Page 104 of Craving Francesca

“What the fuck did you do?”

“I’ve been with you all week.”

“Oh, don’t give me that shit,” she replied, her voice rising. “Who did you send?”

“You wanna lower your voice?”

“No, I don’t!”

“Then get in the camper,” I ordered, moving toward it. I unlocked the door and went inside, knowing she’d follow.

“Who did you send?” she demanded as she slammed the door shut.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it fucking matters! Who did you tell?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” I dropped the keys on the counter.

“That’s the tip of the fucking iceberg, Gray.”

“It can’t be traced back to you.”

“I don’t care,” she yelled, her eyes wide. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

“You know exactly why I did it.”

“I told you I could handle it.”

“And you clearly fuckin’weren’thandlin’ it.”

“You know I planned to quit when we got back, you knew that. All of this could’ve been behind me, and instead, I’m stepping right back into the shit thesecondwe get back.”

“And that motherfucker just goes on his merry way to fuck with other women? That sound good to you?”

“Oh, bullshit,” she argued. “You weren’t trying to save other women. You were just pissed that he was hasslingme.”

“Fuck yeah, I was,” I spat. “Pissed doesn’t even come close to what I am. Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me? He’s lucky that I got you the fuck out of town because if I’d dealt with him, he wouldn’t be tellin’ the copsanything.”

“It wasn’t your place to—”

“You don’t get to say that shit to me,” I cut her off. “Not now.”

“I told you I was handling it!”

“I saw the way you were fuckin’ handlin’ it,” I countered, my voice rising. “Lyin’ down like a fuckin’ kicked dog.”

Frankie jerked back like I’d slapped her. When she spoke again, her voice was low and filled with rage.

“And who else did you drag into this with you?”

“Better you don’t know.” The boys would keep things tight—there wasn’t a single one in the bunch who would ever speak about it again.

She just stared at me before letting out a hollow laugh. Reaching out, she snatched my keys off the table and started pulling them off the key chain.

“You know, I could’ve forgiven the fact that you felt entitled to step in. I don’t even give a shit that Scott had his ass handed to him this week.” She slapped the keys back onto the counter, one missing, and clutched them in her fist. “But you fucking hid it from me because youknewI’d tell you not to do it. YouknewI wanted to keep it to myself and handle it my own way. Fuck you, Gray.”

She slammed out of the camper, letting the door hit the outside with a bang. I followed her outside, but by the time I’d made it down the steps, she was already inside my truck and starting the engine. She didn’t spray gravel as she turned it around, and she didn’t race back down the driveway, which would’ve given me a reason to be even more pissed. Instead, she drove carefully, like she was getting used to the feel of it, and that made my stomach sink.

---