Page 22 of Dare to Need

Stopping mid-stride, I whirled around to look for the person who’d called my name. My eyes landed on a woman about my height with long straight blonde hair. The curves of her frame were accentuated with a tailored gray pantsuit. A plum cowl neck shirt was the perfect pairing for her deep skin tone.

I tilted my head to the side, wondering how this stranger knew my name. “Can I help you?” I asked.

“Are you Ms. Eva Barnes?”

“Yes,” I drew out the word, unsure with myself if revealing my full name to a random stranger was the right thing to do. Then my mind immediately started racing with worry as I thought about Garth. Was he okay? Did something happen to his dad?

My heartbeat quickened as she extended a large Manila envelope toward me and said, “You’ve been summoned.”

“Excuse me?” I tried to rack my mind for any knowledge of what that meant and came up short.

“You’ve been summoned,” she repeated.

When I stared blankly at her she let out a frustrated humph and said, “Just open the envelope and read through the contents. It will instruct you on what to do, okay?” I didn’t miss the condescension in her tone and a flicker of irritation made the back of my neck heat up.

Grappling with the bag of bagels and the drink carrier, I managed to take the envelope from her. The heels of her stilettos clicked against the marble flooring of the hotel lobby as she sauntered out the double glass doors.

Setting the coffee and bagels down on one of the coffee tables between two wingback chairs, I tried to calm my racing heart as I tore open the envelope.

It took me a moment to read through the contents. The anxiety I felt made my mind work slower, making it difficult to understand exactly what I was reading.

Abrupt realization hit me square in the chest as I re-read the letter for the third time. I was being subpoenaed as a witness in the case of Connor versus his biostatistics professor.

What the hell?

Dizziness made my hands shake as the paper fell from them, drifting like a feather onto the floor.

I fell back into the seat, trying to still my breath. The man who already took so much away from me, now wanted me to be a witness against the woman he cheated on me with?

Hot steely anger took over every emotion I had felt for the past two days. Gone was the worry over Garth and our relationship. Gone was the blend of hesitation and anticipation of moving to a brand new city. There was nothing left in my mind, except pure blinding rage.

A feeling that frightened me with its foreign intensity. A newfound hatred towards Connor started to bloom within me. For the past nine months, I’d tried to avoid him at all costs. And the few moments I did run into him were fleeting, as he tried to avoid me as well. Now that I had the well-deserved freedom from him, he was trying to use me again for his own self-gain? Bringing me into the dramahe’dcaused with the woman he told me he loved more than he’d ever loved me. The woman he was willing to ask me to lie to everyone for.

Pain started to nag at my temples as a raging string of expletives spilled from my mouth. The months I spent healing from his and our friends’ betrayal helped me to see just how selfish he was. Just like his parents, Connor only engaged in relationships with others that would advance him in some way. And by me being willing to give up so much of myself in support of his dream was just the start of him learning how to manipulate others to do his bidding.

Clearly, the love he’d felt for his professor didn’t last. She was just another pawn in his game and she was about to pay a heavy price for getting involved with him.

“Fucking fuck,” I seethed, fumbling to reach for the paper off the stone floor.

Now was not the time to have anything added to the pile of shit Garth and I were trying to manage. There was no way in hell I was going to tell him about this. Not yet, anyway.

But I didn’t know what it meant to be subpoenaed as a witness. Did I have any choice in the matter? I hoped with everything I had that it was a simple fix and I could remove myself from the situation with little effort.

If Connor was going to cost me lawyer fees in trying to get out of this situation, I would do my best to make sure he and his parents were the ones to pay for it.

A few minutes of research on my phone told me that I would likely have to appear in court unless there were extenuating circumstances, which I probably didn’t qualify for.

Shit.

That fucking asshole was trying to suck me dry of any happiness in life. Dragging me along regardless of the consequences it would have on my life.

Vengeful regret washed over me. Wishing I had never fallen for him in the first place all those years ago.

“Ugh,” I grumbled as I slid the paper back into the Manila envelope. Folding it up, I slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans so Garth wouldn’t see it if he was awake when I walked into our room.

Thankfully, the cups of coffee were still hot as I wrapped a hand around them, testing their temperature. Hopefully, the bagels were still warm too.

Why does this have to be happening right now?

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