“It’s none of my business.”
“No, I suppose it’s not.”
“However.” I grinned slyly. “If you’re interested in one of my new friends, then I can promise you that not only will I not tell her how we truly met, or what you were doing that night, but that it makes me feel good to know that she’s not interested in a player.”
He blinked rapidly several times and then his eyes flickered back behind me. I laughed softly and regained his attention.
“Chelsea?” he asked, almost stunned.
“See, Dad?” Derrick said. “Told you she wants you. She always gets this funny look on her face when she sees you.”
I chortled into my wineglass.
Aidan speared his son with a glare. “Don’t you have a videogame to play?”
Derrick scowled. “You grounded me from them when I didn’t clean my room.”
“Right. Then call Shane and go skateboarding or something.”
Derrick’s scowl turned into a look of exasperation. “And how am I supposed to call him if you also took my cellphone?”
I laughed harder while Aidan shook his head. “Kids these days. They have the memory bank of a gnat,” he muttered and reached for his own cellphone in his back pocket. He handed it to Derrick. “Go do something that won’t end up with you in jail.”
I watched Derrick walk away, fingers clicking away on his dad’s phone, and turned back to Aidan.
“Excuse me for a moment, Trina.”
I was stunned by Aidan’s sudden departure, but I turned to watch him walk directly toward Chelsea, who noticed him as soon as he got close. But at the last moment, right after he nodded in her direction and her lips turned up in a shy smile, he walked around her and continued on to where Tyson and Declan were still talking at the far end of the bar.
Hmph. Perhaps both Aidan and Chelsea needed a firmer push in the right directionthat direction being toward one another.
I smiled into my wineglass and giggled to myself.
Look at me, happy with one guy, and already trying to fix up new friends.
“You having fun?” Declan whispered into my ear, and I swallowed the last of my wine. “Yeah, but I’m going to head out back and check on Boomer.”
“I fed him about an hour ago.”
“Okay. Then I might just take him for a quick walk or something.”
He reached for me, brushing his hand over mine, sitting on top of the bar. “Listen, Tyson said”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Trina”
“No.” I shook my head again. “Today has been really good, and I don’t want to think about anything else. I just…I’m feeling a bit tired and overwhelmed with all the attention and everything. I need a few minutes to catch my breath.”
He frowned, but slowly nodded. Leaning toward me, he brushed his lips against mine before he pulled away. “Stay close, though. I’m serious. We’ll talk about Tyson’s news later.”
I caught the seriousness mixed with concern in his expression. Doom and gloom settled inside my chest like a rain cloud. “Just a quick walk around the block. I’ll be back in five minutes, okay?”
He leaned forward and whispered, “Five minutes and then I’m coming looking for you.”
I showed him I was willing to comply with his request by rolling to my toes and kissing him firmly on the lips. “I’ll be back soon. Stop worrying.”
Chapter 19
Trina
I sensed something wasn’t right as soon as the metal door to the alley clanged shut behind me.
“Boomer?” I called his name as I took a step toward him.
He stood with his whole body tensed, his ears back, staring at the large dumpster, making small, quiet whimpering noises.
“Boomer?” I said again and took another step toward him. He continued ignoring me. His tail stuck straight out behind him, not wagging in his typical easygoing manner. “What is it, boy?” I ran my hand along the top of his head when I reached him, and was surprised to hear him release a low growl.
My dog didn’t growl.
Except when he was being threatened.
Anxiety sparked in my veins and I wrapped my fingers around his collar, pulling him back toward the restaurant. “Come on, boy. Let’s go inside.”
Declan would be furious, but I didn’t care. I also figured he’d get over it.
I yanked Boomer’s collar again when he let out a fierce bark and lunged forward, but the leash that I’d installed for him jolted him backward.
A sickening laugh echoed in the alley and I immediately jumped back.
“Seems to me that your fucking mutt hasn’t learned anything in the weeks you’ve been gone, Katrina.”
My blood chilled as Kevin stepped out from his hiding spot.
