Page 19 of Holly's Valentine Vow

“Well, for starters, I didn’t expect you to miraculously look as though you’d slept for a week, but you look as tired if not even more so than you did when you left yesterday evening. Plus, your eyes are red-rimmed, sweetheart. You know you don’t have to come every day,” he says.

“I’m not just gonna leave you all willy-nilly in someone else’s care,” I huff out.

“Willy-nilly?” he teases, making me giggle.

“Yeah, willy-nilly,” I reply. “I had a nightmare last night, so I woke up at a ridiculous time and couldn’t go back to sleep. I did what little housework there was to do seeing as Grammy and the girls pretty much did the bulk of it. They even cleaned out the refrigerator for me!”

“What was the nightmare about?” he asks, eyes narrowed in my direction as if he’s preparing to slay all of my dragons.

Without even thinking, probably because he didn’t really push the issue, I pour it all out, the heart-pounding fear I had, hearing the girls’ screams, every last thing. “I think my mind just twisted everything that happened to you is all, Rebel,” I state, finishing up my long-winded story. “Because there’s no way me and the girls are in any kind of danger.”

I don’t tell him about Myra’s phone call; that’s still a bit too… raw for me to think about right now. But I suspect it was that combined with everything from the past two weeks swirling in my brain to create the nightmare to end all nightmares.

He’s quiet for so long, I glance at him to see his eyes are closed, his jaw is clenched, and his hands are balled into tight fists. “Rebel?”

He shudders then says, “Heard from Data after you left last night. The person who hit me was Myra McAfee. It’s been confirmed and is no longer a suspicion.”

“What? She was actually responsible?” Even after her phone call last night, I was still wishful that she was just talking shit and she didn’t actually do anything so nefarious. “I mean, I know what Samuel found at their house, but I was hoping he was wrong, and there was another explanation for why her car was damaged. Devin would be so disappointed in his mom. Well, the old Devin would’ve been. I’m not sure the man he was before he died would’ve cared. What’s gonna happen now, Rebel?”

“The detective is getting a search warrant so they can go and pick up the car and examine it. I need to see if your grandfather kept the stuff he got out of the ditch in case any of those pieces match up,” he replies.

“Jesus Christ, she’s off her rocker,” I murmur, briefly wondering if Ishouldtell him about the phone call. Then I realize that we don’t keep secrets from each other, so I tell him that as well, totally unprepared for his reaction.

“Dammit, Holly! She all but threatened you and she admitted that she was hopingyouwere on my bike with me! How could you think that wasn’t important?”

“I… I’m sorry.” My voice and lower lip quivers. “Does it help if I tell you that I hit record on the conversation?” I manage to stammer out.

“Fuck yeah, it does.” He picks up his phone and calls the detective. “Detective Chesterfield? Rebel Sherman here. I know Samuel McAfee came to see you yesterday, but that’s not why I’m calling. Myra called my fiancée last night and not only did she admit to hitting me, but she also issued a thinly veiled threat toward her as well. Holly managed to record the conversation, but I don’t know how much of the conversation was taped.” He looks at me and I shrug. “Okay. Okay, that’s fine, we’ll see you soon.”

He hangs up and looks at me and says, “He’ll be here shortly since he’s gotta go and pick up the signed warrant.”

I pull out my phone and cue up the recording, then press play. After listening to it, I watch my man lose his mind. When one of the aides steps in, he throws up his hand and growls out, “Not. Now.” She hurriedly leaves while I try to calm him down.

“God, I could use a nap,” Rebel says, yawning so loudly his jaw cracks.

“Me too,” I admit. Detective Chesterfield has come and gone so now, it’s a waiting game as to when Myra is arrested.

“Then get your ass over here and let’s take one,” he says.

I set my laptop down, grateful that my early morning allowed me to take care of several tasks for my clients and crawl into the bed with him. He covers me with the fuzzy throw, and I snuggle into his arms and sigh. “I love you. Remind me that this is just a speed bump, pretty please?”

He leans in and kisses me and whispers, “And it’s one we’re gonna conquer, sweetheart. Now sleep, babe.”

I don’t nap for long because Ash and Data come into the room. “Hey, Pres, how you feeling today?” Ash asks Rebel, grabbing one of the chairs. “You look better at least.”

“Sore as hell from physical therapy and I look better because I finally got a fucking shower,” Rebel replies.

“Holly couldn’t take it any longer, huh?” Data teases, making me giggle.

“I think he couldn’t deal with himself, Data,” I reply. “I mean, would you like to have caked blood and dirt plus God knows what else embedded in your scalp for two weeks?”

Both men shudder at the thought, making me laugh harder. Maybe I’ve finally gone over the edge of sanity, but it honestly feels good to expel some of this pent-up emotion and I’d rather laugh than cry. Heaven knows I’ve done enough of that in the past few weeks to last me a lifetime.

“So, you want the latest update?” Ash questions. “Seems the police served the search warrant and picked up one very badly damaged vehicle with a tow truck. Also, she’s now in custody and currently sitting in jail waiting for her attorney to show up before they begin the interrogation since she asked for legal representation before they could get a word in edgewise.”

My arm flies in the air as I yell out, “Yes!” At their looks, I shrug. “What? She’s hated me since I was a teenager, y’all. A scrawny, gawky girl with braces no less. All because ‘her precious son’ liked me! That should’ve been my first clue, I guess, but I had never heard of red flags before.”

“Well, now that we have that sorted, how long before they spring you from this place, Pres?” Ash asks.

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