Hard as Stone(61)

“Harmony?” she heard a deep voice yell from behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she watched Zeke wheel around the corner, one hand on his gun at his hip. “You alright?” he asked, scanning the now empty sidewalk ahead of her. “I saw you fly around the corner like the hounds of hell were chasin’ you.” Scanning her, he frowned. “You’re pale as a damn ghost. What happened?”

“I’m fine. I thought I saw….” Harmony broke off, looking at the empty sidewalk as she realized how stupid voicing her fears aloud would be. Tanner was gone. Hell, Zeke was a large part of the reason he was gone. He wouldn’t look favorably on her chasing down a lookalike of her ex-husband. “I thought somebody was watching me. I was tryin’ to catch up to ‘em. Turns out, somebody just walked over my grave, I guess. I got spooked.”

“So you decided to head straight toward possible trouble?” Zeke growled, his large body slowly relaxing. “You’re smarter than that, Harmony,” he chided, shaking his head at her as his hand dropped away from his gun.

“Sorry, Zeke,” she apologized, offering Zeke a shaky smile. He had a right to be irritated with her. Chasing after the man she’d thought was her ex-husband had been a stupid decision. What exactly would she have done if that man had been Tanner? The bastard had already proven that he could kick her ass once, and she had a daughter to think about now. It had been a foolish thing to do.

“What’s goin’ on back here?” Harmony heard her sister ask as Honor appeared behind Zeke, looking around in concern. “Harmony, are you alright?” she asked, her eagle eyes honing in on her pale sibling.

Turning sharply, Harmony watched Zeke glare at her sister furiously. “I’m fine, Honor. I just thought I saw somebody I knew.”

“I thought I told you to wait in the SUV, woman,” he barked impatiently, the muscle in his jaw flexing wildly as her sister merely shrugged back at him. “For once, can’t you cut me a break and stay where I put you?”

Honor raised an eyebrow at the angry man. “I’m sorry. You must have mistaken me for a German Shepherd. I neither sit nor stay on your command, Ezekiel,” she returned sharply.

“You’re absolutely right, Honor. A dog would listen better and he’d be a damn sight more obedient,” he bit back, taking her arm and gesturing for Harmony to walk ahead of them. “Let’s go, ladies. At this rate, Jacob’s going to think I kidnapped you both.”

With a last look over her shoulder, Harmony shook her head. She could have sworn she’d never mistake Tanner Suarez for another man. Maybe she was finally losing her mind. Or perhaps, this new relationship with Jake was bringing all her past mistakes and worries to the forefront of her mind, and she was looking for something that could screw it all up for her. Tanner could certainly do all that for her.

Either way, she needed to get a handle on it.

Insanity wasn’t a good color on either a girlfriend or a mother.

~~***~~

Jerking the door of the black Camaro open with more force than was necessary, Dante de la Cruz glared at the man sitting behind the passenger wheel. “You wanna explain to me what the fuck kinda game you’re playin’, man?” he snarled. “You almost blew every fucking thing to hell back there!” He jerked his head toward the supermarket behind them. “What the fuck?!”

“The best kind,” Tanner Suarez replied with a slow, evil grin. “It’s the kind of game Harmony hates. Mind games. They drive the bitch crazy.” His cruel laugh rang through the vehicle.

“She almost saw you, you idiot. I know Diego told you to watch her only. No contact. Not fuckin’ yet. You tryin’ to make her think she’s going loca and almost getting caught in the process is not part of the plan,” Dante spat. “You only have the element of surprise one time, Suarez. If she figures out we’re here before Diego is ready, you’re dead, amigo. Use your head,” he ordered, tapping his finger against Tanner’s temple.

Shrugging, Tanner jerked away and reached for his pack of cigarettes. “It’s just a matter of time before I get to deal with that punta. And believe me, I plan on enjoying every fucking second of tormenting that bitch,” Tanner growled. “That fucking cunt had her merry band of redneck thugs chase me off once, but she never counted on me coming back. I’m living for the moment she realizes that her world is fucked. I’ll take her precious baby girl and watch that heifer’s agony. It’ll be better than HBO.”

“Yeah, well, Diego hasn’t given the go ahead yet, and I work for fucking Fuentes. Not you,” Dante spat, his eyes almost black with rage. “Try that shit again before Diego says to roll with the plan, and I’ll put a fucking bullet in your head. He’ll understand that you were a loose cannon, and I’ll help him find another way into Paradise. Using your kid….man, that’s just fucked up.”