Little things could make me happy. Given I was committed to making my life more adventurous, telling the man off was small potatoes but satisfactory for the day. I’d already opened the door when I felt him behind me.
“The owner called me. He warned me not to allow Mr. Locke to stay here.”
I didn’t turn around. Not sure why other than I couldn’t stand to see the man’s face. “Why?”
“Just look him up. Rory Locke. In Colorado. You’ll find out.”
Was that even possible or was the jerk just lying?
“Pfft.” I headed out, so furious with the asshole that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.
When I ran into someone, I was knocked against a vehicle. “I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, Doctor Monroe. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Mr. Smith. Oh, how’s the little tyke?”
“Oh, she’s doing much better.”
I glanced around the parking lot. “Where is he?”
“Oh, my wife has… him.”
“You’re staying here?”
“Just for the night. We have a rental house and we’re going to look about buying a house.”
“Oh, excellent.” My phone rang and I backed away, almost ready to warn him to select another hotel. “I gotta run. You know how to get ahold of me in you need anything. Stay out of the woods.”
“Will do.”
I grabbed my phone on the way to my truck, realizing only then that he’d called his baby boy a girl. When I reached my door, I snatched a quick look over my shoulder. He’d disappeared. Even so, I had a slightly creepy feeling that must have everything to do with John. The jerk.
“Hey, Darlene. You can’t get enough of me.” I crawled inside, starting the engine.
“You’re going to be angry with me.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, because I had a talk with my dad.”
I froze even before I shifted the gear into reverse. “About?”
“Your house guest.” She squealed when I was quiet. “I know. I know. I ran into my dad at the store and he asked about you and… So I blurted it out.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I worry about you. You’re my friend.”
The lovely day had just turned to shit. I even beat my head on the steering wheel. “And you’re just dying to tell me what he had to say. Aren’t you?”
“You need to know.”
“What did Viper do?”
“Honey, he killed a man.”
“Why?” What the man at the motel had said lingered in the forefront of my mind, a knot forming in my throat. That couldn’t be possible. That just…
