Page 65 of Hitch
The Mortician. It has to be him. He was pissed when he left the club.
But what if it wasn’t the Mortician at all? What if it was Braden?
Across the street at the bowling alley, I see a beat up white truck. There’s a figure in the front seat, but from this distance, I don’t know if it’s Duane.
What if Duane slashed my tires? Would he do that so that I have to rely on him?
Or was it the blackmailer?
Who is blackmailing who, and why would they come after me too?
What the hell is going on?
Todd’s eyes fill with worry. “Who did this?” he asks.
I clench my fists together, trying to figure it out, but everything is blurry, and all I can focus on is Duane’s pickup truck.
Since I started seeing Duane, nothing’s been safe. And now, I don’t know who to trust, or what to believe.
Chapter21
Duane
Reggie’s shoulders deflate.Pins and needles prickle across my skin as Todd comforts her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Reggie gazes up at him with a sorry expression in her eyes, and for a second, I wonder if they’re working together.
But then she bends her knees slightly, dipping out of his grasp. Heat simmers under my fingertips as I clutch my truck’s steering wheel, itching to kill him for touching my girlwithout my fucking permission.
But it’s business.
Just business.
Todd is business. Reggie is business too.
But the product needs to come first. That’s the only reason to keep Todd alive. Braden grows it. Todd moves it. And I handle the loose ends.
Goddamn, do I want Todd to be a loose end.
Reggie digs into her purse, pulling out her phone. I reach for my pocket, waiting for her call.
But my phone never rings.
An emptiness expands inside of me, creating a hollow nest where my lungs should be. My controlling heart burns.Needsto know that she needsmejust as much as I—
Damn it.I don’t need her. I could kill her right now if I wanted.
But she fucking controls me.
Without any incentive or request from her, I find myself driving toward the parking lot where she is. Reggie’s eyes flicker over me, lighting up for a small second before she slumps down again, clutching her phone to her ear. I park beside her, then get out and post myself against the car next to her. The car shifts with my weight. She angles herself into me the slightest amount, and that gives me a small taste of relief. Todd rests against the back of the building, giving us ample space. He knows that now that I’m here, he needs to keep his fucking distance.
At least he’s smart enough for that.
“What happened?” I ask. The slashed tires on her car are obvious, and unfortunately, they were like that when I arrived. But I want to hear the details from her. She ignores me, clutching that phone like it’s armor. Todd lights a cigarette, and the cherry blazes in the early evening light. I hold her shoulder, right where Todd did earlier. I tighten my grip, erasing his touch from her skin. “I can change your tires right now if you want.”
Accusation grows behind her eyes. My chest tenses with the anger building inside of me too. Does she think I did it?
“I only have one spare,” she says.
“Then I’ll buy more.”
