Page 99 of Love Is Ale You Need

“Okay. I’m on my way.” The call disconnects and I speed wobble to the other side of the room. With my phone in one hand, I dial Marcie while blindly shoving my foot into a shoe.

“Why are you call—”

“I need you to come watch Abby. I’ll explain later.” I spit the words out in one breath.

“Oh. Okay. I’ll be right there.”

Luckily, Marcie doesn’t ask questions. By my tone, I suspect she understands the urgency. When I hang up, I poke my head in to Abby's room, my heart pounding. She’s sitting on her bed coloring in one of her many coloring books. “I need to leave for a little bit. Marcie’s coming over to watch you. I’ll be right back, okay?”

She lifts her head, taking her eyes off her coloring book. “Um. Okay.” Her gaze drops back to the picture.

I close her door but leave it open a crack. By the time I’m back in the kitchen, the front door flies open, and Marcie is wearing a head wrap and bathrobe.

“Sorry to have disturbed your evening. But thank you. I really appreciate this.” I throw a light sweater over my shoulders.

“No problem. Now get out of my way. I need to see who gets the last rose. It better not be Tonya.” She storms past me and into the living room. Immediately she’s flipping on the television to find her show.

“Abby’s in her room. I’ll be back soon!” I yell through the crack in the door before it clicks closed behind me.

Ten minutes later, I’m parking in front of the jail. I slam my car door and race inside the building. Off to the side, Trey jumps to his feet and meets me in the middle of the reception area. Holy shit. His dark hair is disheveled. A tear in his shirt runs down his bicep.

“Oh my god. What happened to you?” I run my hand over the split fabric before wrapping my arms around his torso and squeezing.

His body stiffens as he sucks in a sharp breath. “Be careful. There are more wounds.”

I loosen my grip and peer up at him. “What happened?”

“I met your ex.”

“Kyle did this?”

“Yeah. But I think he got the brunt of it. Also, he's booked in a luxurious six by eight room for a little while longer. So, sucks to be him. Let’s go. I’ll tell you in the car.” He throws an arm over my shoulder, and I keep an arm wrapped around his hip.

Once we’re in my SUV I start the ignition. “Where am I taking you?”

“Actually, my car is at your place.”

“What the hell?”

On the entire car ride to my apartment, he fills me in on the confrontation with Kyle in the parking lot, how a fight broke out and then someone called the cops.

“Also, Kyle stabbed me.”

The car jerks to the right as my gaze flies to Trey. “He stabbed you?!”

“Eyes on the road. I was in the hospital once tonight. I don’t need to go back.” He scrubs a hand down his face. “But yeah. He stabbed me. Twice. Luckily, he’s shit aim.”

“Oh my god.” I press my fingers to my mouth in disbelief. People say their life flashes before their eyes when facing a life-or-death situation. Well, the same is true when you’re told someone you care about was in the same position. I reach across the center console to reassure myself that he’s really here with me. His fingers wrap around mine and squeezes, easing my fear. “In all the years I’ve known him, he never seemed like the type of guy to do something like this. Why’d he do it?”

“Apparently, it’s my fault Abby doesn’t want to see him.”

“What!” The car jerks again. “That narcissistic bastard!”

His hand splays out across the dashboard. “Maybe you should pull over and I’ll drive.”

“I’m sorry.” I blow out a quick breath. “I’m fine. It’s just all this has me in a tailspin.”

Trey reaches over the center console and grabs my hand, linking his fingers with mine. He’s the one who got into a fight and now he’s comforting me. Every day, he surprises me more and more.

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