Page 79 of Rooster

“Who knows? He was just mouthing.” She wouldn’t even look at me as she went over and collected her purse and keys. “He’ll get over it.”

“What was he mouthing about?”

Maggie stopped and looked up at me as she said, “It doesn’t matter. It was...”

“Maggie.”

“Okay, but honestly, it’s not that big of a deal.”

She leaned against the front counter as she recounted the disturbing encounter with her ex. Not only did he show up at her place of work unannounced, but he came after hours when she was alone, and that enraged me. Sensing my building fury, she tried to diffuse the situation.

“He knows things are getting serious between the two of us, and he’s struggling with it.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to come in here and give you a hard time.”

“I know, but...”

“Don’t make excuses for him, Maggie.” Today was not the day. I was tired and on edge, and just the thought of that asshole giving Maggie a hard time had me ready to blow. “He doesn’t deserve them.”

“I know. You’re right. He shouldn’t have come here, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“Maybe not, but I can.”

“What?” Her eyes widened with panic. “No. I don’t... you don’t... Just leave it, Ronin. I don’t want you getting in the middle of all this.”

“I already am.” I motioned my head towards the door as I told her, “Now, lock up and get home to the kids.”

“But what are you going to do?”

“This is where that trust comes into play.”

“I trust you, Ronin. It’s Chad that I don’t trust.”

“I can handle him. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“And I can’t talk you out of it?”

“Afraid not.”

She shook her head and grabbed her things. I waited for her to lock the door before walking her out to her car. “You heading on home?”

“Yeah, I’ve gotta make dinner and help Samantha with a project for school.”

“Then you best get going.”

I gave her a quick kiss goodbye as she opened her door and got inside. “You’ll call me later?”

“You know I will.”

She nodded, then started the engine and pulled out of her parking spot. As soon as she pulled off, I got in my truck and sent Bones a message asking for Chad’s address. A few minutes later, he texted me back, and I plugged in the location on my GPS. My hands gripped the steering wheel, and my knuckles were white with anger as I sped toward Chad's house.

I couldn’t stop thinking about him being in that salon with Maggie, yelling at her about spending the weekend with me. It was bullshit. The guy had no claim to her, and it pissed me off that the arrogant prick thought he did. I was determined to set the score right—one way or another.

When I got to the address Bones had sent, I parked and charged up to the front door. I knocked, and seconds later, it eased open, and Chad appeared. It was clear from his expression that he was taken aback by my presence, but he tried to appear unbothered as he asked, “Can I help you with something?”

“That depends... Are you Chad?”

“Yeah, that’s me.” He rolled his eyes with disgust. “So, you’re the new boyfriend.”

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