Page 56 of Dangerous Obsession

“Son of a bitch.” Cliff’s jaw was so tight, he feared it might lock shut.

Those three men could present a problem for Cliff and his plans for Marigold.

“Guess I’ll just have to shift my timeline a bit.” He sent a text to Greg.

C:I need you to get back here and take me to pick up my truck

G:no way — u told me to stay here, so I’m stayin’ here.

What the hell? This morning, the kid was bitchin’ about having to sit there. What changed? Cliff glanced at the photo again, and the light bulb came on.

C:If you want the other fifty bucks, get your ass back here. You can gawk at the little girly on your own time.

G:fine that’s the last thing I’m doing for u. besides, the fuckin bells on the door are annoying as hell

C:I’ll decide when you’re done

Cliff clicked off the TV, stood, and called his mom to let her know he was going to be picking up the truck soon.

“I made sure the man from the car place filled up the gas tank before he dropped it off. Oh, and I left some more cash under the driver’s seat, just like you asked. Honey, are you…” She hesitated. “Please tell me you’re not planning to seeher. Because you know—”

“Relax, Mother. I know exactly what’s expected of me.” He didn’t tell her that those expectations directly conflicted with his own plans.

“Okay, good.” His mother never challenged him. It was just easier to take everything he said at face value. “Oh, your father says hello.”

“Don’t you think it’s about time you stop doing that?” Why she felt the need to perpetuate the tired old lie that his father gave a shit about him was still a mystery.

“Doing what, dear?” She emitted a sort of uncomfortable forced chuckle.

“Lying about Dad.” Cliff knew exactly where he stood with his old man. “Besides, you should know by now that I don’t give two shits about him or what he fucking thinks of me.” Outside of his old man’s money, he never gave him much thought.

“Clifford Allen Barnum, your language is atrocious.” She scolded him like he farted in church and laughed about it. “It’s that horrible …placeyou were living.” She spit out the word as if afraid it might soil her tongue if left there too long. “Your vocabulary has absolutely deteriorated, and it’s all because ofher.” She refused to even say Marigold’s name. “You were a nice, polite young man with hopes and dreams with a bright future ahead of you until she came along and stole it from you. It’sherfault you’re in the predicament you’re in now.”

“Predicament?” His mother had a knack for using fancy words to gloss over the uglier things in life. “You mean, that I’m a convicted felon with no job prospects, no place to live, and the threat of being sent back to prison looming over my head?”

Yeah, he blamed Marigold for that, too, but he didn’t tell his mother that. She’d just get all spun up like she always did.

His mom was a relatively spineless, easily manipulated doormat—except where Marigold Hartnett was concerned. She’d hated Goldie the moment Cliff brought her home to meet them. She’d never liked any of the girls he went out with, but that didn’t stop her from gushing to Marigold about MaryBeth, the girl he’d dated right before her. His mom would say how wonderful and sweet and attentive MaryBeth was and what a beautiful couple they were. None of that was true, but she knew it hurt Marigold’s feelings.

Vivian Barnum recognized immediately that Goldie was different than the other girls her son dated—she was special to Cliff—and that threatened his mother’s position in his life.

Which was why Marigold’s betrayal cut him so deeply. And why she must be punished.

***

I’ll decide when you’re done

Regret loomed over Greg as he reread Cliff’s sketchy-sounding text. Why did he ever get mixed up with that jerk in the first place? Shit, why did he do any of the stupid-ass things he did?

“Because you’re a fuckin’ loser, that’s why.”

Man, he really needed to talk to his mom, but he wasn’t sure she’d listen to him, let alone believe him. He’d been kind of a dick to her lately. Actually, he’d been a dick to pretty much everyone in his life. His sister wouldn’t even take his calls or respond to his texts anymore. If he was bein’ real, he was kinda surprised she hadn’t blocked his number already.

As much of a prick as he’d been to his mom, she’d never turned her back on him. She was always there for him, bailing him out when she could, visiting him in prison when she couldn’t. His dusty conscience wouldn’t even let him think about how many times she’d shut herself in her bedroom and cried because of something shitty he’d said to her, or how much money she’d spent on fancy private rehabs. And what did he do? He fucking bailed on all of ’em.

What a supreme fuck-up he’d become.

He scrolled through his contact list until he got to his mom’s number.Shit. His head dropped back against the headrest. He didn’t even have her in his favorites list. Greg selected her number, and his thumb hovered over the call button.

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