“Now what?” Tanner asks.
“Now we wait. You should probably text her mom so she knows what’s going on—just in case the juice isn’t enough—but it should be.”
Tanner nods, his head enthusiastically bobbing up and down. He pulls out his phone, shooting off a text to Bella’s mom. Then he shoves it back in his pocket.
We sit there with the silence surrounding us, with Tanner’s gaze never leaving Bella, until I finally break it.
“Tanner, we need to talk,” I say.
But he shuts me down, shaking his head. “Not right now, Dad. Please,” he says, his voice shaking. “Just not right now.”
I sigh, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees. “Okay.”
I, at least, owe him that.
Chapter 24
Theo
The next time I work at the fire station, a somberness hangs over the place. With evidence of arson, everybody is wondering when the next fire will be and if someone will get hurt. We’ve been lucky so far, but if the fires continue, eventually, our luck will run out. So when Eric darkens my door, it only adds to my overall bad mood.
My office door is open, and he saunters in like he owns the place, picking up a picture of Tanner and me off my desk and sneering at it.
“Nice picture. It will be good for you to have it after this whole nasty court case is over. Give you a nice memory of your kid since he’ll no longer be in your home.”
Anger boils in my blood, and I stand up, jerking the picture from his hand.
“Is there something I can help you with, Eric? Because, not to be blunt, but get out of my office if there’s not.”
Instead of leaving like I had stupidly hoped he would do, he makes a show of sitting down, crossing his ankle over his knee and putting his hands behind his head.
“Nah. I figure I’m here to say. After all, we have business to discuss.”
“We don’t have business,” I say, remaining standing.
“Ah,” he says, taking his ankle off his knee and putting his footback on the ground, “but we do. One, because there was a fire in my subdivision, and word around town is that it was arson. Again. And two, because we both know a pretty principal who was involved in a fire earlier this summer that was also suspected to be arson. From what I hear, you’re dating that principal now. You wouldn’t happen to be showing favoritism and ignoring the signs right in front of you, would you? I’d hate to talk to the mayor about your job. I’m sure the courts would be interested in your unemployment if that happened.”
It’s a threat, but he’s half cocked if he thinks he threatens me. Not anymore.
For a second, I think about knocking him out, teaching him what it really means to threaten me, and then I look down at the picture of Tanner on my desk and remind myself why I need to hold my temper.
“Get. Out,” I say, punctuating each word. My voice is deadly, warning him I’m not one to be messed with.
I’m sick of his smug face showing up. It’s bad enough that he had moments with Tanner that I never will—and honestly, I wouldn’t have resented him so much if he didn’t take every one of them for granted—but I will not sit here and listen to him threaten my son, my job, or Lily.
Eric raises his hands innocently, insinuating that he gave no reason for my anger to flare. Always playing the victim. He stands to leave, but I walk around my desk, crowding him so he has to sit back in his chair. Eric’s a big guy, but I’m bigger. Leaner. Meaner. I tower over him, daring him to say a word, then I lean down until I’m in his face. He tries to scoot back, but I have my hands on either side of the chair, trapping him.
“The next time you want to threaten me or anyone I care about, you better bring someone bigger than you,” I say, pitching my voice into a menacing whisper. “I can guarantee I grew up rougher than you, pretty boy. I dare you to try me.”
Straightening back up, I stand and dust off my shirt, smiling as if we just had a pleasant conversation about the weather. “Now, Eric, I know you have concerns about the recent fires, but I assure you I’m doing everything possible to find the culprit. Have a good day.
I walk out of my office, leaving him gaping like a fish.
______________________
Theo:I nearly murdered Eric.
Annoyance #1 (HM):And you didn’t invite me? Wait….is this actually Theo, or did someone steal his phone? Because no way he’s texting the group chat.
