Page 90 of Lawton


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"Actually, it was, uh, the one where your neighbor works?" Her voice faltered. "The girl with the dog?"

Shit. I stopped in my tracks. It was the one answer I hadn't wanted. Through gritted teeth, I said, "Her name is Chloe."

"Um, yeah. Chloe," Amber said. "Anyway, she happened to wait on us."

I tried to think. I recalled the night of my birthday party. On that night, too, they'd also mentioned that Chloe had waited on them. What were they doing? Going in there every night, just to give Chloe a hard time?

I tried to keep my voice level. "Shehappenedto wait on you?"

Amber cleared her throat. "Sort of."

"I know bull when I hear it," I said. "You asked for her section, didn't you?"

Amber hesitated. "I don’t think they have real sections. I mean, the manager told us—"

"Fuck the manager."

"Gee, you don't have to get all mad."

"Don't I?" I said.

"I'm just saying—"

"Alright, this is the deal," I said. "I'm gonna tell you what I think. Andyou'regonna tell me if I'm right."

"Um, okay?"

"I think you and Brittney went in there, and you made damn sure that Chloe was your waitress. And I think you gave her a bunch of shit, and then broke her car-window on the way out."

"That's not true!" Amber said.

"Uh-huh. Which part?"

Amber paused. "Well, not the window part, anyway."

"Fuck."

"Lawton—"

"I've gotta go." I disconnected the call and shoved the phone back into my pocket. Royally pissed off, I stalked back toward my own place.

When my phone rang a minute later, I ignored it. When it rang a second time, I pulled it out, confirmed it was Amber, and then blocked the number.

Screw her and that stupid red bow she rode in on. And that went double for her friend.

No wonder Chloe was upset. And no wonder she blamed me. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't even know Brittney and Amber. And they sure as hell wouldn’t know her.

All this time, I'd been looking for the bad guy, the one who'd been giving Chloe a hard time. Turns out, the bad guy was me, thanks to my shitty taste in friends.

And that wasn't the only thing.

My gut still told me that something was off about Chloe's living situation. What it was, I didn't know. A boyfriend? The douchebag? A combination of the two? I had no way of knowing. But I was going to find out.

Later.

Now, I'd go home and cancel everything on my schedule. And then, I'd spend the rest of the day watching out for Chloe. Even if she didn't want to see me, Ihadto see her – if only to make sure nothing worse happened.

Ifanyonetried to hurt her, they'd be in for a hell of a surprise.