Page 70 of Comeback
Dane folded his arms. “Wherever you go, we go, too.”
“You guys can trust me. I’m done running.”
“I know that,” Dane said. “But we’re Devils, man. We gotta stick together.”
“Besides, our hotel sucks,” Reavo added. “And we got a shitload to catch up on, bud.”
I shrugged. “Alright, fine. Let’s go.”
We hopped in my Range Rover. Dane took the passenger seat and Reavo sat in the back.
“What’s with the kid’s seat?” Reavo asked.
“I bought it for Mackenzie,” I said.
I saw Reavo’s eyebrow arch in the rear view mirror. “But I thought you said you just met Emma the other day?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I said naturally.
“You’re already buyingcar seatsfor her kid?” Dane laughed. “Andshe turned you down? She knows who you are, right?”
“Yup,” I said.
“Is she married or something?” Reavo asked. “ ‘Cause any single mom who turns down anathlete with sixty sheets in his bank account is either already married to someone even richer … or she’s just nuts.”
“She’s not married, and she’s not nuts, either. Her ex was some drunk Army asshole. She still seems kind of afraid of him—when you guys showed up banging on the door, she was convinced it was him. Even though she has a restraining order against him, and he has no idea she lives out here.”
Reavo grunted. “Jesus, is it really that bad? Poor girl.”
“Well, Hath, if it makes you feel any better,” Dane began as he slugged my shoulder, “you can’t bethatmuch worse than that guy.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, D.”
Emma’s house neared, and I noticed the idling black SUV parked in the driveway. It hadn’t been there earlier. I slowed as we rolled past. It was a Ford Explorer—looked like the same year as the car I’d spotted camped outside my house.
I turned to the boys. “Hey, I’m curious, is that PI still hanging around Bayfield?”
“Nah,” Dane said. “She only needed a couple days and she was outta here. But that was like, a few weeks ago. Why?”
“That car.” I pointed at the Explorer. “There was one just like it outside my house last week.”
I put the car in reverse and parked two houses away so we weren’t parked right out front. I pulled out my cell phone to call Emma—and that’s when I noticed I’d missed a call. It was a number I didn’t recognize. The caller ID told me it was a Calgary, Alberta number.
My eyes narrowed.Didn’t she say her ex was from Alberta?
“What’s up?” Reavo asked.
“Hold on,” I said.
I called Emma. The phone rang but she never answered.
“Something’s wrong,” I muttered. I threw the car into drive and shone my headlights on the license plate. “Fuck.”
“Dude, what’s going on?” Dane asked.
“That car has Alberta plates.”
“So?”
