“Yes?”
“Could you send someone to my home too? A friend of mine, Teddy, is over there, and he was assaulted by the same people who broke into Mayte’s home.” I take a few minutes to recount all the necessary information to Lisa before I hear sirens traveling up the driveway.
When the officers make their way inside, escorting me out, I glance over at Russ. Out of everything, it’s the flicker of something inscrutable that crosses his face as he meets my gaze that confuses me most. But whether it’s momentary regret, frustration, or something else entirely, I don’t care to find out.
Chapter Seventy-Four
TRUTH UNFOLDING
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
Lola catches sightof me as I fall to my knees in a combination of relief and panic, my vision narrowing as she shouts my name, running to me.
I heave, sucking in oxygen and fighting to keep my eyes open.
“Ryder! Ry!” she shouts, but her voice is barely louder than a hum with the whooshing of blood and adrenaline in my ears.
I give in to the panic when she folds herself around me. My body crumples in on itself as I gasp for air. “Ryder, it’s okay. I’m okay. Everyone is alright. Come back to me, baby,” she whispers in my ear. The weight of her body over mine acts as an anchor, calling me home to her when the worst of it is over. My extremities quake, chin quivering as I peel my lids open to see Lola’s mud-soaked curls and deep, cinnamon eyes.
My heart rate slows, galloping along at the realization that she’s here, in my arms,safe.
“Wh-what happened?” I ask hoarsely.
She doesn’t have a chance to answer before Sheriff Wilson approaches. “Mr. Lockhart, I’d like to get you and Lola out ofthe rain so we can discuss what happened with her ex-fiancé. If you wouldn’t mind followin’ me,” he says, nodding toward Mayte’s porch.
Lola helps pull me up, and I follow her to the steps where Mayte cradles Isabela against her chest.
“Russ was involved?” I ask, whispering to Lola in a daze.
“In a roundabout way,” she mutters.
A whole lot becomes clearer once I’m standing in the middle of the chaos, no longer hidden behind one of the many cars and emergency vehicles parked along Mayte’s property.
A woman I’ve never seen before is handcuffed, arguing with two police officers as she’s pushed against the hood of one of their Dodge Chargers. She’s fighting against them as they shout at her to get in the back seat before they have to resort to other methods of restraint.
I swing around to the sound of a man crying, only to find the guy who looks suspiciously like Nugget’s apparent owner being wheeled into the ambulance bed on a stretcher. He’s attached to it with handcuffs, and I suppose that would be Russ.
“Ryder! Lola! Oh, my God!”
We all whip around to the sound of that voice, my eyes growing wide as saucers as Lemmon barrels toward us. Her mustard-yellow dress stuck to her, hair drenched and plastered to her head.
“Lemmon, what the?—”
She trips, slipping through the mud, body flailing as she lands at Lola’s feet. Lemmon clambers onto her knees, chest heaving as she looks up at Lola, tears mixing with rain running down her puffy cheeks.
“Lola, I’m so sorry, I tried to warn y’all, but you have my number blocked, and then my car broke down, and I’m just so sorry,” she sobs, choking on a cough. “I never meant for this to happen,” she wails. “I just—God, I was just so jealous. You came here with nothing and managed to make friends, livingout all of your dreams, and when you left Ryder, I thought—” she sniffles, “I thought I’dfinallywon some of that good luck you seemed to have in truckloads.”
“You sure like to talk a lot, don’t you?” Russ drawls, and if the circumstances were different, I’d be inclined to laugh. As it stands, I’m in the middle of a goddamn crime scene, and I almost lost my entire world tonight. My stomach churns at the thought.
“It wasn’tluck, Lemmon. I’m kind to people—thatis how I make friends. And I’ve worked my ass off for every single thing I’ve got, including my relationships. Your jealousy doesn’t excuse whatever part you played in this,” Lola tells her, and damn am I proud to call her mine.
Lemmon’s shoulders shake, and she smacks a palm over her mouth as another sob tears through her. “Y-you’re right. Th-that wasn’t much of an apology,” Lemmon admits, and I’m momentarily stunned.
Thiscouldall be an act, but I’m inclined to believe that, just maybe, there’s some good left in my ex-wife after all. And maybe there’s hope for her yet; it just won’t be here with me or anyone I love.
“What exactlywasyour part in this?” Mayte asks her, getting right into it.
Lemmon glances up at the sheriff, her gaze quickly darting away. “I wanted to prove they’d gotten married for Lola’s health insurance.”
