He holds up my phone and sneers. “Payback’s a bitch.” Then he slams the door and strides toward the back of the Jeep.
I wait for him to round it and come at me from the driver’s side, but he continues to head down the road toward the highway. I think about going after him, know that whatever reason he has my phone can’t be good, but what would I do when I caught him? Regardless of me moving on, in the end, he’s still stronger than me and can hurt me if he wants to. No matter what I do—whether I move on, find someone else, or fall in love—he will always be there, never allowing me to let fully go of my past, no matter how much I want to.
Huffing in frustration, I punch the gas and drive forward, ready to get home. But Conner’s words echo in my mind.
Payback’s a bitch.
What did he mean by that? What could he possibly pay me back with on that phone? I think about what I have on there. Nothing incriminating. Just contacts and texts…
Something else Conner says flashes through my mind.
So this is what you’ve been up to, you dirty little skank.
Tristan and I have been texting each other off and on, and while our conversations haven’t been dirty, they’ve been flirty enough that it could be clear something’s going on between us. Conner might not have Tristan’s address, but it’s a small town. I’m sure he won’t have trouble tracking him down.
What should I do? Call Tristan? I don’t know his number other than he’s contact number ten on my log. I could wait, but I’m worried it’ll be too late by then. I could go home and call the police, but what would I say? My ex-husband stole my phone? It would be about as helpful as the restraining order.
Without any hesitation, I make a decision and turn the car around, heading away from my home and to Tristan.
Chapter 39
It’s time for this to end.
Tristan
After I get back to the motel, I spend the next couple of hours standing outside and smoking while watching the sun clip the sky as I reflect on what happened. Avery and I had sex. I had sex for the first time simply because I wanted to. I wasn’t high, wasn’t searching for anything. I only wanted Avery.
And she wanted me back.
That thought puts a smile on my face as I turn to go inside. The sky is greying with morning. I’ll probably get an hour of sleep before I have to get up again, but I don’t care. It was worth it.
I’m reaching for the doorknob when my phone vibrates from inside my pocket. I fish it out, a smile touching my lips when I see the message is from Avery. But my elation plummets when I read the text.
Avery: So what’s it like sleeping with my wife?
My hand falls from the doorknob. “What the fuck?”
Panic sets in. Conner. The message is from Conner. What the fuck do I do?
Call the police.
“I’m going to fucking kill him if he touched her.” I switch to the dialing pad to make a call when I hear someone laugh from beside me. I look to my right and my grip tightens on the phone.
“Easy there,” Conner says as he leans against the side of the motel with a phone in his hand. “No need to go killing anyone over a girl.”
“What did you do to her?” I inch toward him with my jaw clenched. “If you touched her, I swear—”
“If I touched her?” he snaps, striding toward me. “I have every right to touch her. She’s my wife.”
“Ex-wife,” I remind him as he slams to a stop in front of me. I don’t cower back, even when he leans toward my face. I remember the first time we got into a fight like this, only it was because I stepped in front of Avery. Now it’s me he wants, and now it’s me he’ll get. Only this time, he’s not going to get the better of me. This time, I’m not some druggie craving a bag of meth more than my feelings for Avery. I’m stronger, both mentally and physically, and I have a clear head. A really, really clear head that lets me remember what he did to Avery and allows me to feel just how badly I want to make him pay for what he did.
For her.
“She may be my ex-wife,” he breathes in my face, “but you have no right to touch her.”
“No, you have no right to touch her.” I lean in closer, my fists balled, my muscles wound tight. “I know what you fucking did to her, you piece of shit, and you’re going to pay for everything you did to her.”
He lets out a growl and raises his fists, but he stops when the door to the side of us swings open. Zedd stumbles out, blinking his bloodshot eyes. He takes one look at us then a smirk spreads across his face
“Oh, good, I see you’ve met Skullman,” he sneers at me as he starts to shake with excitement, jacked up on something.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I mutter, looking back at Conner. “You’re the dumbass that calls himself Skullman?”
“And you’re the fucking asshole who owes me five hundred bucks.” A slow grin twists at his lips, utterly pleased by this bit of news as he spans his arms out to the side and laughs, giving me a good view of fresh track marks on his skin. “Beating you up just got a whole lot better.”
Zedd snickers. “Told you you’d pay. And now Skullman is going to kick your ass for the money you owe him for the drugs you stole from me,” he says to me then steps back into his room and slams the door.
Fucking crackheads.
Good God, how could I be like that for so long?
Before I can answer my own question, Conner cranes his arm back and takes a swing at me. I easily duck out of the way then skitter around him.
“Fucking coward,” he growls and then runs at me.
His head collides into my chest and knocks the wind out of me, but I recover and manage to stay on my feet. Then I shove Conner back, and he slams against the wall. Jesus, I didn’t think I had that much strength. Then again, the last time I got into a fight, I was as scrawny and drugged out as Zedd.
I have little time to react though, as Conner charges back at me, his fist colliding with my jaw. Pain erupts up my cheek and into my eye, causing my vision to spot. I blast through the pain and swing my fist at his face. Blood splatters from his mouth as my knuckles bash into his cheek. I step back, watching the blood dribble from his chin as he collapses to the ground.
“Now you’re going to leave Avery the fuck alone,” I say, looking down at Conner as he lies on his back and fights to catch his breath. “She doesn’t want you anymore.”
He glances up at me with blood streaming down his chin then starts to laugh. “You think this is over? This is just the beginning. That woman has made my life a living hell. I went to jail for two years because of her.” He rolls over and staggers to his feet. Then, hunched over, he scuffs across the parking lot toward the side of the motel, wiping the blood from his chin.