Page 34 of All I Need

“Where’s Gary?” Walker asks me.

“I’m not sure.”

“Should we be concerned that he hasn’t been in our way?”

Yes.

But I don’t say that out loud.

Instead, I shrug. “Let’s get the chair and table and hope he stays away.”

“Not incredibly reassuring,” he mumbles and nudges my shoulder with his.

The chair and end table are in a corner nook that I claimed as my own reading area. They were both items I brought with me when I moved into his house and mean something to me. I round the corner and stop in my tracks.

“Shit,” I mutter.

“Guess that answers my question.”

Gary’s sitting on my chair, a glass of what looks like whiskey dangling from the tips of his fingers as he sits casually, elbow to the arm of the chair and right leg bent, ankle resting on his left.

“I need my chair and table, then I’ll be gone.”

“Nah,” he says, a look in his eyes that sends a chill down my spine.

Instead of showing him my fear, I tell him firmly, “Gary, don’t be a prick.”

“You want the chair and table? Come get it,” he challenges.

“Are you threatening Ellie?” Walker asks, shifting so I’m behind him. “Or are you trying to scare me?”

“I’m not threatening anyone.”

“So you’re trying to scare her—or again, me. Newsflash, dickhead, I’m here for Ellie. My guess is that you’ve been able to use scare tactics your entire life, thinking if you throw around your money that you’ve got a leg to stand on. That ends now. If Ellie wants her items, she’s going to get them.”

“Let’s just… forget it,” I tell Walker quietly from behind him. I hate that I’m caving to him so quickly but at the same time, I truly just want out of this house. Away from Gary and everything that I turned into for him.

He subtly shakes his head.

“Maybe I should make that call to the police and inform them of my missing vehicle.”

What an ass! I want to say that I take it back, I’m not walking out of here without what’s mine just because he’s not getting what he wants.

“The one that’s sitting in your garage? Try it, moron. They’re going to look into it, realize that you made a boner move and fucked up. She brought it back to you when you asked her to. You fucked up and didn’t appreciate Ellie for what she is and now you’re going to have to deal with the blow back of that. Now, are you going to sit there like a punk ass bitch or move from Ellie’s chair and get out of our way?”

“You think you know anything about me?”

Walker’s so calm, his words never wavering. Meanwhile, I’m so angry I’m shaking. “Didn’t claim to, no. But from what I’ve heard here today and the little Ellie has shared? You’re nothing but a man who’s lived off his daddy’s money his entire life and now that’s about to be taken away from you. Not her problem. Not mine.”

I’ve never had someone stand up for me the way Walker did just now. Especially someone who barely knows me.

Warmth fills my stomach and tears sting my eyes. Before I allow Gary to see them, or allow him to think he has anything to do with my emotions, I push the tears back. Instead, I move in front of Walker and look Gary straight in the eye. “You want to throw around your threats? I have one of my own.” I lift my phone and show him his dad’s contact on my screen. “I’m sure Gary Sr. would love to hear the real reason the wedding never happened. My guess is you lied through your teeth, throwing me so far under the bus that my name was used as a curse by the end of the conversation.”

His eyes widen then narrow. “He won’t believe you,” he says casually but I can see in the way his shoulders tensed that he’s nervous.

“Might I remind you Allison was there, also. She saw the state you two were in. She would have no problem standing up for me.”

Gary’s face pales and he stands slowly. He cracks his neck and takes a step toward me.

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