Page 161 of Renewal After Dark

“Yes, she is. I tracked her phone. So go get her.”

McKenzie’s heart stopped when she heard that. He’d tracked her phone? Since when?

“What do you want?”

“That’s between her and me.”

“Not anymore it isn’t. It’s between you and me.”

“Who are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. State your business and then get off my property.”

“I want to see McKenzie.”

“That isn’t going to happen. Do I need to call the police to get you to leave?”

“I’m not leaving until I talk to her.”

Duke withdrew his phone and made a call. “This is Duke Sullivan. I have someone on my property who’s refusing to leave.” He paused. “No, I don’t know him. Thank you.” He put the phone back in his pocket. “The police are on their way.”

“McKenzie! Call off your dog and get out here!”

“Shut your mouth. I know exactly who you are and why you’re here, and let me tell you, there’s nothing you can say or do to convince her to drop the case against you. This is a mess of your own making, so go home to your wife and kids, do the right thing by Jax and leave them alone.”

McKenzie stepped out of the apartment. “You should listen to him, Eric. He’s absolutely right.”

“You don’t know what you’re doing!” He took a step toward the stairs.

Duke stopped him with a hand to his chest that Eric tried and failed to shake off. “Take one more step, and I’ll end you.”

As Eric looked up at her, McKenzie tried to remember what she’d ever seen in him.

“You’re going to ruin my life!” he said. “Is that what you want?”

“I don’t care about your life. I care about Jax’s life. You don’t get to lie and deceive and cheat and then walk away like none of it ever happened. It happened. We happened. He happened.”

“I told you I can’t have kids. He’s not mine.”

“And you felt like you had to come all the way out here to tell her that again?” Duke sounded fiercer than she’d ever heard him. “I hear sirens in the distance. If I were you, I’d get gone before they show up, and I’d stay gone. There’s nothing here for you. Not anymore.”

He pushed at Duke’s hand, which was keeping him from getting any closer to her and Jax. “Who is this guy, anyway?”

“He’s the best man I’ve ever known, so you’d be wise to listen to him. You’re trespassing on his property.”

“This is what you moved on to after me?” he asked with a sneer.

“That’s right, and he’s ten million times the man you’ll ever be. Go home to your family, Eric. There’s nothing for you here. That’s how you wanted it, and PS, thank you for that, because what you did led me to where I belong.”

A police car pulled into the driveway, lights flashing.

“This man is refusing to leave my property,” Duke said when a young male officer got out of the car.

“I’m going.” Eric shook off Duke. “But this is not over.”

“If you ever step foot on my property again, I’ll make you regret it. You hear me?”

“McKenzie, come on. Can’t we at least talk about this?”

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