Shaking his head, Keith took a long, lingering look at the scene surrounding us, taking in the battered muscle car, the destroyed cell phone, the crowd of gawkers. And then his gaze stopped. His eyes widened. I turned to see what he was staring at.
It was Lawton, standing directly to my right. He was studying Keith with flat, hooded eyes. Lawton's hands, loose at his sides, twitched like he wanted to throttle someone. Who that someone was, I had no idea, given the wide range of possibilities. Shaggy? Keith? I swallowed. Me?
"Hey," Keith said to Lawton, "aren't you –"
"Yeah," Lawton said, flicking his head in my direction. "Chloe's boyfriend."
I whirled to face him. "You are not."
Lawton stared down at me, his eyes pleading. He reached for my hand. Our fingers brushed, and I fought the urge to fall into his arms, safe from everything.
There was only one problem. I wouldn’t be safe from the most dangerous person of all. Him.
Blinking hard, I pulled my hand away.
Somewhere near Lawton's car, I heard Shaggy's voice, low and earnest. "Hey Dude, can I borrow your phone?"
"Screw you," a male voice said.
"Aw c'mon," Shaggy said. "Be a sport, will ya?"
"You touch that phone," a female voice said, "and you're a dead man."
Shaggy groaned theatrically. "Aw c'mon, Jen!"
Nearby, Keith cleared his throat, far too noisily for it to be genuine. I glanced in his direction.
"Chloe," he said through clenched teeth. "Might I speak with you a moment?" He gave the crowd a calculating look. "In private."
I returned my gaze to Lawton. "You should go," I told him.
He shook his head. "Not before we talk."
What the hell? Was he trying to get me fired? "I can't," I said. "I've gotta go."
"Then come by later," he said. "Promise me."
Slowly, I shook my head.
"Alright," he said, flicking his gaze to his car. "I'll wait here."
For all I knew, he'd be waiting three hours. Maybe more. "You can't wait here," I said. "It might be all night."
He looked unimpressed. "I don't care."
Shit. Ishouldmake him wait. It would serve him right. But damn it, I'd never be able to focus on my job, knowing that Lawton was out here in the parking lot. I was barely holding it together as it was.
"Alright, fine," I said. "I'll stop by. But it might be morning before I get off work."
Something in his shoulders eased. He gave a slow nod. "I'll be waiting."
Nearby, Keith cleared his throat again. "Yeah," he muttered. "Waiting. I know howthatfeels."
"Alright, I'm coming!" I turned back to Lawton. "Go, alright? Please?"
When he gave a small nod, I turned toward Keith, who motioned me to follow him. With a sigh, I kept pace with him as he strode several car lengths away. When we were out of earshot, he said, "Look, I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, but we simply can't have this."
I studied him with raised eyebrows. "This? Which 'this' are you referring to?"