Page 71 of Whatever You Want

“Did you notice anything suspicious? Anyone following you?” I shook my head as he continued. “Did you notice anything strange or out of the ordinary?”

I knew these were standard questions, but didn’t he realize that I would have called sooner if I had suspected anything.

“No, but seeing that my car was the only one vandalized, I don’t think this was random.”

I had a sick feeling about who it was, but I didn’t want to point them in her direction until I was sure. I was hoping that maybe it was just a couple of teenagers looking for a cheap thrill. But the more that thought spun in my brain, the less likely it seemed.

“I agree. We don’t have any other reports of vandalism in the area. Normally, if it’s random, it would happen at night and there would be more than one car targeted.”

One of the other deputies walked over. He wore a pair of black gloves and was holding a clear plastic bag. “We are going to send this to the lab for prints.”

I bent forward and squinted my eyes. “STAY AWAY IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU” was written in bold black letters on the brick.

Well, there went the theory that this could have been a couple of bored teenagers just trying to piss off their parents. This looked more and more like a bitter ex-wife trying to scare away the new girlfriend.

Once the sheriff was finished with my statement, he went to talk to a few bystanders to see if anyone saw anything.

It wasn’t long before a familiar black truck pulled up to the curb and slammed on the brakes. Logan jumped out, not even bothering to turn the engine off.

“Ava,” he called out, looking frantic.

“Over here.”

His shoulders sagged with relief once he saw us. He jogged over and didn’t even hesitate before lifting Madison and throwing her around his waist. “I got you. I’m here. Don’t be scared,” he whispered into her hair.

The tightness in my chest loosened at the sight of him.

He reached out and squeezed the back of my neck. His gaze darted over every inch of me. “What the fuck happened? Are you okay?”

My arms curled around his middle. “We are fine,” I reassured him, even though it was taking everything in me to keep it together. I rested my head against his chest to keep my knees from giving out. I didn’t realize how much I needed him until now.

He pinched his lips together and moved his gaze over to my wrecked car.

“What the hell!”

Will walked back over with Rex at his side. “Ava, I gave the deputy my statement. He has my number in case they need to reach me for any reason.” He slipped his free hand in his pocket while holding on to the dog’s leash with the other. “You must be the boyfriend.”

Logan’s grip along my back tightened. “I am. May I ask who you are?” It was hard not to notice the edge in his tone.

Will cleared his throat. “William King. I met Ava and her daughter at the park. We were leaving at the same time, so I offered to walk her to her car.”

“Really, do you always make a habit of walking women you just met to their cars?”

“Logan,” I hissed.

“What?” he snapped at me. “I’m just trying to see if there is a connection somehow.” He turned his frustration back to Will. “Were you at the park the entire time together? And if not, can you tell me where you were before that?”

“Logan.” I pulled on his arm. He was in full interrogation mode. “That’s enough.”

“That’s okay.” Will gave me a polite smile and stuck his phone out to Logan. “I was on a conference call with work. They can verify it if you’d like.”

“That’s not necessary.” I shot Logan a stern look to drop it.

“I gave the police everything they needed.” Will pulled on his dog’s leash. “Now that everything is under control, I just wanted to come over and say goodbye. It was nice meeting you both. I hope they find the person responsible for what happened today.”

Logan had a scowl on his face as he watched Will and his dog walk to their car. Once he was out of view, I spun around and laid into him. “You were a being a jerk. He was nice enough to wait with us until the police came.”

“Yeah, what a guy. I’m sure that was a real hardship for him. I saw the way he was looking at you.”

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