Maverick was in the garage now, and he tucked his hands under Sam’s arms and hauled her off of Vincent.
“Your child is a freak,” Avelyn said behind me.
I spun around and slapped her hard across the face.“Don’t you say a fucking word about my daughter.Ever.”
Otto stood in the doorway of the garage, his mouth agape as Gabrielle blocked him from leaving, her arms across her chest.
Car doors slammed over and over again outside, like a child who’d just found a drum set in the attic, and a moment later, Officers Myla Bruce and Everett Jacobs, along with the McEvoys, appeared.
“What kind of weird-ass bullshit is this?”I heard Raina say.“Who steals a horse and uses it for blackmail?Are we in the Wild West or something?”
“That’s a hangin’ offense,” Jagger muttered, his voice notable among the rest of the chatter.
Tom had Midnight in his arms and carried the foal out of the garage, while Maverick and Jagger—who had pushed his way past—hauled Vincent up to his feet and escorted him outside.
Avelyn stood there, smug, with her arms crossed over her chest.Her father stared down at her in horror.
“What the hell is all of this?”Myla asked, disbelief and confusion on her face, as well as the rest of ours.
“I assure you, officers, this is all a big misunderstanding,” Otto protested.“That horse escaped—just like that donkey did—and broke into my garage.My daughter must have found it.”
“Bullshit,” Sam said, glaring at her principal.“You’re such a liar.”
Rage filled Otto’s eyes.“Don’t you dare speak to me like that … you … you … fiend of a child.I am the principal.I am yourboss.The disrespect.”He faced me.“I should have your daughter expelled for this.”
“Try it,” I said blandly.“Just try it, bud.”
“And you’re not our kids’ ‘boss,’” Raina added.“You’re their educator.You’re supposed to make their place of learning enjoyable and safe.And you’ve never done that.”
Maverick and Jagger still had Vincent by the arms, and Otto sneered at him.“You’re the man who came by here last week.Said you were going to get Tommaso’s land.”
“Interesting,” Gabrielle remarked.“What else did he say?”
“Shut up, Dad,” Avelyn scolded.
“I don’t know what is going on here,” Otto said, “but I had nothing to do with it.All of you are trespassing on my property.”He fixed his gaze on Myla and Everett.“Officers, arrest these people.”
“Naw, bra,” Everett said, scratching the back of his neck.“Looks like Mr.Corcan here teamed up with your daughter to steal the horse to use as leverage and hold him for ransom against Mr.Barone.”
“Absolutely not,” Otto protested.He looked at his daughter.
Avelyn merely rolled her eyes.
“But why?”Myla asked.
“Ah, I might be able to answer that.”Gabrielle held up her phone.“This is the PI Tom’s lawyer, Michelle Price, hired to investigate Vincent.”
“You what?”Vincent asked, struggling against Maverick and Jagger.
“You’re on speakerphone,” Gabrielle said.
The PI on the phone cleared their throat.“Right.Anyway, I followed Mr.Corcan to the island, where he did indeed visit Mrs.Whalley.Upon further investigation, it would seem that Mr.and Mrs.Whalley are in the process of getting a divorce.Mr.Whalley, who is a professional online gamer, met someone else through the gaming community and has filed for divorce.”
Hatred burned in Avelyn’s eyes.
How I managed to conjure an ounce of sympathy for that woman was beyond me, but it happened.When that flicker of pain emerged in her gaze, mixed with all the anger and hate, I saw a broken, desperate woman, confused by hurt and ultimately making a stream of poor decisions because of it.
“Mr.Corcan approached Mrs.Whalley and asked her to partner with him to get the land away from Mr.Barone with the promise of letting her live on the land and run whatever moneymaking scheme he intended to set up.Of that, I’m not entirely sure yet,” the PI went on.
