I stomped toward them, fuming. I hoped my eyes burned into the fucking side of these men’s heads.
“Oh, shit,” I heard Viv say behind me.
Oh, shit, was right. They were about to get a fucking mouthful from me.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Hank?” I asked him, watching as he took the money from the men around him.
“Just a little friendly gambling,” he boasted. “Lina, it’s really nothing to worry about,” he said nonchalantly, pocketing the rest of his cash. I hoped he felt the fucking fire in my eyes.
Seeing this as their cue to leave, the other men turned and walked away. Everyone, excepthim. He hovered behind me. I could practically feel the heat wafting off him, like a sunburn on my fucking back.
“What’s the bet?” I demanded. I needed to know.
“Reed, here.” He gestured to the man towering behind me.Reed.So that was his fucking name. “He and I bet with the others that Paige beats you today by one whole second.”
“Fuck that! Mushu’s a free runner who drags his butt around those barrels.” I was seething, my chest heaving.
“That may be so, but you’re in the bottom of the draw today. Paige races first.”
I clenched my hands into fists, keeping my thumb on the outside just like my cousin Jude showed me. I wasn’t going to deck him, but I also wasn’t afraid to use them if I needed to. His eyes skipped down to my hands, his smirk growing, as if he fucking knew he was getting into my head.
“May the best racer win,” he said, tipping his hat and walking away.
“Wow! You’re a real fucking winner. Betting against me,Reed ?” I asked before I turned around, emphasizing his name. I hope to God my voice sounded scary enough he would shy away from me and crawl back to whatever fucked-up hole he crawled out of.
But he didn’t. He held his ground when I turned to face him, stuffing his hands into his pocket as if none of this was a big deal to him. His face was a mask of smug indifference, and I wanted to pound my fist right into his skull. I imagined those handsome features caving in until they were just an ugly pit of pulp.
“She has a badass stallion,” he said, shrugging like it didn’t matter to him. Like none of this mattered to him. Like he wasn’t balls deep in my pussy only hours ago.
If I couldn’t use my fists, I’d use my hands. I shoved his solid chest as hard as I could, nearly pushing him off balance. But the man was built like a fucking tank.
“Fuck you.” I pushed him again. This time, he braced himself enough only to rock on his heels. “Double fuck you.” I stepped into his space, my chest brushing his. “You’re fucking disgusting.” I nearly spat in his face. “If you think you can fuck me and then fuck me over, you have another thing coming.”
His mask seemed to drop just for a moment, a look of disappointment and regret washing over him. He could feel guilty and live with his dirty conscience for all I cared. And to think my drunk ass thought it was love at first sight!
“You’re fucking dead to me!” I roared.
His eyebrow cocked. “Is that so? Makes no difference to me,Lina, but thank you for helping me give Mrs. Ownstead a show.”
I slapped him then. Right across that smug-ass face of his. Then spat, watching my spit land right on his mouth.Good.
“That’s the last you’ll ever taste of me. Fuck you, Reed Ownstead!”
I turned on my heels, leaving him in the dust of the stable while I stormed to Mushu’s stall. I needed to get my head on straight if I had any chance of running the fastest time. If this was Reed’s attempt to throw me off my game … to show me that last night meant nothing … well, I’d have to show him thathemeant nothing to me.
1
reed
present day
She was lying. It had taken years for me to figure it out, but now I could spot it instantly. Her eyes jumped back and forth between mine, the green nearly hidden by her heavy lids and dilated pupils.
“He better not be fucking in there, Lis.” I towered over Elise Ownstead. She still refused to change her last name because she claimed she wanted to have the same last name as our daughter, despite the fact she was engaged to the man she’d had an affair with. She hovered at the door of the little, blue house on the outskirts of Willows, refusing to open it all the way. “I don’t want him anywhere near our daughter.”
Elise stuck out her chin in defiance, her eyes even heavier as she stared me down. “I’m her mother, so I’ll determine who she can and cannot be around.”
“Jesus Christ! I don’t think you’re in any position to make sound judgments right now.” I splayed my hand on the door, willing her to let me in. The last time I forced myself in, it turnedinto a yelling match, scaring Penelope. If I could shield her from our poor attempt to co-parent, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
