Page 133 of Smitten with the Single Dad

“You’re welcome to come down to the station and be there if we get the full story from them.” Myla offered to Wyatt and Vica.

It was up to Vica.

She shook her head and glanced down at her pants. “I think I want to shower and change. I kind of vomited in the back of their car when I thought they were going to kill me.”

Wyatt smiled at her. “You puked?”

Confused, she nodded. “Yeah.”

He wrapped an arm around her. “I puked too. I was worried so sick about you that I actually made Dom pull over so I didn’t mess his truck.”

“You two weirdos are perfect for each other,” Everett said out of the open window from where he sat in the cop car. “We’ll let you know what we find out.” He glanced behind him. “If these dumbasses know what’s good for them, they’ll cooperate. Cops aren’t exactlylikedin prison. Particularly Gen Pop.”

Wyatt could have sworn he heard Fischer gulp.

Myla pulled away in the cruiser and Wyatt escorted Vica back into the restaurant.

“We want to thank all of you for your cooperation today,” Dom was already saying. “We will, of course, be holding a memorial for Ginny soon. And you’re all entitled to bereavement leave. We will cover the costs of a grief counselor as well, and I think that given the circumstances of yesterday and today, the restaurant and pub should remain closed until tomorrow.”

Slowly, the staff members, many of them crying, got up and left. Dom offered to lock up, so Bennett, Brooke, Wyatt, and Vica made their way on foot back up to the houses.

“I guess it’s safe to walk home again?” Brooke asked as they reached the wrecked and no-longer-safe gate.

Wyatt lifted one shoulder. “For the time being, I guess. Until Wyndham dispatches more goons?”

“Don’t say that,” Vica said, squeezing his hand.

They were nearly home when an SUV pulled into the driveway. Everyone recognized it as Gabrielle Campbell. So nobody flinched—very much.

“What the hell?” Gabrielle said, climbing out of her vehicle. “You have Cash and Dash Reilly acting like bouncers at the road? Why? You know that’s going to go straight to their already overly-inflated heads. And what happened to the gate?”

“Come inside and we’ll fill you in,” Wyatt said with a heavy sigh. “It’s been a hell of a morning.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Vica felt a million times better after a shower and a change of clothes. She did the best she could to scrub the day off her, but she knew that no amount of Wyatt’s delicious body wash or a vigorous rub with the loofa would do what only patience and time could do.

They all sat around Wyatt’s living room sipping tea and debriefing Gabrielle on the morning’s events. Wyatt also called Sergeant Fox in Seattle, and they filled him in too.

“I can put a call out for any cops in the area looking to either transfer or pick up extra shifts on the island doing locum work,” Sergeant Fox said over speaker phone. “But I’ll reach out to Officers Bruce and Jacobs about that. They’ve certainly got their hands full.”

“And their jail cell,” Wyatt added.

“Wyatt’s not going to get in trouble for shooting a cop, is he?” Vica asked, snuggled into the crook of Wyatt’s arm on the couch. “It was self-defense.” Then she laughed humorlessly. “However, he was dressed very sexy. So maybe he was asking for it?”

Wyatt squeezed her close. “Cheeky.”

Everyone else chuckled.

“Officer Jenkins is still alive, and hopefully the dash cam and body cams of Bruce and Jacobs were all on; so there should be no repercussions there.”

“Dom also filmed most of it on his phone,” Wyatt added.

“To add to the good news,” Gabrielle chimed in, “we have located two more women willing to testify on Vica and Evie’s behalf.”

Evie and Vica exchanged small smiles across the room.

“As well as three women who are willing to testify against Wyndham Croft himself,” Gabrielle went on. “I already have Barnes and Brier locating them. And we’re working on secure housing.”

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