the bar and there she was, lying naked in my bed, waiting for me,” I tell them, reaching up to scrub a hand along my cheek.
Brody shakes his head. “Shit.”
“Jesus.” Nate says, running a hand through his hair.
“I wouldn’t normally object to that, but under these circumstances,” Liam mutters.
“Yeah.” I glance down at the phone still in my hand to see if Hailey has returned my text, or if I missed a call from her. I already know I haven’t, but that doesn’t stop me from checking anyway. “I let it go the first time she broke in. The second and third time I had her charged. The fourth is when I filed for a restraining order which the judge granted once we saw the paternity results, and only after half my firehouse came to vouch for me.”
Liam crosses his arms over his chest. “So, like I said, this chick is bat-shit crazy.”
“How do you think she found you?” Brody asks after I nod at Liam.
My eyes move to him as I lean against the chair next to his. “Probably my cousin Angela. She still doesn’t believe me, even after the test. Priscylla has her screwed up in the head and she’s a bit of a man hater, so she refuses to see her friend is in the wrong.”
“This is why I stay single,” Liam says, giving a full body shudder.
I snicker at him humorlessly. “I was single. It didn’t matter.”
With Priscylla I’m not sure it would have mattered one way or another. She was bound and determined to have me. Refusing her only made her try harder. The fact I have a restraining order and moved halfway across the country says as much.
He winces then changes subjects. “Did you find Hailey?”
All eyes are back on me.
“Captain said she left for an appointment. Her phone is off, and she hasn’t texted me.” I frown, dread welling in the pit of my stomach. “Irene said Priscylla talked to her. Showed her some bogus ring.”
The three of them exchange looks. Liam waves a hand dismissively. “It’ll be fine. She’ll be like me. Angry until you explain.”
I don’t tell them I’m worried she won’t give me a chance to explain.