Page 90 of Tapped By My Roommate
It was the same thing she’d said on the phone. But she was wrong.
I took a breath. I could do this. I could face Tess and not back down.
“I left you, not her,” I said. “I tried to come back for her the next day. You’ve been holding her hostage, but it stops now.”
Tess spoke through clenched teeth. “You’re not taking her out of here. Dan shouldn’t have let you in. This is my rental, not his. My name is on the lease! I can call the cops on you.”
Tess was beginning to work herself into a rage. The girl had always loved fighting. She thrived on confrontation the way other people enjoyed happy banter. I couldn’t let myself be drawn into some long argument I’d never win.
“Do what you gotta do. She’s in my possession now.” I couldn’t resist the small smirk that played on my lips. “If you really want her back, you can always try to sue me for custody.”
And good luck to you.
I shoved past her, making her gasp in outrage, and rushed toward the back door.
“Dan, stop him!” Tess yelled.
“No way. We both hate that fucking lizard. Let it go.”
“I don’t want him to have it!”
“Too bad!” Dan finally lost his temper. “Get over your ex already! I’m right here.”
I had no illusions she wasn’t over me. More like she wasn’t over the fact that someone had left her instead of the other way around. She’d never been happy with me. That realization used to make me sad, but now I acknowledged the other half of that truth. I’d never been happy with her. Not like I was with Rhett.
I burst out of the door, the rest of their argument lost to me. I didn’t much care what happened between them. If Dan left Tess, he’d probably be better off. He seemed like an even-keeled guy, and I wasn’t sure he’d have the patience for her dramatic reactions for long.
“I’m calling the cops,” she called out after me. “I’m reporting you!”
Rhett popped out of the back seat, looking anxious. “You okay?”
“Yeah, get back in the car. We need to go!”
Rhett slid back inside, and I shoved Zilla in beside him. “Hold the carrier steady, okay? She’s stressed enough as it is.”
I felt a flicker of guilt for placing Zilla in the middle of so much conflict. Her extraction could have been smoother—especially if I’d waited for a day Tess wasn’t home. I climbed into the front seat.
“We need to go to Oasis,” I said. “I made arrangements for Zilla to stay there temporarily.”
Something I would have done when I first left Tess if I’d been able to plan ahead.
“You got it.” Linh pulled away from the curb.
My heart finally began to slow as I slumped back against the seat. “We did it.”
“You did it,” Rhett said. “I’m just along for the ride.”
I looked over my shoulder, smiling. “I really did. Wow, I can’t believe it.”
The memory of Zilla tail-whipping Tess popped into my head, and I laughed. “You should have seen Tess’s face.”
“What happened?”
I filled them in, both of them cackling when I got to the part where Zilla assaulted Tess. I knew how much a tail whipping could hurt. I’d gotten the brunt of Zilla’s ire once or twice when I was learning her moods. Tess would be fine, and she’d deserved a little backlash for showing no consideration for Zilla’s needs.
“She must have been furious,” Linh said.
“Oh, she was. If I’d left Zilla, she might have killed her.”
