Page 56 of Kept in the Dark

Hailey’s mouth hung open. “Screw you. It doesn’t affect anyone else. Were you the one who had nightmares about being beaten to death? Were you the one who held your breath at the doctor, praying they found a heartbeat? Were you the one who scrubbed dried blood off your body?”

Sara clenched her jaw and anger sparked behind her eye. Before Sara could respond, their waitress came over and introduced herself.

They had placed an appetizer order when Hailey noticed a man staring in their direction. She immediately noticed the dog tags that hung around his neck, standing out against the black fabric that hugged his arms. She nearly blushed as she assessed him, taking in his muscular build, blonde hair, and beard. The tattoos that covered his arms intrigued her more than she cared to admit.

“That guy keeps staring at us,” Hailey quietly said to Sara.

Sara turned around before Hailey could protest.

The man smiled and waved, and Sara turned back around and rolled her eyes. “Creep.”

Hailey lifted a brow. There was a time when Sara would have relished in any attention from the male species. This new Sara was both entertaining and peculiar.

Much to her dismay, though, the man walked up to their table. “Hi, Hailey.”

Hailey was startled that the stranger knew her name.

He chuckled. “It’s Gavin O’Dell from high school.”

A grin slowly grew on her face as she stood to hug him. “I didn’t even recognize you!”

Gavin laughed deeply. “The Marines change a man.”

“Still trying to be a womanizer, I see,” Sara said.

“Nice to see you, too, Sara.”

“I’m sure it is,” she said dryly as she made her way to the bar across the restaurant.

Hailey immediately wanted to strangle her sister for being so rude. “Sorry, she’s a little irritable.”

He smirked. “A little?”

Hailey smiled. “Okay, a lot. So how have you been?”

“I’ve been doing pretty good. Opened my own private security firm three years ago with my friend, Carter Anguilar.”

“I thought you were going to Harvard to study law?” she said.

Gavin sat in Sara’s seat. “I was, but halfway through my freshman year I realized I hated it. Carter was already talking about leaving and enlisting in the Marines, so I did too.”

“I would have never pegged you as someone who would enlist and then work in private security.”

“Me either. But it was the best decision I ever made. So, what brought you back to town?” he asked.

Hailey shrugged. “Just visiting for Angie’s wedding and then heading back home in a few days.”

He nodded and glanced at her ring finger. “You know, I’m honestly surprised you and Trey didn’t end up hitched. I always knew he was in love with you.” He laughed. “And I was pissed as hell about it.”

Gavin had always made her feel guilty when it came to Trey. But looking back now, he was right to feel threatened. She had feelings for Trey, despite her protests against them.

Actually, Trey had been a big reason as to why they broke up. That and the fact that Gavin wanted to sleep with every other girl in their class.

While Gavin was calculated and ambitious, standing to inherit a small fortune, Trey had been wild and adventurous, not a dime to his name. Yet, despite Gavin being the safest option, Hailey fell in love with Trey.

She often wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn't.

Hailey sighed. “It just didn’t work, unfortunately. After my mother died, I couldn’t stay here anymore so I left and lived with my great-aunt in Alabama.”

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