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“I’ll walk with you and direct you where to go,” I said, hoping none of them changed their minds. We should get going now while we had the momentum.
Just as I stood, I heard, “Lachlan, is that you?” and the familiar voice made my stomach curdle.
No, it couldn’t be.
Clint was in a suit and standing with a group of men dressed similarly, so if I had to guess, he was about to go into a restaurant on 6th Street with his coworkers and a prospective client. I knew his financial-services company had an office in Cleveland, but I’d have never in a million years thought I’d see Clint downtown.
“I’ll be right there,” Clint told his coworkers, then crossed the street toward me.
“I’ll, uh, catch up with you,” I said to the trio headed to the police station, then got distracted when Oscar started whining. It was unlike him, so maybe he’d had enough of our so-called walk. “It’s okay, boy. We’ll go home soon.”
Clint looked me over as he approached.
“What do you want?” I asked him instead of questioning why he was in the area. Maybe I didn’t want to know the answer, especially if he was transferring offices or anything like that.
“What do I want?” he scoffed, and a brief tingle of fear lifted the hair on the back of my neck. “I haven’t seen you since you left a year ago. Marcie told me you were looking for a job in Cleveland, so I guess it’s true. You moved down here?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” My hand tightened into a fist. “It was far enough away from you.”
“Hey, I…” He softened his voice and stepped close.
“Save it.” I recognized that manipulative tone he used to sway me, normally after a fight. “We have nothing to say to each other.”
He squared his shoulders, seemingly unruffled by my dismissal. So like him. “I think we have plenty of unfinished business.”
I smirked, surprised at my sudden bravado. “Like what?”
“Like you telling my friends I was abusive. I’ve never—”
“Seriously?” Anger exploded inside my chest. I used to think him so handsome in a tie, but now that I saw him for who he was, he was revolting. “You’ve never used silence to punish me, or told me how worthless I was when I made you angry, or squeezed my arm so hard you left bruises?”
I was trembling now, and Oscar must’ve sensed it because he moved closer, leaning against the back of my knee as if propping me up with his weight.
“If you want to talk about bruises, you’re the one who punched me and walked out!” He left out the part where his hand was wound around my neck and I was terrified he wouldn’t stop squeezing.
My gaze leveled on him. “Yeah, I did. I finally got brave.”
“Lach—” He gripped my arm. “Please, just let me exp—”
Oscar’s growl stopped us both in our tracks. “It’s okay, boy.”
“Since when do you have a dog?” He looked over my shoulder, and when I followed his line of sight, I realized that the trio who’d agreed to file the police reports hadn’t moved. “And what are you doing with homeless people?”
I clenched my jaw, wanting to unload on him, but I kept my cool. “Neither is any of your business. Don’t you have a lunch meeting to attend?” I motioned toward the restaurant. “Go have the life you deserve.”
“What the hell kind of comment is that?” When he sneered in that ugly way, it all came rushing back again. How fearful he made me. How much I placated him. “That’s not the way you should talk to someone who gave you everything.”
When he squeezed my arm harder, I winced and tried to pull out of his grasp.
“Probably time for you to move along,” Darius said gruffly.
That was when Oscar lunged, latching on to Clint’s pant leg.
“Get your fucking dog off me!” Clint shouted, trying to fling him away.
“Oscar, no!” I warned, afraid he’d get hurt. But he wouldn’t budge, no matter how much Clint yelled and shook his leg.
I grabbed Oscar’s collar, attempting to calm him down and convince him to release his hold. It took several tries to get him to let go. I held tight to his leash, winding it around my wrist so he’d remain close to my side.
“I can’t believe your dog attacked me!” Clint backed away, visibly shaken, and when I glanced down at his trousers, I could see the holes from Oscar’s teeth. “I’m going to press charges.”
I couldn’t breathe. That was all Foster needed.
“He’s never done anything like that before.” I gripped the leash tighter. “He was only protecting me!”
His gaze zeroed in on the bracelets as I rubbed them against my thigh, unable to use my hands right then. He knew I was rattled, but at this point, what did it matter?
