42. Wicked

42

Wicked

I'm Their Fucking Endgame

I swing my key ring around my finger as I stroll into the parking lot of Lou's elementary school. A last-minute floral emergency caused a change in plans, and while Darby and Dahlia are at Honeysuckle finalizing arrangements for the wedding tomorrow, I offered to pick Lou up from school this afternoon so they could focus.

Lou doesn't know about the change and would be looking for her mom's Honda rather than my Jeep, so I figured I'd just wait for her in the lobby. I flip my sunglasses on top of my head as I walk inside and plop down in one of the chairs.

Tana sits at the reception desk on the other side of the glass, chatting with a tall, lanky man who has his back turned to me. "I'm so sorry you've been going through that," she says softly. "That's awful."

The guy shrugs. "All that matters is that I'm here now."

"I'm sure she'll be so happy to see you." Tana smiles.

I zone them out, pulling out my phone to check on Elena. I'm constantly afraid she's going to fucking bolt, that I'll come home one day and she'll just be gone. She's been keeping to the house a lot, but she tells me she's back to writing, so I'm hopeful. If I'm not there to check on her, my parents step in. Leo, too. She hasn't met Dahlia or seen Darby yet, but I'm trying to give her time.

"So, I was actually hoping I could sneak her out a few minutes early. Wanted to take her down the Boardwalk and get some ice cream. Ride the Ferris Wheel."

"Well, Lucille's class has about fifteen minutes left until their final bell, but… Let me call down to her teacher and see if I can reach her."

"Great. Can you have her meet me—"

Her name rings through my skull, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. "I'm sorry," I interrupt, standing from my chair. "Did you just say Lucille ?"

There certainly could be another Lucille in this school, but the name isn't common enough for me to let that slide without asking a question.

I step up to Tana, watching her eyes go wide with recognition. "Oh, Everett." She clears her throat awkwardly. "I didn't see you come in."

"Hope that's not my kid you're talking about," I respond, not bothering to sound pleasant.

The man next to me turns sideways, giving me a bewildered expression. "No, we were talking about my kid. If you'll excuse us."

Tana's eyes dart between the two of us rapidly, and I'm about to back off, assuming I'm mistaken and there is another student here with the same name, but the trepidation in Tana's expression has me on edge.

"Everett, does… Does Dahlia know you're here?"

"Yes?"

She glances at the other man, seeming unsure of what to do.

"Who are you?" I ask him.

"How do you know Dahlia?" he asks me.

I study his face. Long, narrow nose that's different from Dahlia's but matches her daughter's. Sandy blond hair with hints of red. And his green eyes. Lou's green eyes.

Knowing I should drag this fucker out of the building by his goddamn throat before Lou gets up here, I instead find myself turning to face the reception desk head-on, all my newfound rage directed at one person.

"Were you about to let her fucking leave with him?" I snarl at Tana.

She gulps, cheeks going flush. "He's…he's her dad." She glances at Jason again. "He said Dahlia knew about it. I…"

"Did Dahlia call you and give permission? Do you see this man's name on the approved sign-out list given to you by Lou's legal fucking guardian?"

She tilts her head, sighing. "That's not entirely fair, Everett. You may not know the whole story. Dahlia wasn't allow–"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Tana, because you do not know the full story," I seethe. "Are you unaware that over half of all Amber Alerts reported are because the child was abducted by one of their parents? Have you had any sort of training on how dangerous it is to let some random person claiming to be related to a child into the school and tell them where that child is, what time they get out of class, and that you will allow them to leave the premises with the child? Are you telling me that you work here every day, and none of those thoughts has ever crossed your mind?"

She shakes her head rapidly. "I know that. I–He…He knew her name. He knew Dahlia. He wasn't some random person. He's…He's her dad."

"He has no rights!" I'm shouting now, body vibrating with anger. "Do you know why he asked you to have her meet him outside? Because Lou does not know him. He has not seen her in years. He legally has no claim to her."

Tana's mouth drops open, a look of horror flashing across her face.

"Are you so wrapped up in your petty bullshit? So desperate to think the absolute worst of this woman, you would put her child in that kind of danger?"

I'm trembling, my vision going hazy with panic and fury.

I need to know what the fuck that man is doing here, what he wants with my kid. I need to make sure he stays the fuck away from Dahlia too.

"Everett, I–"

Glancing around the lobby, I realize for the first time that he's nowhere to be found. "Fuck!" I run toward the front entrance of the school, shouting behind me, "Do not let Lou out of your fucking sight until I come back, do you understand?"

Tana nods. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm not the person you need to apologize to," I mutter as I fly out the door.

I take a look around, catching him walking briskly with his hood up about twenty yards ahead of me. He makes a beeline toward the deserted back parking lot, but I'm chasing after him.

