He glanced down at Lookah and in an instant his tough exterior was replaced by a softer one. One I was far too familiar with, too scarred by.
“Who’s this big fella?” he asked.
“My dog,” I huffed, and Wyatt opened his mouth to say something when he noticed the goats entering the living room as if they owned it.
“What are those?” he chuckled.
“Illusions. What do you want, Wyatt?”
He took a deep breath and stood up, dusting off his jeans and clearing his throat. But he still wouldn’t look me in the eye.
“I heard you took Zach in,” he said.
“And where did you hear that?” I asked.
“Teddy,” Wyatt replied.
Zach must have told him.
“Is it true?” he asked.
“Yes, and?”
He tried to say something again, but words failed him, just like his actions.
“Nothing. I…have you…what have you found out? Anything we can help with?”
“I’ll handle it myself,” I grumbled and crossed my arms.
“You know I…we can help. If you need any?—”
“Well, Wyatt considering the fucking mess you’ve made here, I’d say you’re the last person that can help.”
Wyatt closed his eyes, licked his lips, breathed.
“You don’t have to be like this, you know.”
“Like what?” I all but growled.
“Forget it,” he said and turned his back on me, an image I was way too familiar with.
He walked to the door, and I couldn’t wait to get rid of him. To see the back of him one last time— but damn it, no matter what my heart said, I had to be practical. One man on his own could only do so much.
“I think the ex is linked to your syndicate,” I said with a sigh.
Wyatt paused and only half turned his head as if he couldn’t even look at me.
“What? Why?”
“When I tried to confront him, he got in a van. There were others inside. I don’t know how many. As far as Zach knows, his ex has no family or friends here so…”
“So he must be part of the network,” Wyatt mumbled as if to himself.
“He’s bad news. I know that much,” I said.
“Of course. You don’t set a truck on fire if you aren’t.” This time his words and his gaze were aimed directly at me.
There was something in his eyes. Something like pain. Something that made my chest hurt but I ignored it. I didn’t—shouldn’t—care if he was hurting. The kind of hurt he’d caused me was bigger. Far bigger.
