My mind raced. It wasn’t the first time I’d stared down a psycho with a switchblade, but being used to it didn’t make me any calmer. Having someone try to kill you had an effect on a man. I took a few deep breaths to allow the adrenaline to slowly dissipate.
I needed to contact a buddy of mine to take care of Carl, but he switched out phone numbers every couple of weeks, so I’d have to email him first. We also needed something better than potato sack string if we were going to keep Carl here all night.
“Watch him,” I said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where’s he going?” Flop’s ex-wife asked.
He rounded on her. “Why don’t you ask him that!”
“He’syourfriend!”
The wind was picking up outside, shaking the trees back and forth and scurrying leaves across the parking lot, but the rain hadn’t begun. Judging by the low clouds and the smell in the air, it was only minutes away.Just what we need on a shitty night, I thought as I approached my truck.
Charlotte wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief that she’d listened. Hopefully she was locked away in her motel room by now. I reached for my phone to tell her to turn all her lights out just to be safe, but then put it away. Better get home first before the sky opened up.
The drive home gave me plenty of time to think about how fucking stupid I was.
“Lay fucking low,” I growled to myself. “All I had to do was avoid anything that would connect Charlotte to me. So what does my stupid ass do? Hug her in the cemetery, and then attack a goddamn Copperhead in a bar. Jesus fucking Christ, I’m an idiot.”
I replayed the events of the bar in my head. I didn’t remember deciding to retrieve my shotgun. Carl started talking to her at the bar with that look in his eye, and that tone in his voice, and then I was on my feet and getting my shotgun out of the truck before I could register what I was evendoing.
The worst part? I didn’t really regret it. It felt right at the time, and it still felt right now, even if the repercussions sucked ass.
I have to protect her.
It was an animal instinct, deep down in my chest. Emotion rather than thought. I had to protect Charlotte, no matter the circumstances. Even if it meant making things worse for myself in the long run.
That didn’t stop me from berating myself about it all the way home, though.
“Stupid fuckingidiot,” I shouted, slamming my hand on the steering wheel. “I can’t let anyone near me. I’m radio-fucking-active. I can’t flirt with her. I can’t text her. I can’t fuckingfallfor her.”
The words shocked me, but as soon as they were out of my mouth I knew they were true. I was falling for Charlotte. I’dbeenfalling for her ever since she walked into that jail in a dress and heels. I couldn’t help myself. She was everything I’d ever wanted.
I can’t have her.
It was a fact that was as true as anything else in this world. No matter how much I wanted Charlotte, being with her would be the same as sentencing her to death. Hell, we were in this mess tonight because I’d let my guard down long enough for her to hug me in the cemetery.
We could never do more than that. Even the sexy texts we’d been exchanging were too dangerous. If Sid showed up one day and took my phone…
I gripped the steering wheel tighter and forced myself to relax. First the muscles in my jaw, then neck, then arms. Soon I was breathing normally and could think straight.
All right, the situation.
Carl had seen us in the cemetery. But instead of going to Sid with the information, he tried to extort Charlotte. Thank fucking God he thought with his dick, not his brain. He probably hadn’t told any other Copperheads, or else he would’ve brought them with him tonight. Either for backup, or because theyallwanted a piece of Charlotte.
My anger flared up at that thought. I pushed it back down.
Even though he probably hadn’t told anyone else, I needed to be certain. I still had contacts in the Copperheads I could trust. That IthoughtI could trust, at least.
I’d risk contacting them to keep Charlotte safe.
And then it was just a matter of dealing with Carl himself. Not easy, but doable once we got the ball rolling on a few things. Flop’s buddy in Jacksonville would need to come through, as well as my transport contact to get him there. And we would need to hold Carl until then and hope none of the other Copperheads knew where he had gone. We’d have to stash his bike, too. I should have done that before leaving Flop’s. Stupid.
Despite those setbacks, I breathed a little easier after thinking it all out. There was still a chance to pour the spilled beer back into the bottle.
It started raining just as I pulled up my driveway, fat drops which pelted the top of my truck. I parked and pulled out my phone to tell Flop to move Carl’s bike, but then I found myself texting Charlotte instead.
Jayce: Turn off all the lights in your motel room and close the curtains. Just to be safe. I’ll touch base in the morning. Might have to skip community service.