My eyes widened and I stepped closer to Boomer, seeking protection from my husband. With his perfectly styled blond hair and narrowed blue eyes, he looked exactly like the man who beat me up just weeks ago.
Evil.
Sick.
Cowardly.
That’s what he was. Always had been.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice strained and my words thick.
My hand on Boomer’s back trembled with fear when Kevin began walking toward me, and I noticed the gun in his hand.
He had a gun.
“You’ll be coming with me.” He spoke as if we were talking about the weather, or an upcoming dinner. So calm and collected, but I’d seen the darkness that raged beneath his perfectly chiseled looks and designer suits. “I told you last week that this game of yours is over.”
I shook my head rapidly, pulling Boomer toward me while I stepped back, keeping him in front of me.
“You’ll stop right there.” Kevin lifted his hand, aiming the gun at Boomer, and I froze immediately. “I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“I’m not leaving with you. I told you over the phone, Kevin. I’m never returning to your home, or to Kentucky.”
He tilted his head to the side. “But you’ll stay here? Slumming it with a bar owner? You’re better than that.”
“I’m better than you,” I sneered, anger and fury beginning to replace the fear I should have been feeling.
I wasn’t afraid. Not of Kevin hurting me. Not anymore.
I had learned too much about myself, tolerated his abuse for far too long, to allow myself to be cowed by him and his threats.
“You’re nothing without me,” he said and began walking toward me again. “And if you won’t come with me willingly, then I’ll have to convince you.”
Without warning, he pointed the gun down and I jumped as a loud bang echoed in the alley.
“What the hell!” I asked as I watched Boomer fall to the ground. His whine pierced me and tore my heart in two. “No!” I dropped to my knees, wrapping my arms around my dog, and tried to lift him, but he was too slippery.
Why was he slippery?
I clung to Boomer, understanding but not admitting what I knew had just happened.
He’d shot my dog.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as I sobbed, pulling at Boomer, but he was so heavy. And wet.
“Enough!” Kevin shouted, and yanked me to my feet.
“You shot my dog!” I screamed, and then I felt the brick wall hit the back of my head as he slammed me against it. “You’re a fucking monster, Kevin, and I hate you!”
“I said enough!” His spittle hit my cheeks, and I squeezed my eyes closed.
I couldn’t believe this.
My eyes went to Boomer but Kevin was squeezing my throat, making it difficult to breathe. “I told you to never leave me, Katrina. I warned you what would happen, and your damn dog on the pavement there is only the first thing that’s going to happen. Now quit fucking around. We’re going home. You have apologizing that you need to do.”
My lips twisted and I cringed back against the wall. That small movement allowed me time to draw in a breath. “Never. You’ll have to kill me first.”
I barely got the sentence out before metal was pressed against my temple.
My eyes widened and I clenched my hands into fists.
Amazing, really. My life began just weeks ago in that alley, and at that moment, I felt as if it could end there.
“Tell me, Katrina.” Kevin leaned forward, so close I could smell his breath and his cologne. “Have you enjoyed yourself, whoring around and fucking a man who owns a sleazy joint like this damn local bar? Is that the kind of woman you’ve become? A slut who spreads her legs for any willing man?”
“Yes,” I said, seething. I had nothing to lose. Blood rushed to my brain and my temples pulsed, but I refused to back down. “I like fucking him, Kevin, because it’s good. Best I’ve ever had. He doesn’t take what he wants, but he gives me what I need and”
“Shut the hell up, you lying fucking whore!”
“What the”
Kevin and I snapped our heads toward the intrusion and my eyes almost bugged out of my head.
“Go inside!” I shouted at Declan even as he opened the door further.
It took him a half second to take in the situation in front of him and his gaze fixed on me.
“Get out here,” Kevin said, taking the gun off my temple and waving it at Declan, who still stood in the doorway. “Now.”
Declan’s eyes dropped to where Boomer was lying on the ground. I saw him flinch before he obeyed Kevin and stepped into the alley.