Page 58 of Gluttony

Taking a step back toward her door and the safety on the other side, not taking her eyes from the crazy person, Val knew she couldn’t reason with the woman. She needed to get her cell out of her pocket and call the cops.

Call Red!

Yeah, that last thing she needed was to trigger the crazy by bringing Red there. She needed to get the woman out of there so she could call Red…and see if the fathered a psycho’s baby.

“Okay…so, I’m warned off,” she said, “you can go now.”

Switch. Flipped.

The woman growled, reaching out to try and grab Val’s arm.

“You can’t get rid of me! You’re just a homewrecking slut who thinks her fat, ugly ass can keep a man like Redtube! But I’m the mother of his son, and I’m the one he wants a future with, and I’m going to be his old lady.”

With every word, Val felt a mix of emotions; hurt, fear, disbelief, confusion, and doubt. But the disbelief…the doubt…they weren’t about what she thought they’d be. No, she was hearing the looney toon was saying, but…she didn’t believe a word of it.

And Redtube was why. What he’d given her that weekend was why.

What a fucking mess.

“Okay, lady, I think I’ve heard enough. It’s time for you to leave before I call the cops,” Val commanded, her voice loud and hard. She was tired of the day already, and her peppermint mocha creamer was getting warm sitting on the ground like that!

“You don’t believe me, you think I’m lying, but you’re wrong! Red loves me, he wants to be with me,” the woman shrilled.

“Okay,” Val said flatly, unblinkingly.

That only made the woman madder, her body vibrating with anger.

“He chose me, he’ll always choose me. It’s me he wants.”

“Sure,” Val replied.

Again, the woman growled, but instead of launching herself at Val like Val thought she would, the woman began slapping herself. In the face. Hard.

Stunned, it took a moment for Val to cry out, “What the hell are you doing?”

The woman, panting, stopped mid-strike to snarl, “I’m going to prove to you that it’s me he wants.”

“By hurting yourself? What the fuck, woman! You’re fucking crazy!” This was not happening! Across the street, Mrs. Aimes was standing in her doorway, staring at Val, her eyes wide in shock and concern. No doubt, the older woman had already called the cops.

“Call him,” the psycho demanded. “Call him and tell him to come—you’ll see. I’ll tell him you hurt me, that you’re trying to hurt his baby, and he’ll kill you.”

Okay, she’s more than crazy—she’s dangerous!Where the fuck was her pepper spray?

After hanging up with Malo, one of the Bone Dogz patch overs who was working on starting his own tattoo shop in town, Red nearly threw his phone against the wall when it began ringing.

Again.

This was the tenth unknown caller call in the last twelve hours, and he knew who it was. He’d just, stupidly, hoped that she’d get the fucking message. He hit ignore then went to put the phone in his pocket so he could get the fuck out of there, go home, pack his overnight bag, then pamper and pleasure his woman as she worked on her latest white hat assignment.

The phone pinged with a text…and something, very much like dread, made him swipe down to see what it said.

Unknown: I saw you with her. Does she know about the baby?

What the fuck?

Unknown: Does she know you were fucking me just six weeks ago?

Shannon Scanlon. Motherfucking bitch! What the hell was she talking about—saw you with her? Had she been following him? Was she stalking him and Valentina?

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