Page 80 of Driftwood Daffodil

I turned around and looked directly at Simon, “you fucked her.”

His eyes widened, “no I didn’t.”

Interesting how his voice rose a pitch.

“Don’t lie to me Simon,” I warned.

“I’m not lying,” he claimed a little too fast.

All three of us tipped our heads in disbelief.

“I didn’t touch Cindy until Nova and I broke up.”

Uh huh? I hope Nova didn’t buy this load of crap he was trying to sell us.

“And what about Nova?” I asked.

Simon eyed me for a second, before saying “what about her?”

“Tell me everything you know.”

It was entirely possible he didn’t know much. Every gambler had a tell and Simon was no different. His demeanor shifted when her name was brought up. A dip in the left shoulder and slight twitch on the corner of his mouth. As if he’d been rejected the extra point he needed for a win. Or maybe he was rejected something else?

“How long did you two date?”

He wasn’t comfortable answering that question either, “a couple of months. Why?”

“Did you fuck her?”

His eyes locked on mine, “she was my girlfriend.”

That was a no. I highly doubted he got more than a kiss from her.

I looked back through the windshield at Nova who now had her hand on her hip. “She’s a virgin, isn’t she?”

As soon as the words left my mouth I wished I could take them back. There was something deep inside me that ached to hear the answer. Something primal and dark that I didn’t want to feed. Not with the sister of the man who killed my brother.I couldn’t go down that road. I’d fucked up enough. I couldn’t betray Atlas as well. Unless…

My eyes rolled up Nova’s bare legs to the scowl on her face. There was more than one way to break someone.

Simon’s glare narrowed as he breathed out wheezing breaths through his crooked nose. “Why are you asking about Nova?”

“Because I fucking am!” The why was none of his goddamn business.

I was the only one who needed to know that. I needed to know why I found myself following her. Why did I stare at her in school, and why couldn’t I shake her face out of my head. Why was Novalee Ford haunting my thoughts when all I wanted to do was put a bullet between her eyes.

And why the fuck hadn’t they picked up that goddamn log yet!

“Ah, I see.” Simon smirked. He actually fucking smirked at me. “She turned you down.”

Atlee reacted quicker. His fist that cracked off the side of Simon’s face. It was a little too hard because the whine he let out attracted some unwanted attention.

When I looked back at the church, Nova wasn’t just watching us. She was marching over here.

“Shit, she’s coming over.”

“Well get rid of her,” Atlee said while Darry slammed Simon’s face into his knee before he could scream.

Didn’t have many options in this situation. We could slit Simon’s throat before she could hear his pleas, pretty sure no one would miss him. But Darry and Atlee were seen taking him. Taking our Nova was the other option. While I wouldn’t mind that, it was contradictive to the job. Which left only one option.

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