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“And that is?”
“Not on your payroll.”
I breathed slowly, trying to keep myself from scratching this guy’s eyes out. “Fred, I don’t understand you.”
“Nobody does.”
“I’ll talk to Blake. No promises.”
He shrugged. “Then no papers.”
“Fine.”
I marched into the hallway, locked the office door, and dropped the key. To hell with getting papers from a spoiled adult baby who hid away inside a damn bar. I wanted nothing to do with this town anymore. It was best to make a clean cut. Even if it meant I lost everything in the process.
But on my resolute march out into the parking lot, I noticed a car that looked all too familiar, a hatchback with a crooked bumper and a band sticker that was halfway torn off. The likes of which I hadn’t seen for quite a few years.
Ten years, to be more specific, had passed since I’d seen that bumper sticker.
And it was a sticker that belonged to Dirk.
***
I wasn’t sure how I managed to make it home in one piece. My mind was racing. My heart was attempting to leap right out of my chest. My veins felt loose, like they were about to come undone. Oh gods, I was about to make spaghetti all over the floor either by my veins breaking out from my body or my mouth spewing up whatever I had eaten today.
My gut lurched. I covered my mouth while running into the bathroom and bowing over the sink. Nothing came up. Just sheer panic and fear in the form of choking gasps. It was awful to experience, a terrifying drop that made it feel like the ground beneath me would give way at any given second.
Soon, the earth would swallow me up. I’d be lost forever—if I wasn’t already lost.
I gazed into the mirror, staring resolutely into my own eyes. “I have to pack.”
Adrenaline pushed me into the main bedroom where I hauled all kinds of bags from the closet. I started shoving clothes, toiletries, and a few framed photographs into one of the bags while setting the others aside for the kids. Once I had sufficiently stuffed a good burner bag, I went to the other room.
I nearly fainted when I found my son sitting on his bed.
I rested my hand over my pounding heart. “Anthony, honey, you scared me silly.”
He studied my face for a minute and then looked around as if he was seeing his bedroom for the first time. “Adhara forgot her controller. I came to get it.”
“That’s fine, buggy. I need you to stay here while I go get Adhara. I have to—”
His cheeks grew red. “Mama, I don’t want to leave.”
“Well, we don’t exactly have a choice. I saw—” I snapped my mouth shut. No need to cause my kids to panic. “We’re not welcome here, buggy. I’m sorry. We have to get going.”
“Mama, I don’t want to leave.” He stood up with his hands clenched at his sides. “I like it here. I like Mr. Slater. I like my friends at school.”
“Your friends at school were cruel to you.”
He shook his head. “Archie talked to everybody, remember? I told you that when Mr. Slater brought the breakfast burritos. He’s going to make sure Shannon isn’t a problem anymore.”
“We have bigger issues than Shannon at this point.”
“Mama, I’m not going!”
I’d never seen my kid so out of sorts. Not since…well, not in a while. He was choking back tears now, turning a shade of scarlet that seemed to burn him up. Angry tears appeared next and streamed down his face, causing my heart to twist up in my chest.
What the hell was I doing other than scaring the daylights out of him?
