Page 59 of Drive To Survive

A pain as sharp as a shard of glass went right through my chest. It was the first time he’d asked for Nico since Paul returned. I pressed a fist to my sternum, shaking my head. “Not today. You can see him on Friday at the track.”

“Okay,” he said, his eyes filled with resignation as well as disappointment.

I waited for him to ask about Paul. He didn’t. I decided not to broach the subject either, preferring to pretend he hadn’t come back, hadn’t kissed me and threatened me.

I dropped Rhett off at school and headed for the grocery store. I needed a few things before heading home. But as I pulled into the parking lot, I discovered I’d left my purse at home. Goddammit. I had a ton of work to get through today. I didn’t have time for this shit.

I drove the three miles back home, dashed into the house, and retrieved my purse. As I locked the door once more, a shuffling noise had me spinning around. A man stood behind me, a stranger, about six feet two with broad shoulders, a mop of red hair, and thick-rimmed glasses. I held my car key between my fingers and readied myself to attack. Not that I’d stand a chance if he decided to come at me, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“Everly Lawson?” he queried, holding his hands in the air and taking a step back. He must have read the alarm on my face.

“Who wants to know?” I glanced around. The street was empty, but if I screamed, someone might come. I’d read somewhere that it was better to yell “Fire!” than “Help!”

“I’m not here to hurt you. My name is Nick Grayson. I worked with Paul. Can we talk?”

I scanned the street again. Still no one milling about.

“Maybe you’ll let me buy you a coffee? I saw a coffee shop a few minutes away.”

A public place. That would work. I was curious about his visit. If he knew Paul, then maybe he could shed some light on where he’d disappeared to for the last two years.

“Mallory’s?” I queried.

“That’s the one.”

I jerked my chin at my truck. “I’ll follow you there.”

“Great.”

I watched as he returned to his car and drove off, and for a minute, I considered getting in my truck and going straight to the grocery store. Then again, he knew where I lived, and something in the set of his jaw, the determined look in his eyes, meant he’d only return at another time, probably pissed that I’d left him hanging.

Parking outside Mallory’s, I spotted his car a short distance away, and as I glanced in the window of the coffee shop, there he was, fiddling with a napkin, waiting for me.

I went inside and slid into the seat across from him.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, pushing a menu in front of me. “I didn’t know what you’d like.”

“A latte is fine. Thank you.”

He nodded, lined up at the counter, and returned with two lattes. He added three sugars to his. I added none to mine.

I cut to the chase. “What’s this all about? How do you know Paul?”

“We worked together.”

“So you said.”

He picked up his cup but didn’t drink. “How much do you really know about Paul Lawson? I’m guessing you don’t know him at all.”

I rubbed the space between my eyebrows. “Look, Mr. Grayson. I don’t have time for this. Why don’t you just get whatever it is off your chest, and we can both carry on with our day?”

He wiped his fingertips over his mouth, even though he still hadn’t drunk a drop of coffee. “Do you want to know why he turned up here the other day, completely out of the blue? Because he has nowhere else to go. When he knocked you up, he broke every rule in the book. He kept it quiet, though, but I uncovered his secret. I’d have kept quiet, too. We all make mistakes, but after what he did, I decided the time had come for payback. I told his superiors, and they kicked him out.”

I wrinkled my nose, confused at the stream of consciousness he’d laid on me. “Okay, back up. I have no clue what you’re talking about. What rules? You’ve completely lost me.”

“What did Paul tell you he did for a living?”

I was getting mightily fed up with this game of twenty questions and zero answers. “He’s in construction.”

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