Page 47 of Unbelonging
Lawton's voice was eerily quiet. "And you know this, how?"
"I saw her driver's license."
Standing by the window, I froze. And it had nothing to do with the cold pouring through the slim opening. My license was in my purse. My purse was on the Parkers' kitchen counter, inside the locked house.
That fucker had broken into where I lived and rummaged through my stuff. My breathing grew harsh as I fought the urge to fly down there and choke the living shit out of him.
Lawton voice was oddly quiet. "Justhowdid you see her license?"
"You know how," Bishop said.
"I don't fuckin' believe you," Lawton muttered.
"Hey, I was in and out," the guy said. "Five minutes. No big deal."
"It's a big deal to me," Lawton said. "And it sure as shit would be a big deal to her."
No shit. The asshole had broken into my house. Okay, so it wasn't really my house. But it was close enough. And he'd gone through my purse. The violation struck me like a hammer to the head. Had he been in my bedroom? Pawed through my undergarments. I felt like killing him.
"Yeah, 'cause you're a regular angel," Bishop said. His tone quieted. "Listen, you're so blinded by this chick that you're not thinking straight. The way you talk, the way you look at her, you'd better be careful. If her address doesn't match, there's more to her story. There always is."
"So what if it doesn't match?" Lawton said. "My address doesn't match my license, either."
"Yeah, becauseyoujust moved. And your last place wasn't that much different from this. Hers? It matches some low-rent shithole in Hamtramck."
I stiffened. My mom's address, assuming she still lived there.
"And the owner of the house here?" Bishop continued. "It's some surgeon. Guy's not married, either."
What a liar. He was married. I'd met the wife personally. And if Bishop wasn't lying, his information, wherever he'd gotten it, wasn't nearly as great as he seemed to think.
"So?" Lawton said. "It's probably her Dad."
"Except the guy doesn't have any kids."
I felt myself frown. He did so. I'd seen pictures.
"Not that you know of," Lawton said.
"Will you listen to yourself?" Bishop said. "A single guy with money? A girl half his age acting like she owns the place? You knowexactlywhat that means."
"I'm only gonna say this once." Lawton's voice was cold. "Lay off her. I don't care that her address doesn't match, and I don't care that you're a paranoid motherfucker, and I sure as hell don't care that for whatever fucked-up reason, you don't like her."
"I didn't say I don’t like her," Bishop said. "I'm just saying she's hiding something."
"Yeah, and we're not? Stop being an asshole. If you can't, then get the fuck out."
"You know who you sound like?" Bishop said.
"Don't say it," Lawton said.
"Dad."
My jaw dropped. Dad? As intheirDad? So theywerebrothers? When I'd asked, Lawton had lied to me. Hadn't he? I tried to recall his exact words. I couldn't quite remember, but the implication had been obvious.
Did I even know Lawton at all?
It was too much to take in. What did I really know for sure? Lawton said he liked me. In a funny way, I believed him. My own feelings were too complicated to consider. But did any of that matter? For all I knew, the dick was right. Maybe Lawton liked any girl with a pulse.
