Page 17 of Dark Roads
I walked around the corner and the house came into view. The driveway was empty. If neither of them was home, why had he texted? I looked back over my shoulder. Amber was already gone. Gravel crunched under my feet as I walked toward the house. Crickets chirped in the grass. Cash loved to catch them. I’d help him for hours, just to avoid being inside.
I used my key and let myself into the house, hung my backpack by the door. When I turned my cell back on, there were no new messages. I plugged my phone into the charger. Maybe Lana had parked in the garage. I called out, but she didn’t answer. The house was empty.
There were a few plates and glasses on the counter, so I slid them into the dishwasher, popped in a detergent tablet, and turned it on. Even though Lana said I was family, it still felt like I needed to earn my keep. I hadn’t forgotten how Vaughn had called me a problem.
I found a bag of chips in the pantry and was walking out of the kitchen when the front door opened, then closed with a slam. Vaughn, wearing jeans and a black windbreaker. I stopped abruptly. I hadn’t heard his truck over the sound of the dishwasher.
He set his camera bag onto the table, his gaze going to my wet hair, then down my body. I was in Amber’s bathing suit, my T-shirt overtop, everything damp. I crossed my arms over my chest, the chips hanging loose from my hand.
“You said you needed me to babysit.”
“We’re going out.”
“Lana’s not here.”
“You didn’t ask if you could go to the lake.” He grabbed a beer out of the fridge, pulling the tab and taking a swallow. I stood near the counter.
“It was a last-minute thing.”
“The way you were kissing Amber it looked like you’ve spent a lot of time together.” He took another swallow of his beer. “Stopped to take some photos and saw it all.”
My cheeks flamed. The best thing in my life, the truest thing, and he’d been watching. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t say a word. I looked at his camera case.
My cell chirped on the counter. A text. I spun around, but not fast enough. He grabbed my phone. The screen was bright. It hadn’t locked yet.
“That’s mine!” I tried to snatch it from his hand, but he stepped back.
He was swiping his finger up my screen. Reading my text messages, and all I could do was watch and seethe. Thank God I’d erased my conversations with Jonny. Vaughn tapped at the screen, swiped some more, tapped again. My photos? Facebook? What was he looking at?
After a moment he lifted his head, his ghost eyes narrowed. “I thought you were a smart girl, Hailey. You can’t rent a place without money, and I know every business owner in this town. You think they want to hire a messed-up kid? I’ll make sure they don’t.”
“Peopleknowme. I’ve lived here my entire life.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. Children’s Aid won’t put you in a foster home either. Not when you’re already in a stable home.” He dropped my cell onto the counter, spun it with his hand, and watched as it slid toward the edge. “Should’ve cleared your search history.”
I was breathing hard. Like he could do this, shrink my life down to nothing? I lunged toward my phone, but before I could take two steps, he was there, grabbing the front of my shirt in a handful, wrenching me toward him, almost lifting me off the floor.
“You’ve just lost your bike privileges, and you aren’t going anywhere until you prove I can trust you. Not alone, or with any of your trashy friends.”
He let go, and I stumbled back. “My friends aren’ttrashy.” My phone was on the counter, finally within reach. I grabbed it and clutched it to my chest. “You can’t lock me up.”
“You sure about that? Maybe I should go by your dad’s shop and have a look at your dirt bike. If I find Cooper’s missing carburetor, that would be a big problem.”
“You’rethreateningme?”
“It’s called leverage. Stay out of trouble and you have nothing to worry about.”
My chest was so choked up with rage I could barely get a breath out. I scrambled for a response. “You wouldn’t do that. You don’t want to upset Lana.”
We held gazes for a few tense moments. I’d pushed him too far. Called his bluff. I waited for him to lose it, but his face stayed smooth and cool.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you don’t want to play this game with me. You’ll never win.” He took his beer and walked down the hall. I thought he was going to the master bedroom for a shower, but a moment later I heard the back door shut.
From my window I watched as he disappeared into his office outside.
CHAPTER 5
Cash skipped around the playground and climbed the slide, then headed over to the monkey bars. He grinned at me, his eyes bright and sparkling. He hadn’t stopped moving since we’d arrived. Occasionally he’d come over for noisy slurps from his water bottle, then he’d sprint off. I wondered what would happen to him with Vaughn for a stepfather. Would he grow up mean? Would he become a cop too? His real father was out of his life, so it wasn’t like he had any other role models. He’d already started collecting toy cop cars and staged high-speed chases, begged Vaughn to turn on the siren in his truck. I hated the idea of sweet Cash thinking that Vaughn was his hero.
