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Page 28 of Splintered Security (Aspen & Evergreen #2)

kool-aid man

Anni

Long after my third cup of coffee, I’ve left reruns of Fran Drescher and her oh-so-nineties outfits. I’ve switched to the travel channel to watch the beautiful scenery and avoid anything remotely resembling reality. When my phone rings with an unknown number, I jump and fumble the device.

Only two people have this number, and it’s not Ren calling. Dread pools in my belly. This is bad.

At the same moment, there’s a pounding on the door. “Anni, open up.”

I pick up the phone and see the voicemail rolling across the screen and freeze. “…Conyers with your mom…”

I rip the door open and stare into the hard eyes of the bald-headed, wild-bearded Liam Whatever-his-last-name-is.

“I have to go.” I scramble toward the bedroom only to rush toward the garage. I’m back searching for my phone when I realize it’s in my hand. “I need shoes. ”

Liam pushes through the door, closing it and leaning back against it, his thick arms crossed over his chest. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Yes, I am. And you’re taking me.”

“No bitches on the back of my bike. And certainly not a married one. So, no, I’m not. Get comfortable.”

“I won’t get comfortable .” I make air quotes with my fingers.

“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable then.”

“My mom is not okay.”

“Not my problem.”

“But it is mine.” My voice rises on every word.

“It’s Ren’s.”

That stops me cold.

“What?”

“You have a man. One who knows his shit. Let him handle this.”

“But my mom?—”

He grabs his phone and thumbs out a message. “Done. He knows. Now leave him to it.”

“You think it’s that simple?” I slam my hands down on my hips.

“Yep.”

“Then you don’t know a thing.”

“Beg to differ, lady. ”

I stare at him. Brown eyes, reddish-brown beard well past his collar. He’s not tall, but he’s solid. For some reason, he reminds me of the Kool-Aid Man without the smile or the jovial nature. He could probably bulldoze a wall.

I take two steps back.

“Smart.”

I slice my eyes to him. That’s rude. I don’t say it, but we both know it. He’s insulting me in my own home.

But because I’m me and I can’t be rude, I tilt my head to the kitchen. “Coffee is hot, though maybe not fresh. Mugs are in the cabinet above it.”

“You gonna run if I walk away from this door?”

All my bravado comes crashing down. I drop my chin and shake my head. All the fight I had is gone. I certainly won’t take on the man in the kitchen. I’m barely able to take on Ren.

I don’t know where the keys are to my husband’s motorcycle in the garage, much less how to turn it on.

If I managed to get onto it and get it rolling, it would be a crap shoot if I made it down the interstate.

And I’m sure not hugging scary Liam all the way to Colorado Springs, even if he let “bitches” on the back.

Come to think of it, my car never made it back from the club.

Me: Remind me to ask about my car.

My text to Ren goes unanswered. I forget about it immediately as my phone rings with an unknown caller again.

Liam is instantly on alert. “Who’s calling? ’

I shrug. “Unknown number. Not Ren. Not my mom.”

He extends a palm with a gimme gesture. I hand it over because that gnawing in the pit of my gut is threatening to introduce itself as vomit.

“Yeah?” Liam’s eyes bore into mine and harden to diamonds. “No.” There’s a long pause before he continues. “Fuck you.” Another gap allows me to hear a man with a raised voice followed by eerily menacing words spit from Liam’s mouth. “I’d like to see you try. It’ll be fun to watch you squirm.”

He clicks off and stares at the screen before looking up to me. “I’ll keep this for now.”

No argument here.

But I want to know. And I really, really don’t want to at the same time. Curiosity wins out. “Who was that?”

“Somebody who was stupid enough to threaten me.”

“Threaten you? They called me.”

“Yeah. But I answered. Fuckboy twat thinks he’ll come after me. We’ll see.” A grin pulls across his face. It would be downright boyish with the crinkles at his eyes if they didn’t glitter with promise.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Not even a little.”

Alrighty then. We sit in silence as the minutes tick by until the buzz of my phone ringing rends the quiet. Once again, he answers. “Hi again.”

He’s getting too much pleasure out of this .

“Not today. Cute that you think you can make demands… Put her on. Am I on speaker?” He nods as if thinking. “And you would be?” His eyes flick to mine, and his voice lowers to a tone I’d never expect from him. “Can’t do that, Adrienne.”

I suck in a breath so loudly it cuts through the tension in the room.

His breathing is measured as his jaw ticks.

“Right. Well then.” Another breath as he stares at his phone, sliding his thumb across it with a pattern of taps.

“Not even close.” He pulls the phone away from his face and looks at it before returning it to his face.

“Get on with it. Least you could do is make it quick.” He clicks off and turns the phone face down.

“What the hell have you just done?” I seethe.

“I made sure they knew we weren’t together, for one. For two?—”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. You spoke with my mom?” The tears run in earnest down my cheeks. I have no hope of stopping them and don’t care to right now. How dare he!

“You come off passive, but you’re feisty. You know that?”

“I don’t need your personality assessment.”

“Just saying.”

“Just don’t say. How about that?”

He turns an invisible key at his lips and mimics throwing it over his shoulder.

My mouth drops open. Rough and tumble. Cold and callous. I wouldn’t want to cross Liam in a sunny park. A dark alley would be terrifying. And he just pulled that mime act after… my mom.

“How do you know Ren?”

He stares at me quizzically but says nothing.

“You are infuriating.”

He bobs his head with a smirk. Somehow, I know he’s been told this more than once in his life. Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if it was more than once this week.

“Is my mom going to be okay?”

The burly man leans forward and plants his elbows on his knees, leveling me with his gaze. “I don’t know, Anni. But it didn’t sound good.”

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