“He’s mowing the lawn. Why?”
“Nobody came to your house? Has anyone been bothering you?”
“June, what’s this all about? Are you in trouble again? Should I expect a visit from one of your boyfriends?”
She wanted to scream and smash Killian’s phone on the tiled floor. It was like the last ten years never happened, and her mother was still as unsupportive and high and mighty as the day she’d tossed June on the street for being unmarried and pregnant.
“Never mind. Calling was a mistake.” She hung up the phone, and leaned against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor. June sat there for the longest time, reflecting on every word her mother had said. She didn’t want to care, but it still hurt. The little girl in her longed for acceptance, love, praise. But she was a woman now, with a child of her own.
She took a cleansing breath and picked herself up. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Killian getting hurt. Her parents were fine. He wouldn’t have to go in with guns blazing like back in the bar. They could put everything in the past and start over.
Then she thought better. If her parents were fine, then someone just wanted Killian back in town. It was all a set up.
June began to panic. There was no one for her to call because she didn’t have any numbers for Killian, his boss, or Bain. She needed someone from the police to make this right, to protect Killian from danger. As much as she hated the thought, she had to call Daniel. He was a cop in her hometown. The asshole had tried to get little Killian sent to juvenile detention so he could date her without the complication of a kid. But she had to put aside her personal feelings for the sake of the man she loved.
She called information and asked for the local police station in her home town. Then she asked for Daniel Fetcher. She gritted her teeth as she waited, hating that she had to sink to this level.
“Daniel, I need your help,” she said, not knowing where to start.
“June? Slow down. Tell me what’s wrong,” he said.
She didn’t want Killian to get in trouble. The last thing she needed was to be the one responsible for him getting locked up. How the hell would she explain that gem to her son? Daniel was a scumbag, but he’s all she had right now.
“I was shot—”
“What? Where are you?”
“I’m okay, but I’m scared the shooter is still in our town. I think he wants to kill Killian’s father.”
There was silence on the line.
“Where are you, June?”
She began to cry against her will. The stress along with her fears were overwhelming. “I don’t know!”
“Hold on, I’ll trace the call.” There was a long pause. “That’s weird. It’s untraceable. That can’t be right.”
“Please, just meet up with me. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
“Look out the windows and let me know what you see. Find something with an address. Give me something I can use,” he said.
She didn’t trust him, and didn’t want to risk Killian getting hunted down by the police later. In a drawer under the bar she found a handgun and stacks of cash. She stifled a gasp, but instantly knew what she had to do.
“Meet me at the town hall. I’m calling an Uber.”
An hour later, she saw his patrol car pull up along the side of the road. “June, get in,” said Daniel, after rolling down the passenger window. “Where’s your kid?”
“With a friend,” she said as she sat down and pulled on her seat belt. “It’s Killian who’s in trouble.”
“Killian?”
“My son and his father have the same name.”
He frowned, looking ahead as he turned onto the main roadway. They sat in awkward silence for most of the drive. This was probably a huge mistake. She didn’t like the way he’d once tried to use her son to get a date out of her. There was something off about Daniel, but right now there was no one else to turn to.
As they neared the shoreline, she felt a sense of relief knowing she was closer to Killian. She hoped she wasn’t too late to set things straight.
“Where should we start?” she asked.