Page 55 of A Deceitful Pact

“Excuse me a minute.” I step away from Hayden and start walking up the street. Sawyer doesn’t notice me, he’s too busy looking at his phone, and while he steps inside the bar, I head straight past him, into Eamon’s hardware store.

“Morning, Sheriff,” he greets me cheerily, but I’m on autopilot now. My anger has taken over, emotion is drowning out all my rationality, and seeing them together has just reminded me who Sawyer Anderson really is and how stupid I’ve been to believe his lies.

“I need a knife, and one of those.” I point to the crowbar that's hanging up on the wall behind his counter.

“What kinda knife are you looking for?” He pulls out a drawer from the glass cabinet and places it in front of me. I pick up the sharpest one by the handle and examine it closely.

“This one will do,” I tell him.

“You want me to put that on an account?” he asks, and I ignore him, slamming my credit card on the counter and picking up the crowbar he’s laid out on top of it by the drawer.

I walk back out onto the street and head for Sawyer's truck, ignoring Eamon again when he calls out to ask if I’m alright.

How dare Sawyer tell me that I’m the only girl he wants. I’ve spent weeks feeling guilty for the fact that I’ve hurt him, and he’s already moved on with her. Is that why he was inviting me over for pizza tonight, to tell me all about his new little girlfriend?

“Sheriff, your card,” Eamon calls out to me from the shop door, as I grip the knife tight in my fist and jab it deep into the rear right tyre of Sawyer's truck. The hiss it makes as it starts to deflate takes a little of the anger from my blood, and I scrape the tip of the blade along the paintwork as I make my way toward the front one.

“Riley, what's going on?” Hayden calls out to me from the station as I slash another hole in Sawyer's big, expensive tires; dropping the knife to the ground when I’m done, I take the crowbar in both my hands, make a huge swing, and smash it through the lying bastard's windshield

“Whoah!” Sawyer rushes out of the bar and stands on the sidewalk looking at me as if I’m crazy. I guess I am because I smile at him as I smash out his driver's seat window.

“Darlin’, what the fuck ya doin?” He races around the hood, and takes hold of my arm, dragging the crowbar from my hand and dropping it to the ground, then wrapping me up in those strong arms that never fail to make me feel secure, he holds me tight against him.

“Get off me!” I fight him off, throwing my fists and realizing that I’m crying when I see how wet the shoulder of his shirt is. Suddenly, I don’t feel mad anymore. I feel betrayed, and really fucking stupid for believing all the words that came out of this lying bastard’s mouth.

“Riley, sweetheart, I need ya to calm down.” He continues to hold me against him, not letting me get away. “Think of the baby,” he whispers through his teeth into my ear, as his hand soothes through my hair, and I start to wind down.

“You lied to me,” I whisper against his chest, feeling my legs go weak. “You lied to me, Sawyer.” I shake my head when I realize how much it hurts.

“Baby, I don’t know what you're talking about.” He pulls back a little and laughs. I’ve just trashed his truck, and he’s tucking my hair behind my ear and stroking my cheek. “Come on, let's get ya inside.” He looks sideways, and when I see the small crowd that’s formed around us, I drop my head into my hands and sob.

“Riley?” I hear Hayden call out again.

“She’s fine, I got her,” Sawyer tells him as he starts leading me toward the bar door. “She’s gonna be just fine.” He speaks quietly under his breath as he ushers me inside and closes the door.

SAWYER

“What just happened?” Sitting Riley on a chair, I crouch down in front of her, taking both her hands in mine when I see them shaking.

“I don’t know.” She sounds scared as she shakes her head back at me. “I don’t know anything about how I’m feeling anymore. One second I’m angry, then I’m—” She stops talking and her cheeks flush red. “Jesus, Sawyer, I’m a mess. Everyone out there saw what I just did.”

“Don’t worry about them. Areyouokay? You're shaking.”

“Why were you with her? Are you and her a thing now?” she asks, looking up at me with tear-swollen eyes.

“Me and Beth?” I try not to laugh. “I was just givin’ her a ride cause she ran outta gas.”

“Fuck.” She palms her forehead and curses herself. “I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry. I saw you together and–” She cuts herself off again, and it drives me crazy because I wanna hear her say the words.

“You're not an idiot, you're pregnant. Hormone surges are normal,” I try to reassure her.

“Tell that to your truck.” She manages a tiny smile, and it makes everything in the world seem right again.

“Fuck the truck, it doens’t matter. What matters is that you’re okay. You have to try and keep yourself calm.”

“How can I be okay, Sawyer? I just lost it in front of the whole town. I must have looked like a psychopath out there.”

“In my opinion, you looked kinda hot.” I stroke my thumb over hers, and when she looks as if she’s about to cry again, I decide she needs me to take control. “Listen, there’s nothing going on between me and Beth. I told ya before, my priority is you.”

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