Page 79 of Tangled Up

My eyes close, and I swallow the lump in my throat. “If she needs to find me, the best thing we can do is let her find me. She’s not a violent person, and I want to help her.”

“Yeah, and I want Kevin to be there just in case you’re wrong. He should be there by dawn. If not sooner. Text me your aunt’s address, and I’ll tell him to sleep in his cruiser out front.”

“He is not parking a police cruiser in front of my aunt’s house. The entire town will be talking.”

“Let ‘em talk. Send me the address or I’ll get it out of your file. This is not a discussion.” The line goes dead, and my lips part.

I hold my phone out and look at it in disbelief. First I’m in exile, now I’m a hostage? I never even got a chance to tell him about the text, which is probably for the best, considering. Bossy, stubborn, inflexible, ignorant…

“That’s a mighty fierce expression.” My bestie looks up at me from the couch as I reenter the living room. “What’s going on?”

“Remember the patient who sent me here?”

“The non-psycho killer with the BPD?”

“Thank you!” I wave my phone. “My chief says a state trooper found her car abandoned at a rest stop on the southeast side of Tampa. He’s sending an officer in a police cruiser to park outside Aunt Viv’s. Can you believe that? The entire town’s going to be talking.”

“Is he cute?” Jessica sits up, interested.

My nose wrinkles. That is not the response I was after. “Kevin is… I honestly don’t know him very well. That’s not the point. The point is I don’t want a police car sitting out front of Aunt Viv’s like we’re under house arrest.”

“I think everybody knows you work for the cops in Pensacola. Just say it’s a friend of yours in town for a visit or you’re working on a case.”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it.” I pick at my arm with my freshly manicured nails.

She steps off the couch, covering my hand with hers. “Stop picking your arm. You only do that when you’re upset, and I don’t think you should be. A police car is a strong deterrent.”

“I don’t like living this way. I want it to be over. Although, if it’s over, that opens a whole set of issues with Beck and me and what we’re doing.” I exhale a heavy groan. “My life is a mess.”

“It’s not a mess!” she cries, laughing. “You’re having a yin-yang moment is all. It always happens. Life hands you a big load of happiness, being with Beck again, and this little speck of dark. It’s all going to work out.”

I lean into my friend’s hug. “Have I told you I love you?”

“You’d better love me, bitch. I saved you from Milton, the creepy stalker. Now grab your shit, and I’ll drive you home.”

Rolling my eyes, I exhale a laugh. “I’m glad to cooperate when it comes to safety. I’m just tired of this hanging over my head.”

“I know.” She loops her arm through mine.

“It’s like that kid at Halloween. When life hands me lemons, I freeze them and throw them at the people making my life hard.”

“Because you’re a bad bitch,” she laughs.

“I don’t like hiding.”

“Well, I like having you home, so I’m reclaiming your optimism and giving it back to you.” She waves her hands over my head like she’s conjuring a spirit.

I glance up then shake my head.I defy you, stars.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

BECK

Pulling into my garage at 7 pm, I realize I probably could have spent the night with Carly and handled this all in one day, but my anger wouldn’t let me. As I watched her walk through the Ocean Pearl like a vision from my past, touching the books, telling me about things she’d shared with my mother before she died, the future I’d fantasized about so long ago unfolded in front of me.

I saw what my father’s lie almost destroyed, and all of the anger and regret I’d bottled up exploded like a volcano in my chest. He was the lying serpent, and by believing him, I’d exiled us from Eden. It was too much, and I had to confront him.

Dropping my bag in my apartment, I take a quick shower, and in less than thirty minutes, I’m driving to my dad’s mansion on Belleair Shore. He moved to the prestigious zip code as soon as his money allowed. When my mother’s health began to fade, she turned over all the financial decision-making to him. She’d only ever loved the Pearl. He’d only ever loved himself.

---