"Jason!" I call, catching up. "We weren't done with that conversation."

He halts, slowly turning to face me with his hands raised. "Look, man, I wasn't trying to cause any trouble, alright? I was just—"

"Bullshit," I growl, and before I can think twice, my fist is connecting with his jaw.

He grabs his face, stumbling backward, and I take the opportunity to snatch him by his collar, spinning him around and slamming him against a car. "Tell me what the fuck you're doing here."

"Fuck you," he spits. I cock my fist to hit him again, and he laughs. "Dude, you're doing the most for a woman who is not worth the effort. I'm telling you, she was ruined after she had that kid." He smiles, shrugging. "I know the pussy is good, but the woman attracts chaos. She ain't worth it."

My vision blurs, flooding red.

Suddenly, I've got Jason pressed into the pavement, my knee in his chest. I lean in with a dangerous calm, an effort when my instincts are screaming at me to strike and strike until there is nothing left of him at all. "I fucking dare you to say something else about her." Letting my face hover just over his, I say, "I don't ever want you coming near my girls again. I don't want their names leaving your mouth. I don't want their faces crossing your mind. I want you to fade from their memory entirely, until you're nothing but a name they can't remember. You do not deserve to know them. Do you understand?"

He sneers. "You can call her your girl, call her your kid, but she's still my daughter."

"Father is a title earned, not given, and you're both unworthy of it." He gives me a look of confusion as I tighten my hold on the collar of his sweatshirt. "Give me your phone."

"What?" he grits.

I slam his head against the ground. "Give me your fucking phone." He wrestles his hand into the front pocket of his jeans, pulling out a phone. "Find Dane Andrews in your contact list."

"I really don't think you want to—"

"Shut the fuck up."

Limbs trembling, face red with lack of oxygen where I hold my hand to his throat, kneeling on his chest, Jason slowly begins the call. It rings twice before a deep, male voice rasps, "Jason?"

"You piece of shit."

With utter calm, Dahlia's father responds, "Everett, I assume?"

"Yeah, and you're the sadistic psychopath who plotted to have your own grandchild kidnapped , I take it?"

"Is that what she led you to believe?" He chuckles. "I'm surprised to see you so…concerned, especially considering the last time I spoke with her, she called you her…what was it? Flavor of the week ?"

I scoff, knowing Dahlia doesn't speak that way. He's so full of shit.

Jason shakes his head, barking a sarcastic laugh. "Man, you're nothing but a fuck buddy."

"I'm not a fuck buddy." I press my knee harder into his chest, sending him gasping for air. "I'm their fucking end game." Shifting my weight so my elbow falls into his throat, choking him even harder, I add, "So listen here, you waste of oxygen: you come around my future wife or my kid again, I won't stop until they have to peel your flesh from the pavement."

I pull off him, standing up and taking a step back.

"That applies to you too," I spit into Jason's phone. "Jason here will be crawling back to Kansas with a black eye and a broken rib to show you just how serious I am."

He scrambles away from me, crawling back against the tire of a car, finally having the good sense to look afraid of me as he catches his breath.

I hear the calculated click of a tongue on the other end of the line. "This is the woman you want to make death threats for? Are you sure about that, boy? She's got a lot of daddy issues."

"Wouldn't worry about that, sir." I smile, watching Jason's eyes blow wide. "I fucked all those daddy issues right out of her pretty head." Knowing it'll twist the knife further, I add, "The only man she'll be calling daddy from now on is me."

I hang up the call, tossing the phone to the ground at Jason's feet.

"How'd you know he was involved?" Jason asks, looking up at me.

"You're not smart enough, nor do you have the motive, to show up here on your own and try to abduct a child."

"I warned her not to fuck with her dad."

"How much did he pay you?" I ask.

He's quiet for a moment, staring at his feet. "Look…yeah. At first, it was about the money. He paid me off a little here and there to call and fuck with Dahlia. He thought if I gave some notion that I was interested in being part of the kid's life, she'd come back to Kansas. I don't know." He shrugs. "But I drew the line at this. I didn't want to be involved. I didn't want to come out here. I tried to warn her, and she didn't listen." He shakes his head. "The man has connections. He has shit on me too. I didn't have a fucking choice." He looks at me, and I see a flash of sincerity in his eyes. "I never would've hurt Lucille. All I was going to do was take her to her grandparents. That's what he asked of me. Drive her back out there so the girls would follow."

I squat down so we're face-to-face. "Here's my friendly piece of advice: don't ever come back here, and don't ever bother my family again, or I will actually kill you. If I were you, I'd take your sweet time heading back to Kansas and do what you can to cut all connections to Dane Andrews, because I'm going to end him too."

I don't wait for his reaction. I don't wait for a response.

I stand straight, spinning on my heel and turning back toward the school to pick up my kid.