Page 146 of The Promise Of You

This wait is killing me. How long has it been? My phone chimes, signaling movement again. Ohmygod, the men are coming out, carrying heavy-ass boxes. They’re hunched over. And… is that Justin? What is he doing? He’s walking to them, hands on his hips.

Oh no, no, no. Don’t! I slide behind the wheel, deciding I’m going to pull up there in the truck. I’ll improvise once I get there.

I gun it, turning the high beams on.

And finally, finally! Red and blue lights materialize in my rearview mirror. I speed up and pull to the side as I get to the parking lot just in time to see Justin stumble back and charge.

Declan sounds his siren, then jumps out of the car. Another cruiser pulls up, and the three silhouettes in the parking lot freeze. Clearly recognizable, David and Samuel are blinking, blinded, and surprised.

Justin wipes under his nose. “You wanna rewind this action and come in a little later, Dec, gimme a chance to punch this asshole in self-defense?”

“Step back, King,” Declan orders, obviously not in the mood for Justin’s snarkiness.

“He did hit me.”

“Payback, asshole” Samuel snarls.

“Payback for what, you fucking moron? You’re stealing merchandise, you—”

“Enough!” Declan yells. “Everyone on your knees, hands behind your head.”

Justin shakes his head, takes several steps back from Samuel, and complies. David follows suit. When Samuel doesn’t, Declan pulls his gun.

Shit!

“Come on, man, how much you wanna add to your situation?” Declan asks. “Do the right thing for once. On your knees.”

Samuel drops to the ground.

The rest of the night goes by in a blur. Samuel and David are booked. Justin’s upper lip is split, dried blood caking on it, but he won’t let medics look at him.

Declan takes our statements. Photos are taken of the contents of the trunk, and I’m asked to identify them. I’ll need to corroborate with invoices, but it’s clear what was going on.

I’m relieved we caught them. Shocked and deeply disappointed by David, but relieved.

Justin winces as I clean his lip with a saline solution. “You okay, Clover?”

“Can’t say I was thrilled to see you charge up to them, but yeah.” I dab the cut with disinfecting cream.

He laces his arms around my waist. “You look pretty shaken.”

“Yeah, I wonder why. Oh wait! I just saw my boyfriend get stirred like a martini no one ordered.”

His lip looks painful as it splits into his killer smile. “Boyfriend?”

Ouch. “Or… whatever.”

He traces my face with the pad of his thumb. “You’re more than my girlfriend, Clover.”

My eyes water while my center clenches. “Oh.” What do I say to that? “I just saw my person get hurt,” I correct.

His shoulders shake as he laughs softly. “No, but really, Clo, how’re you feeling?”

“Relieved. And yes, shocked. And disgusted that Samuel, who Uncle Kevin and Aunt Dawn trusted, could do that, and same for David. Although David? Did not see that coming.”

“You said relieved?”

“Yeah. Mystery solved. I can move on now, hire new people. Although—shit!”

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