“Fuck.” I look out the window, wishing I could spot Wes’s comforting presence.
Shane narrows his eyes at me. He’s not bluffing about not signing the divorce papers. My phone buzzes in my pocket.
“I’ll do it now.” I swallow the hard lump in my throat and pull out my phone. There’s a text from Wes.
Wesley
what’s going on?
I don’t respond. I need to finish this right now. So I click through to my bank app and accept the piece of paper Shane shoves toward me with all the numbers I’ll need. It takes a few minutes to enter the information correctly. I show him, he nods, I press submit.
He signs the divorce papers. A copy for him, a copy for me.
Then Shane yanks a chain out from his hoodie and pulls it over his head. A ring dangles from the cheap chain. My mother’s ring. I take a sharp breath and reach out my hand.
He looks like he really, really doesn’t want to hand it over. He’s got the money, so it’s out of pure spite. A desire to make me miserable. Punish me for things I never did wrong.
But he extends his arm, and I grab the ring and clutch it to my chest.
No more words are spoken.
Chapter 33
Mission Accomplished
WES
Noah was absolutely giddy going off on his own this morning again. Black eye and all, he practically skipped out the door to follow Scorpion’s tip about Joe Killer.
Up until this point, we’ve had very little productive information on Joe Killer. No solid clues or leads, just the list of his suspected kills from the police database, with the latest being about two weeks ago. He’s been killing more frequently, so the man’s gotta slip up soon.
Last night was a bust except for Noah sticking the tracker on Shane’s car. Now he’s back at the apartment building looking for a certain make and model of car that Scorpion claims belongs to Joe Killer.
Once again, I’m not with him because I’m watching Callie as she meets with her fuckwit soon-to-be ex-husband.
I hate that I’m not with Noah.
I hate that I’m not sitting right next to Callie.
Instead, I’m leaning against the building across the street from Roots Cafe, where Callie’s waiting for Shane. Not the most subtle hiding spot, but I don’t really care. Shane’s gottaknow I wouldn’t let her meet with him all on her own, just like I’m relatively sure Jones’s thugs are lingering around somewhere, although I can’t spot them.
I won’t take my eyes from Callie. Not for a second.
I don’t even waituntil Shane is clear of the restaurant before striding across the street and ducking inside. I intentionally bump into his shoulder as we pass each other.
“The fuck, man?” Shane says with a glare, then his eyes briefly flash when he recognizes me. Fear and fury, but he just shakes his head and flees. Coward.
“You okay?” I slide into the booth across from Callie.
Callie nods but looks miserable. She’s spinning a ring on her finger, her eyes fixed on the jewelry. The ring.
“Can I see?” I hold out my hand, and she hesitates for a beat before putting her hand in mine. I touch the ring gently. It’s a green emerald set in gold with tiny flowers etched along the band. “It’s beautiful. And he signed?”
“Yes,” she squeaks out.
“Good.” I squeeze her hand, but then she pulls away from me. “Then all you gotta do is file the papers.”
“And wait two weeks for the hearing. He doesn’t have to be there for that. I don’t either—I can just send a representative. Jake said he’d do it.”
