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“No, we’re staying with a friend.”
He narrows his eyes. “A friend? Why?”
“It’s a long story, and it’s none of your business. I need to get back to work.”
“What the hell’s going on with you? And who’s this friend? Is it a man?”
I silently hold his stare, my arms crossed.
“You moved my kids in with a fucking man?” He gets in my face.
“You have no right to say anything about anything when it comes to the kids. You don’t pay child support and you don’t show up to see them. You’re what’s called a deadbeat dad.”
His gaze turns furious. Nick’s never been violent, but I’m a little afraid of what he might do. I don’t let it show, though.
“I’ve had a lot going on, and I buy the kids stuff when I’m here.”
He bought them each a pair of shoes when he was here seven months ago. That’s a drop in the bucket of what it costs to raise them, though.
“I said text me and you can see them. If they want to.”
“If they want to? Have you been brainwashing them? Telling them I’m an asshole?”
I’m done being diplomatic. I always tried to keep the peace so the kids wouldn’t have to see me and Nick fight, but from now on he’s getting the same thing he’s given me for more than a decade—the bare minimum.
“Our standards are a lot higher now,” I say. “Don’t come back to my workplace.”
I turn and go back into the diner. He doesn’t follow.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dom
* * *
“I have good news for you, Mr. Locke.”
I turn up the volume on my car radio since the call is coming in on Bluetooth, hoping to hear Benton better.
“What’s up?” I ask him.
“I’ve identified the stalker using phone records, and I’ve provided all the information to the police. His name is Jacob Burrows.”
What a relief. Tess and Cam can stop worrying about what he’s going to do next.
“So he’ll be arrested?”
“When we find him. He’s been couch surfing at friends’ houses. We’re looking, though. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Good. Thanks for the update.”
Benton is still staying at the house on nights I’m on the road. I’m glad they’re close to catching this Jake guy, but I’m going to miss having Tess and her family staying with me.
The dishwasher actually gets used with them there. The twins sometimes leave paper airplanes or drawings sitting around, and I always get a kick out of them. One of them drew a picture of me fighting Kent Parsons, blood gushing from his face onto the ice. In the picture, I’m bigger than him and he’s crying.
I hung it up in my locker, of course. My teammates love it, too.
I’ll just end up over at Tess’s place a lot when I’m home, even though I have to sleep on her lumpy couch. Boni will be a lonely boy; I might have to start bringing him with me.
