We wandered side by side to the coffee shop, and a short time later, past the florist, and then back to the clinic with enough treats to win over a hundred jilted hearts.
We chatted and brainstormed a thousand ways to get two other people together, but we still weren’t ready to deal with the mess that had happened between us.
20
He Saw Justice Delivered
Aiden
I kept my promiseto Lola.
Not one finger touched Evan. Ryan Hollyoak bestowed himself with the dubious honour of taking care of that problem.
The scene playing out in front of me in Discount Automotive was like something from a horror movie. A bare bulb hung from a string, murky yellow light dancing up the walls in a slow sway with the wind. Rusted blood clung to the night air. The only sounds were the pained grunts that echoed through the empty garage and the dull crack of Ryan’s fist—quick and sharp to Evan’s jaw, his face, and once to his stomach.
My back pressed into the rough brick, my arms folded across my chest. The violence turned my gut, but I made myself watch every second of that beating. Evan needed to pay for what he’d done to Lola, and I needed to be there when he did.
The memory of her curled up, shaking, and her face whiter than a ghost haunted me. I’d seen my fair share of ugly shit when I was on the police force, but I’d never seen someone so scared. Evan had done that. But if I’d stepped in that night at the bar like I should have, she would have been spared what happened in the alley. She would never have felt so scared, so small, lost in that dark place I couldn’t help her.
It was all on me in the end. My fault.
Ryan swept a hand over his brow. His chest heaving, he stepped back, straightened his spine, and rolled his shoulders. Punishment delivered. He was done.
Evan was done, too.
The mechanic let his knees buckle, and he collapsed into a sprawled heap on the oil-stained concrete. “Gonna call the cops on you pair.” He groaned.
Ryan wasn’t worried. He snatched a clean rag from the workbench. “Calling the cops, huh?” He didn’t wince when he rubbed the rag over his broken knuckles. The farmer was tougher than he looked. “You’re fresh out of luck there, mate. The only patrol on Tuesday nights is the one the sarge begins and ends at the pharmacist’s house.”
That was news to me. Ruth usually filled me in on everything happening around town—whether I wanted to hear it or not.
“Seriously?” My eyebrows rose. “He’s seeing the pharmacist? I thought he was chasing the girl who runs the little antique store.”
“Yeah.” Ryan balled up the rag and pitched it into the sink, grinning back at me. “He’s seeing both of ’em.”
“Shit, eh?” I chuckled. “That’s going to land him in hot water.”
Evan glared at us with the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut. “You bitches done gossipin’?” He pressed his palm on the concrete and tried to push himself up. A pained grimace shotacross his face, and he collapsed onto his back. “Can one of you at least pass me my phone? I need to call a doctor or somethin’.”
Ryan shook his head. “You want to call a doctor?” His gaze flicked to me. “Aiden, who do you reckon is on call tonight?”
“I heard Tuesday is always Lola.”
Ryan wandered over to where Evan lay sprawled on the concrete. He put his hands on his hips and looked down. “You sure you want to take your chances with the doctor? Lola’s pissed as hell at the big guy here. See those stitches in his hand?” He jerked a nod back at me. “She did ’em raw. No pain relief. Just stabbed ’em right into his skin.”
Evan’s good eye darted to my hand and then to my face. I nodded. I could have come clean and told him I’d begged Lola to deliver me the punishment I deserved, but my mouth stayed shut.
Evan’s skin blanched white.
Small towns were strange places. They had their own rules. After years of working on the right side of the law, if someone had told me I’d spend a Tuesday night beating up some close-minded bastard, I would’ve laughed in their face. And despite Lola’s hesitation because of her past and her heart being too damn soft, vigilante justice was sometimes the only option.
That didn’t mean the guilt of betraying her trust wouldn’t eat me alive. Good intentions got me nowhere. My list of sins only grew longer.
Ryan’s gaze shifted to me. “You reckon we’re done here?”
“I reckon so.”
His boot nudged the mechanic’s side. “You listening to me?”
