Abby’s voice came from behind the doorway, startling her, so she dropped the pillow, now giving an audible screech.
Abby flinched and covered her ears reflexively. “Damn, Kelsi. Give a girl a warning next time you go full banshee.”
“Give me a warning next time you sneak up on me!”
“Ahh, but that would defeat the whole purpose of sneaking, wouldn’t it?” Abby laughed at her own joke.
“I’m going to assume you overheard that whole thing?”
“Yeah.” Abby didn’t look ashamed in the slightest at having admitted to eavesdropping. Nosy PI. “Wanna talk about it?”
“No. I want to forget about all of it for a while.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re heading back to Virginia Beach today, isn’t it?”
Kelsi cast a last look out the window to Dylan’s house before standing. “Yeah, it is.”
It really wasn’t, though. Heading back to Virginia Beach meant seeing Tom and her old coworkers, dealing with the trial and the culmination of the threats, and Dylan.
No, heading back to Virginia Beach was not sounding like a good thing at all.
CHAPTER 34
Dylan
1 Day to Trial
Monday afternoon, Dylanheaded south toward Virginia Beach for the trial. He crossed the Rappahannock River in his truck, driving with traffic on the narrow two-lane bridge over the sparkling water. Looking below, he could make out small, forested islands jutting from the salty water and the white caps of small waves cresting. The sight grounded him, and he relaxed for the first time in days.
He’d been tense ever since his fight with Kelsi after their moms’ party. He regretted how he’d yelled at her and abandoned her after she got herfourththreat, but his insecurities over her had reared up, and he couldn’t keep his anger at bay.
At first, the flowers had reminded him of seeing her and Tom together the night before the bar exam. Before, he’d been so convinced that she was his girl, his Red, and that he’d grovel at her feet until she forgave him for whatever he’d done. Then, he’d watched her bring Tom into her hotel room, and he’d been completely gutted. She may as well have taken a knife to his chest for the white-hot pain it caused him. So, when he saw the bouquet on her car, he was taken back to that moment. Back towhen he thought she was his and found out she had another man waiting in the wings.
He’d lashed out, invaded her privacy in reading the note, but he had to know. He had to be positive this time that she was playing him. He’d been both relieved and angrier still when he saw the note wasn’t a romantic declaration from another man, but a threat.
It was ridiculous. Even in the moment Dylan had known he was being a caveman, but his pride took a massive blow when he realized she’d been hiding the threats from him. Now, stuck with his own thoughts and insecurities, he imagined it was because of his injury. That she didn’t trust him to be able to protect her because of it. She’d never said so much, and he knew she never would. That was his own fear at play. He hadn’t been able to protect Jace when he was whole. How could he protect her now?
He hadn’t spoken that particular insecurity aloud to anyone; instead he’d tried burying it beneath thoughts of everything else in his life. There was something about hearing the words when the military told Dylan he wasn’t physically fit enough for active duty. They reverberated around him and sunk claws into his heart. He would never be whole again. He would always have the lingering pain and the reminder of what he had lost overseas. But it wasn’t fair of him to have put that on Kelsi. She was innocent in his torment. These were his own demons at play.
He focused on the road ahead of him, flexing his fingers on the steering wheel. He needed to apologize to Kelsi, to his Red. He hoped it wasn’t too late.
* * *
The surly sheriff’s deputy at the front entrance of the courthouse had gestured vaguely in this direction when he asked where the commonwealth’s attorney’s offices were, so he crossed his fingers and hoped he was heading the right way. He was absorbing every detail of Kelsi’s old workplace as he wandered the halls, imagining what her life was like here for four years. When he rounded a final corner and came to the elevator lobby at the rear of the courthouse, he saw a familiar blond head standing in the hallway waiting for the elevator.
For a second, Dylan’s vision turned red.
The man turned around at the sound of Dylan’s limping footsteps and smiled in recognition. “Dylan! Hey, man, it’s been a while.” His smile faded at the sight of Dylan’s scowl heading toward him, but he didn’t have time to retreat before Dylan swung his right fist directly at his face.
The force of it knocked Tom’s head back and his teeth clicked together painfully—so loud Dylan could hear the clash. Stunned, he fell backward and landed right on his ass. Dylan towered over him, still glowering, as Tom rubbed his now-aching jaw.
“That was for breaking her heart,” Dylan growled at Tom, but he stuck his hand out toward him. Tom grasped it, gaping still, and Dylan pulled the other man back up to his feet. He dragged Tom into a one-armed hug, slapping his shoulder. “And that is for fucking it up.”
Tom glared at him for a second after Dylan pulled away. “You know I could have you arrested for that, right?”
“Yeah, but you won’t. You know you deserved that one, and that I could have hit a lot harder than I did.” Dylan stared back at the man, daring him to follow through on the threat, but he knew he wouldn’t.
“You’re right. I can’t say it’s unexpected. I heard you and Kelsi were the prosecutors, and I knew you’d have something to say.” His eyes narrowed at Dylan. “That was a cheap shot, though.”
