Page 59 of The Desperate Warrior

“I’d made a vow to Adrian and to God. I wanted to honor it, but she became intolerable—making impossible demands and then threatening suicide at the drop of the hat. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. I told her I wanted a divorce. She begged me to give us one more month. I reluctantly agreed. She was supposed to be on birth control, but then she got pregnant with Trevor. I later learned that she’d stopped taking the pill six months earlier.”

Outrage boiled in her gut. “Figures,” she growled.

“She used the pregnancy to keep me in the marriage.”

She made a face. “Weren’t you angry?”

“Livid.” He paused. “But then when Trevor was born … well, he’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Of course,” she said. “That doesn’t mean she didn’t manipulate you.”

He nodded grimly. “Eventually, I walked away from the marriage for my own sanity.” He worked his jaw as if trying towrangle in his emotions. I’d given up on ever finding the type of relationship that I’d been longing for. And then I met you, and everything changed. You made me believe in love again. And I messed up.” His voice was raw and tortured.

Just as Jules opened her mouth to respond, Brock’s expression turned hard.

“What is it?” Tension pulled tight in her chest.

“Look to your right,” he muttered.

Down the block, an old, green pickup truck sat idling at the curb with its headlights off.

“I’ve seen that truck before,” he muttered. “Today, while you were at work. And a few days ago here in your neighborhood, parked in a different spot.”

Her blood ran cold. “Do you think it’s Steve Randall?”

Brock didn’t answer. Instead, he sprang to his feet and sprinted towards the street.

Before he could reach the truck, it peeled off, tires squealing.

Chapter 15

“Remind me why we’re doing this again,” Jules grumbled. She twisted in her seat to throw an irritated glance at Nikki, who sat in the back of the SUV beside Luke.

Nikki lifted her chin. “Well, first of all, I didn’t know at the time that your hit-and-run wasn’t random. If I had known for sure that you were being targeted by Steve Randall, then I wouldn’t have planned this.” She leaned forward, her voice lightening. “That being said, you’ve been wound so tight, it’s a wonder you haven’t snapped. You need this, Jules. A night to relax and let your hair down.”

Jules couldn’t argue. Tension had become her constant companion. After getting the photo of her and Lisa in the mail, followed by Brock seeing the pickup truck on the curb, Brock had been ready to pack Jules up and whisk her away to someplace safe. However, she resisted, arguing that he could protect her just as well in her own home and surroundings as he could in some remote location.“Also, I just started back to work, and I’m not about to take off again,” she’d insisted.She loved her job and didn’t want to risk losing it because of some madman. More than anything, Jules craved normalcy. She just wanted things to go back to how they were before she had tolook over her shoulder every second, fearing what Steve Randall might do.

In the end, she and Brock had reached a compromise. Brock was now staying at her house and sleeping on the couch.

“Come on.” Nikki patted her shoulder. “Just go with the flow. It'll be fun. Think of tonight as a double date.”

Jules snorted. “Yeah, right. A double date.” She glanced at Brock, who was driving, and caught the flicker of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“What?” she snapped.

He shrugged. “Well, we were a couple.”

“Werebeing the operative word.” She shot him a look sharp enough to cut.

He just chuckled.

“It’s too bad the two of you aren’t partnering up,” Nikki said, speaking to Jules and Brock.

Jules would’ve felt more comfortable to have Brock as her partner. The prospect of having to make small talk with someone she worked with felt overwhelming, especially in her current state of mind. However, they’d decided that it would be smart to use this opportunity for her to talk to Asher Winslow in a casual setting to see if she could find out any additional information on what was happening with Steve Randall. So, the plan was for her to ask Asher to be her partner for the evening.

When they turned onto South Main Street, Jules couldn’t help but be impressed with the artsy area bustling with activity. The street was lined with several trendy boutiques, along with quaint shops selling everything from clothing and candles to books and handmade jewelry. Several of the shops had canopies over the doors, which added to the ambiance.

The location for the cooking class was a modern industrial building with exposed red brick and black-trimmed windows.The windows were large enough for her to see inside, where massive pendant lights hung from the open ceiling.

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