Page 84 of Sutton's Shadow

He’d thought he always reiterated to Bethany that he was here for her. He thought she knew she could come to him with anything. But she hadn’t. And that was on him, not Sutton. And now he worried he may have lost both women.

His baby angel and his shutterbug. Both held his heart.

Adrift in his thoughts, he didn’t anticipate the ambush that hit him from the driver’s seat.

“You fucked up,” Jude admonished.

“Yup.” It was the only reply he could give. He had, indeed, fucked up.

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Don’t know.”

“You going to make it right?”

“If she’ll listen.” God, he hoped he hadn’t broken things beyond repair. Sutton was his everything. If he lost that, lost her, he’d never forgive himself.

“Good.” Jude remained silent as another mile lapsed, bringing him closer to his past hell. “You love her?”

“Yup.”

“Good.” Jude was a man of few words, and Wyatt knew that was all he would have to say on the subject.

All too soon, they pulled up to Ronnie’s place. There was a car in the driveway this time. At least someone was there.

“Ready?” Jude asked.

“Hell no.”

The big man clamped a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “Let’s do this so we can bring Little Bee home.”

Climbing out of the truck, it dawned on him that he wasn’t the only one worried sick about Bethany. All of his friends loved her like their own annoying little sister. They were all one big, happy, dysfunctional family, and he would have it no other way. At the moment, his branch of their spliced together family tree was cracked, but he would do everything he could to heal the fracture.

Ronnie met them on the front stoop, blocking their entry into the house. “Two visits from my son in one week,” she sneered. “He must miss his mommy.”

“Cut the crap Ronnie. Where’s Bethany?”

She snorted. “You lost Bethany? Some guardian you make.”

That blow hit a little too close to home. He’d had that same thought just hours ago. “Is she here or not?”

“Haven’t seen her.” A loud thud echoed from somewhere in the house. Wyatt’s heart leapt at the thought that it might be Bethany.

“What was that?”

Ronnie tried to act normal, but she was sweating. Her eyes darted around nervously. “Nothing. Something must have fallen.” She was lying. Instead of calling her out, he used his size to push past her into the house with Jude right on his heels.

Wyatt stopped short in the living room at the sight of the man standing there. He was Hispanic, and his dark hair was tied up at the back of his neck, a long piece having escaped the tie to hang over his brow. He swiped it back as Wyatt eyed him up. He was dressed for the office in designer clothes, and his shoes shone with a fresh polish, so unlike the men Ronnie usually associated with. Shorter than Wyatt but no less bulky, this was a man who was confident in his power.

Wyatt had come across men like him before. They were the type the average citizen would not want to tangle with. The type whose education came solely from the streets before he “made something of himself.” He had the presence of a man who’d clawed his way to the top using every unthinkable resource he could to get there.

The fact that Ronnie was involved with this type of man made the blood freeze in his veins. This had to be where the extra money had come from. What had his mother gotten herself into? He may have no love left for the woman, but he worried about what would happen to Ronnie when she outlived her usefulness. He wouldn’t want to see her hurt.

“Who are you?” the man barked.

Ronnie rushed in and went straight to the man’s side. She wrapped her hand around his arm, pressing her ridiculous breasts into him. “He’s no one, honey. Just my son paying a visit.”

Wyatt fought the urge to roll his eyes. She was laying on the innocent act pretty thick. “And you are?” Wyatt asked.

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