"Oh yeah?" I said. "What's that?"
"This." He shifted his grip on the tire iron. He took one long stride toward his car. Before I could digest what was happening, he bashed it against the windshield, leaving a cracked, spider-web pattern on the formerly smooth glass.
"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled.
As an answer, he raised the iron again and smashed it against the side view mirror. Another hard blow, and the mirror hit the pavement, breaking on impact.
I dove toward him and grabbed his elbow. "Don't!"
Slowly, he turned to face me. "Why?"
"Because it's stupid!" I was shaking as I looked at the destruction. Oh my God. His car. His beautiful car. I didn't know how much it was worth, money-wise, but I knew exactly what it meant to him personally.
"Isn't this the kind of justice you wanted?" he said. "My car trashed? That's what you said, wasn't it?"
"No!" I gripped his elbow tighter. "This isn't what I wanted."
"Well, I do." Gently, he removed my hand from his elbow. "Because, Chloe, let me tell you something. Compared to you, this car means nothing to me."
He strode to the passenger's side. He raised the iron again. "Compared to you, it meanslessthan nothing."
I watched helplessly, frozen by disbelief, as he bashed off the other mirror, and then destroyed both headlights, leaving scattered bits of glass on the dark pavement.
"Stop it!" I yelled.
He gave a sad shake of his head and raised the iron high above his head. He slammed it down on the hood, leaving an ugly dent in the beautiful finish. He raised the iron and struck again. And again. Soon, the hood was mangled almost beyond recognition.
I was having a hard time catching my breath. He loved that car. He'd spent countless hours restoring it with his own hands. Now he was destroying it right before my eyes.
I couldn't act. I couldn't think. I staggered backward and hit something unexpected.
And then, I heard that dreaded voice. "Sweeeeet."
I whirled around, and there he was. Shaggy. With that damn cell phone.
Chapter 13
Shaggy was holding the phone out in front of him, directly toward Lawton and his mangled car.
I glared at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Taking video," Shaggy said. "What else?"
Helplessly, I looked toward Lawton. He stood near the passenger's side door, watching us with a blank expression. The iron dangled loosely in his right hand. And then, it clattered to the pavement. An instant later, he was at my side.
"You." He glared at Shaggy. "Get away from her. Now."
With a shrug, Shaggy took a couple steps away from me. He turned back toward the mangled car. "Oh man," he said. "That is so messed up." He held out his cell phone. "Total viral." He stepped closer, zooming in on the hood.
"Stop that!" I said.
He shook his head. "No way."
I gave Lawton a pleading look. "Are you just gonna stand there and let him take video of – " I waved my hands on a useless gesture "—this?"
Shaggy chuckled. "It's called freedom of the press, baby." He turned to call over his shoulder. "Am I right, or what?"
"Got that right," said a distant, unfamiliar voice.
