Page 11 of Country

“I know, but what can I do? He knows what he’s doing, Country. He stayed away from the house because he knows you’re around, and he’s threatening me at work because he wants me to talk to him. He knows my job means a lot to me.”

“Why does he want to talk to you?”

She looks down and away, staring out at the window. “He wants me to go with him.”

“Why, though? Y’all broke it off.”

“He thinks he owns me. I think it’s because we got together so young, ya know? It’s like he really believes he physically owns me. That’s why he comes back. It’s why he gets… violent. He,” she swallows hard and pushes back a tear before leaning in, “he thinks I’m going to break, and coming to work was part of the game. If I go willingly, he wins. Unfortunately for him, I’m not going this time.”

Turmoil shakes me like an out-of-control train. We’ve just sat down for dinner, but I can’t sit still. I need to move. I need to hunt. I need to find this fucker and drain the life out of him… now!

She sighs and picks up a piece of garlic bread, dipping it into the sauce before taking a bite. “This is so good.”

“Belle helped.” I glance toward Daisy and reach for her hand. “I can’t do this.”

Her brows narrow. “Do what?”

“I can’t sit here and have dinner knowin’ that guy is out there, fuckin’ your life.”

She tilts her head to the side and continues to chew. “Well, there’s not much you can do. He doesn’t keep a trail and—”

“How does he communicate with you?”

“He doesn’t. He shows up randomly.”

“But he keeps tabs somehow, so he knows where you are?”

She nods and spins pasta onto her fork. “Where is this going?”

“We could flush him out.”

“How’s that?”

“You think he can see your social media somehow?”

She nods. “I’ve blocked him a million ways, but I know he still sees it.”

“So, what would piss him off the most?”

She stares toward me, chewing at the inside of her lip. “I don’t want to involve you in this. You said yourself how dangerous he is. Why provoke him? What if something happens to you? You’re all Belle has.”

“I do this because I’m all she has. Let’s take a racy picture, post it online, and leave the location tag on. That’ll draw him to you.”

Her brows narrow. “At the house where your daughter is staying?”

“The neighbor will take her. She plays with them kids all the time. I guarantee she’ll have more fun there than she’s havin’ in her room playin’ datin’ coach.”

Daisy shakes her head. “I don’t know, Country. I was looking forward to a normal night. I want to spend time with Belle.”

I reach forward and land my hand on her face. “Let’s get this asshole out of the way, then we have all the time we want.”

She chews on her lip as I lift my phone to text the neighbor. I’d love to talk about feelings all night, but time is wasting. The sooner I get this fucker, the better.

Chapter Five

Daisy

I’ve been staring at this photo for the last eight minutes. My friends are all wondering who the big, rough biker is next to me, and half the school board has commented with shocking face emojis. Apparently, none of them saw it in me to date such a rugged, monster of a man.

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