Page 85 of Crossroads of Love

“It’s not about town business. It’s about your safety.”

“The only issue I see with that right now is a man who I don’t know all that well asking to come inside my house.”

He reaches inside his coat pocket, and I immediately hold my breath and step back. He pulls out a card where he wrote his name and phone number. He pushes it forward.

“I don’t need that,” I say. “I don’t want to date a man who doesn’t listen when I draw boundaries.”

He cracks a small smile and chuffs before he shakes his head. “I could see why you would think that, but that’s not what this is. I’m going to drop it in your mailbox here and you can get it when you want to. I’m not the enemy, Lena. I’m trying to help.”

“It doesn’t seem that way.”

“I never meant to make you feel unsafe. There are…things you need to know.”

“I already know how you bribed Henry, and that’s all I need to know.”

I shut the door in his face and immediately lock it. I stand against it for a second before I slide down it, my entire body trembling.

“Are you okay, Mom?” Jayla asks quietly.

I can hear Hank opening and closing my mailbox outside. I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing.

“I’m fine, baby.”

“What were you talking about when you said Hank bribed Grandpa?”

“It’s not important.”

“Uncle G is on his way over.”

“What? Why?”

“I told him that Hank was here and that something was different about him and that you seemed scared.”

“Jay…”

“It’s okay to ask for help sometimes, Mom.”

I’m not a woman who needs to be rescued.

I also don’t want to discuss anything about Aaron or why Hank might have shown up here today in front of my daughter. I’m not ready for her to learn this truth yet.

Chapter Twenty

Gavin

Jayla: Hank is here, and Mom seems freaked out.

Me: What do you mean freaked out?

Jayla: She’s told him to leave twice, and she’s basically just talking to him through a very small crack in the door.

Me: I’m on my way

The texts from Jayla have me racing out the front door and peeling out of the driveway to get to her and her mom.

Did he realize I found something when I was at his place earlier, and now he’s going to attack?

It doesn’t matter what caused him to show up there. I have to get there before anything happens.

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