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Hank removed his handcuffs from his belt and said, “I’ll call it in, in a minute, Nika. Right now, I think we need to have a little chat with…Brent Haygard, I presume?”
Brent turned flinty eyes on Hank but spoke in a subdued voice. “I came to talk to Veronica.”
Travis said, “You came to talk? Who the hell do you think you are, busting into her home?”
Brent snarled him. “This ain’t her home. Her home is in Billings, Montana, with me!”
Hank put the cuffs on him as he said, “That is up for debate, Haygard. You’ve violated trespassing laws, broken into a dwelling, damaged property and threatened further damage, and disturbed the peace. I’d be happy to take you into Divine and put you in a cell. You gonna settle down so we can talk like adults?”
“Can I at least get up off the broken furniture? I got splinters.”
Hank lifted him into a sitting position and Travis curled his lip as he watched Haygard pout over a splinter in his finger. The guy was big, and the way he sat displayed his fat belly hanging over his jeans. He might have size on his side but he looked like the most exercise he got was playing video games and terrorizing defenseless women. In another ten years what muscle he had would probably run to fat.
Hank removed his phone from his pocket, quickly swiped at the screen and said, “Hey, Wyatt. I’ve got an intruder at the house. No, Veronica’s fine, although she may want to file harassment charges. Call Simon out, too. Thanks. I’ll be in in the morning to deal with him.”
Hank seated Veronica at the dining room table and then pulled another chair from the table, turned it and sat with his arms resting on the back, placing himself squarely between Haygard and their woman. Travis could feel the anger radiating from Hank as he stared at their unwelcome visitor.
“Why are you here?”
“Veronica won’t take my calls or answer my e-mails. I’m here to take her home.”
“She broke up with you several weeks ago and asked you to move out.” He turned to Veronica and she nodded in confirmation. “She made it clear she wants you gone from her life. You were supposed to pack and be gone from her apartment.”
“That’s not the way I see it.”
Hank turned to Veronica. “Who pays for the apartment lease in Billings?”
Veronica stared at Haygard, emotions flitting across her face. Embarrassment. Disgust. Regret. “I do. I pay the gas and other utilities, too. I can produce proof. Brent, I made it clear we were finished before I left and asked you to move out. And I did reply to your texts and returned your call to ask you to move out again. I even had the landlord call you to tell you to move out but you never returned his call.”
Hank turned back to Haygard. “How did you know where Veronica was?”
Haygard frowned. “Some lady I met at the coffee shop, Tabitha-something, told me.” Turning to Veronica, he growled, “I drove all the way from Montana to bring you home, Chubbs. I deserve another chance. That other gal didn’t mean nothin’.”
Hank pointed at Haygard. “You hit Veronica, didn’t you?”
Haygard scrunched up his nose and shrugged a shoulder. “One little pop to get her attention, that’s all.”
Travis glanced at Veronica and saw her blanch. One “little pop” from those ham-sized fists of his would’ve done a lot of damage. His baser instincts wanted him to pound Haygard to a bloody pulp.
Hank rose suddenly from the chair and said, “You’re done here.” He turned to Veronica and asked, “Nika, did you have anything you wanted to say?”
Veronica nodded as she stepped in front of Brent. “I told you it was over between us more than two weeks ago. It. Is. Over. Now you turn that jacked-up piece of crap Ford around and you drive right back to Montana and vacate that apartment. And if you damage any of my property, I’ll make sure you pay for it. Speaking of paying, Hank may have something to say about whether you leave now or not. After all, you broke into the home of the sheriff of Divine County.”
“Aw, Chubbs, come on. I didn’t know it was the sheriff’s house. I’ll pay for the damages and make everything right. I’ll even do the work myself, just come on home.”
