Page 60 of Small Town Sizzle

His face is all the way up to the camera as if he thinks he can see inside it. I swallow hard, holding the gun in my hand. The cold metal grounds me. I take my phone and the gun downstairs with me. I stand in front of the door, gun pointed toward it in case he busts through it. I’m listening to him get angrier and angrier, his threats more violent, his words more harmful. He’s losing his shit for my neighbors to see, for the doorbell camera to record it all—something he’d been so calculated about doing before.

I can hear the sirens in the distance. I breathe a slow exhale of relief. I close my eyes, sending up a silent thank you, but also knowing that I’m not in the clear. I’m still ready if he decides to charge the door.

“You dumb bitch,” he seethes into the camera. “You called the cops. You’re too much of a coward to answer the door. Better be careful. My my, I know you’re not the perfect little girl that you pretend to be. I bet Hicks Creek would love to know who you really are.”

Tears prick at my eyes as he continues threatening me. I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing. I know he sayswhatever he thinks will scare me into breaking, and I won’t fall for that ever again.

He’s still screaming into the camera, playing the innocent victim, when the cops grab him and put him in the back of a squad car.

I close my eyes, letting the tears fall and the relief take over me. I put the gun down, setting it on the coffee table as I open the door for one of the officers.

I’m so grateful the kids are at school and that they weren’t here for any of it. I’m so glad that I didn’t fall back into those old patterns, and that I’m able to protect them like I didn’t before.

Devon won’t be back, and if by some freak accident he is, I’ll be ready for him.

Chapter Twenty-One

Garrett

“Leti, is Maya in today?” I ask as I walk into the office with coffee and breakfast for Maya.

“No.” She smiles. “She’s taking a personal day today.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah, I mean…she will be.”

The phone rings and Leti makes a face before answering it. I want to stay and ask more questions, but she’s busy.

I really want to check on Jaz and Alex, too. I know that Devon showing up was a bit much for both of them. I leave the office and send a text to Maya as I walk across the parking lot and into the youth center.

Around noon, I take a break from our renovations to check my messages and realize that Maya didn’t reply. My stomach clenches. Maybe that has everything to do with my ex cheating on me, but right now, I’m taking it to be intuition.

“Have you heard from Maya today?” I ask Ethan.

“No, but it’s not like I text regularly with her.”

“Laura does, though, right? Can you see if Laura has talked to her? I texted, and she hasn’t replied.”

“People have lives, bro,” he chuckles. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

His easy dismissal sends prickles of irritation down my back.How can he think it’s nothing? How is he not worried about this, too?

“Can you just ask Laura if she’s talked to her?”

He lets out a long sigh, chuckling under his breath as he pulls out his phone. He walks away as he calls her. Two minutes later, he shakes his head. By now, I have a bad feeling in my gut, and I walk out of the youth center and directly to my rental car.

As I pull out of the parking lot, something feels… off. My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I drive. When I turn onto her road, I spot the flashing blue and red lights.

Cold adrenaline dumps into my blood, and my hands on the steering wheel begin to sweat and tremble.No. What the hell?

Three police cars are parked outside. As I pull into her driveway, I see that she’s standing outside talking to an officer.

My heart pounds against my ribcage as I throw the car into park, barely remembering to kill the engine before I’m out the door and jogging up the driveway.

The cops are leaving, murmuring to each other as they climb into their cars. I don’t bother acknowledging them; my focus is solely on the front porch, where Maya stands, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

She looks pale, her lips pressed into a thin line. But what really guts me is the way her shoulders hunch, like she’s trying to shrink into herself, make herself invisible.