Page 41 of Drive Me Wilde

Aloud, angry knock wakes me from a deep sleep. It takes me a second to shake my hand awake and to figure out where I am. Last night, Jameson and I talked for hours, before stretching out on the couch and falling asleep. Jameson is tucked behind me, and his bandaged arm is draped heavily over me. I can still feel the warmth of his hand between my thighs, and it makes me blush as I sit up groggily on the couch. The blinds are open, and sunlight streams through the windows.

"No, don't go. I need you here pressed against me," he mumbles without opening his eyes.

Another knock startles him awake. He presses his hand against his forehead. "Shit. Did I get hit with a train during the night? Feels like it." Another knock clears his head more. "Probably Zander wanting his truck."

Jameson plods, shirtless and barefoot, to the door. A cool sea breeze flows through the house as he opens it. "Nicole," he says curtly.

"What the hell happened to you? You look like shit. Where's Rio?" The woman swishes past him, nearly elbowing him out of the way. She's wearing a skintight dress and platform shoes thatseem to be too small for her feet. Her stubby toes hang over the front edge.

Her platforms stomp the hardwood floor in an obnoxiously loud cadence. She makes sure to sway her hips exaggeratedly as she moves across the floor. The woman, Nicole, I presume, stops a few steps into the living room. "Who the hell are you?"

My tongue disappears at her brazen attitude.

"Indi is a friend," Jameson says angrily. "Now it's my turn to be obnoxious. Rio hasn't heard from you in sixth months. She spent her entire twelfth birthday clutching her phone, waiting for your call. She hurried out to the mailbox the second she saw the mailman. Just like she was sure you'd call, she was sure you'd at least send her a fucking card. So why the hell are you here, Nicole?"

She waves a long pink nail at him. "Oh no, don't give me the guilt trip. I was busy improving my life, and I thought my little girl was in good hands. I arrived unexpectedly, so you wouldn't put on a show for me." She grins at him. "Seems my plan worked. Here you are, beaten to hell, arm in fucking bandages, and there's some two-bit?—"

"Uh, I don't know you, and you don't know me," I say sharply.

She sneers at me. I'm relieved Rio got Jameson's side of the gene pool instead of hers. "Whatever. If you are fucking women on the couch, then I need to get my kid out of here now. Where is she?" She moves her Frankenstein-style shoes in the direction of the hallway. "Rio! Mom's here. Let's get your stuff."

Jameson's expression turns from rage to anguish. "She's not here, and you'll have to get yourself a lawyer if you think you're taking her from me."

She turns around and laughs. It's an ugly sound. "You didn't even know you were a father until three years ago. I raised her all by myself."

He moves closer and stares hard at her. "That was your decision, and I will never forgive you for that. Like I said, get yourself a good lawyer cuz she's not leaving."

Jameson's phone rings on the coffee table. I glance at it and see the name Mrs. Everett on the screen. Jameson walks over and picks up the phone. "Hello, Mrs. Everett, I'll be over in five minutes to pick Rio up."

I'm tired of having the woman glare at me. I'm in the middle of personal business here, and I'm sure Zander needs his truck back. As I pull on my sandals, I hear the pitch in Jameson's tone change.

"Please, Mrs. Everett, I can't understand?—"

I can hear sobbing on her side of the call.

Jameson's face turns white and smooth like stone. "What do you mean you can't find her?"

I hop to my feet. Nicole stomps over. "What the hell is going on?" she asks. There's more anger than fear in her voice.

"I'll be right there." Jameson hangs up and starts searching frantically for his shoes. I find them for him.

Nicole is hovering over him like a rabid raccoon as he hurries to put them on. I anticipate that he'll be looking for his shirt next. I'm holding it out to him the second he finishes with the shoes. The despair and worry emanating from him is palpable, whereas Nicole is using Rio's disappearance as a cudgel to badger him more.

"You're pathetic," she says as she follows him to the door. "I can't believe I let you watch her all this time."

I grab the keys off the coffee table and sidle past her to Jameson's side. What I really want to do is knock her so hard she flies off her ugly shoes. "What did Mrs. Everett say? I'll drive you over in the truck. I want to help."

"We don't need you, honey. Move along." Nicole is vile. How the hell did she raise such an amazing kid?

Jameson sends off numerous texts as he heads down the driveway. The anguish in his face, in the way he's holding himself, makes my throat tight.

"Get in and you can tell me where to go," I say. He slides into the truck without a word. Nicole gets in her gray sedan and follows. I can see her checking her hair and makeup in the rearview mirror as we pull out of the street.

"The Everetts live on Pullman Road." He's dialed and redialed Rio's phone a million times, but there's no answer.

"What did Mrs. Everett say when you talked to her?" I ask.

He rakes his fingers hard through his hair. "Uh, she was upset and hard to understand. Something about the kitten getting out of the yard. Her daughter, Bella, ran inside crying about the runaway kitten, but Rio took off after it." A weak smile tilts his mouth. "That's my kid." His moment of pride vanishes. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. And Nicole with her fucking timing. She's going to use this to take her." His voice is hoarse and dry. "She can't take her." He's talking more to himself.

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