Yeah, unfortunately, I figured that was true. Reagan did always go back to Billy, no matter what the damned fool did or said. The only reason I didn’t interfere was because, up to this point, Billy had never laid a hand on her. Then again, he didn’t have to in order to inflict pain. His verbal assault was just as bad. Which, I figured, was the very reason Lynx had interfered this morning. God only knew what the little shithead had said.
“Stay the fuck away from her,” I warned. “Or I will sic Lynx on you, you dumb fuck.”
Stepping back, I nodded in the direction of Billy’s piece-of-shit Dodge.
When the parking lot cleared, I turned toward the diner. I noticed Lynx standing at the window, watching me, his beefy arms crossed over his chest. The guy looked pissed, and I couldn’t blame him.
I wasn’t privy to what had ever transpired between Reagan and Lynx, but I had always suspected there was something there. They both made stupid decisions day in and day out, and I had the feeling it was because they were avoiding the real issue at hand. Whatever that might be.
Figuring it would only cause a scene, I decided to bypass going inside. I'd catch up with Wolfe and Amy later.
In the meantime, I was going to head to the office. There was some information I was eager to dive into.
Lynx
I wasn’t prone to regret. However, as I stood at the window and stared out at the little fucker getting into his POS, I regretted that I hadn’t pounded my fist into that shithead’s face.
What the fuck Reagan saw in Billy, I didn’t know. I would never know. Every damn time I thought she was going to walk away from the little shit, she ended up taking his sorry ass back.
And it pissed me off to no end.
There was a cowboy code that I lived by. You didn’t touch another man’s girl. No matter what.
For years I'd wanted to get my hands on Reagan. Unfortunately, she’d been with Billy, which meant she was off-limits. And every damn time I saw the two of them together, I wanted to strangle the fucker.
A man did not treat a woman the way Billy Watson treated Reagan. A woman should be worshipped, loved. Not treated like the dirt beneath his feet.
My eyes strayed to Reagan’s truck as she peeled out of the parking lot. I was tempted to go after her, to insist that she break up with Billy for good, that she give me a fucking chance to show her just how damn good the two of us would be together. Hell, that kiss we’d shared all those years ago should’ve been enough to convince her.
But I couldn’t do that.
If Reagan was meant to be mine—and I suspected that was what fate had in store for me—then she would come to me.
Until then, I'd just go on living my life one day at a time.
Waiting.
Always fucking waiting.
Chapter Twelve
Amy
I was quickly starting to think that trouble followed the Caine cousins like a hungry puppy looking for scraps. Or perhaps they were the magnet for it. I hadn’t been sure what to expect when Wolfe invited me to breakfast, but watching a near-brawl in the parking lot hadn’t been anywhere on the list.
Of course, I had met Reagan’s boyfriend, Billy, but only once, and that had been one night at the bar. He’d come in to play pool with a couple of his buddies, and right there in the back of the room, he’d blatantly flirted with some blonde, not to mention me. His slimy smile had put me on edge, though, and I had stayed as far from him as I could manage.
I had suspected there was trouble in paradise, but I hadn’t realized it was quite that bad. Having watched that asshole talk to Reagan like that made me want to go find her to see if she was all right. Since I didn’t have to work tonight, I wouldn’t have a chance to talk to her then. Or maybe I could. I'd just stop by the bar for a minute.
Yep. That was what I would do.
But I had to get back to work. The rest of our breakfast had gone smoothly, although Lynx hadn’t stuck around. As soon as Rhys left, Lynx was out the door without a word to anyone. I'd half expected Wolfe to say something about it, but he never did, and I wasn’t the type to bring it up, so we’d shared minimal small talk.
And now I was once again tucked away in the office, finishing up my filing. I didn’t have but a few more to go, and I knew I couldn’t pretend to do it for long. For one, I would get bored if I didn’t have something to do. So, after tucking away the last invoices where they belonged, I got to my feet and decided I'd go back to my own office and wait for the phone to ring.
When I stepped out, I heard voices downstairs, so I peeked over the rail and noticed a tall brunette standing close to Wolfe, the two of them looking at a table.
I gave the woman a quick once-over, starting with the four-inch black pumps, the A-line skirt that molded to her curvy body, and the white silk shirt that showed off her generous breasts.
