Page 4 of The Villain

He stumbles to his feet and gets into his car. I’m not sure about his driving right now.

I rush to my rental and follow him as he peels out of the lot.

I fumble my flip phone open. He’s going too fast for me to catch up. This rental is not built for a street race. He’s like a stunt driver with the risks he smoothly takes in the traffic. He makes it seem easy.

It makes me want to hunt him more.

“Hi,” Tera’s voice answers after the first ring. I put it on speaker so I can focus on driving, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat. “How is everything going?”

“They ditched him. He refused to leave you behind and they bailed. Work with a chance of never returning.”

“Ok,” she whispers but I can hear the pain in it. She loves the guy and wants good things for him so she feels the same pain he does.

I don’t say anything else as I try to keep him in my sights.

“Don’t leave him alone, Southie. Please.”

“I won’t,” I assure her. If he’s like Tera he’s about to go off the rails in a big way.

It’s like she reads my mind. “He’s going to drive for a while and be crazy about it. He’s practically a stunt driver so don’t worry about that. It makes him feel better.”

“And then?” I’m not going to be able to follow him like this. If I have a bar to land at or a restaurant, I can wait for him there instead.

“He’ll go home,” she sighs as if she’s defeated. “And he won’t come out for a long time.”

I hear a male voice mumbling words of comfort to her and she sniffles.

“You’re right.” She says to whoever she’s talking to and then returns to me with a determined voice. “Can you take care of him, South?”

“Me?” I can’t make the same tones of voice she can so the word washes out in the middle and goes soundless with surprise.

“Yes. He’s going to shut me out,” she sniffles and takes a deep breath. “He’s a runner and he needs some time. Please?”

“Yes.”

The easy capitulation is as much for me as it is for her.

I want him in my sights. More than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time.

If I tell her that she’ll become concerned and call me off. I’m not risking that.

She kept a huge, life altering secret from me. It changed the rules for our interactions whether she knows it or not.

If she doesn’t have to tell me everything, then I don’t have to tell her.

“Thank you so much.”

“You never have to thank me.” It’s ridiculous that she thinks I need the verbal comfort but it is Tera. She never listens when I tell her not to do it.

“I love you, Southie.”

I make a noise of acceptance and let her hang up. I’m not taking my hands off the wheel for this chase.

I can feel the smile creeping over my lips as he pulls farther ahead.

This game is going to be so much fun.

01. A Warm Place

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