“Where are you staying? I can just drop it by. You don’t even have to open the door.”
I wanted to argue. But I also wanted my coat back. And as long as he wasn’t insisting on seeing me…
“Room 3 at the Motel 6.”
I turned, not waiting for a reply, and disappeared out the coffee shop door.
CHAPTER 58
When I got ready for bed that night, I was not even remotely tired.
I was already strung out from the meeting and all the talk about Dr. Pike and the interviews, and on top of that, Jay was coming to drop off my coat.
He would just be leaving it at the door. But still. I was feeling jittery.
I tried to focus on getting ready for bed. I showered, took off my makeup, and put on my pajamas. But my mind still wasn’t settled by nine o’clock. I tried to lie down and shut off the lights, but I kept waiting, listening for footsteps outside my motel room door.
At one point, I thought I heard a knock and went to check, only to be blasted in the face with snow and find an empty doorstep. Now my room was freezing because I’d let all the hot air out. The heater in my room was really small and didn’t work very well. So I threw on another sweatshirt over my old long-sleeve tee, hoping it would help. It sorta did.
It was ten-thirty when my phone started ringing. I fumbled around in the darkness for the vibrating device and pressed answer, thinking maybe it was Jay telling me he’d dropped off my coat.
“Hello?”
There was no answer. Just static on the line.
I pulled my phone away from my ear and looked at the screen, realizing it was an unknown number again.
“Stupid scam calls,” I grumbled.
Then a knock at my door sounded, and I froze, my attention snapping from my phone as a thrill went through me like an electric shock. Talk about timing. A creepy spam call, followed by a knock at the door, was really not my favorite.
I walked to the door slowly. It didn’t have a peephole. So it took me a moment to finally decide to open it.
When I finally did, I found my coat waiting for me, folded up neatly on the concrete.
I reached down to pick it up.
“I thought you’d be staying at a hotel in town.”
I squeaked, not expecting anyone to be standing there, and turned to find Jay leaning against the front of his truck in a parking spot a few feet away. I brought a hand to my heart and waited for it to stop beating like a jackhammer.
“You gave me a freaking heart attack,” I said, glaring at him openly. “I thought you said you were just going to drop it off and go.”
“And I thought you wouldn’t be so reckless as to stay in a Motel 6 on the outskirts of town. Do you have any idea the type of people that frequent this place, Hope?” He was angry. And it was the first moment I realized his navy eyes were burning. He wasn’t just angry. No, he was furious. “You’re out here alone, in a sketchy part of town,staying in this—” he gestured to the crappy motel behind me. “Place.”
“Dump. You can say it.” I folded my arms across my chest. “It’s not a bad word. It’s a dump, Jay. I know. But I can only afford this dump because I’m literally living off the last bit of my savings after I discovered my boyfriend/boss was lying to me about my father and betrayed me.”
His eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected my candor. When he recovered, his gaze hardened with determination.
“You’re coming home with me.”
“I am not coming home with you,” I nearly growled.
“You’re not staying in this place.” He walked over to me then and reached behind me to push open the door.
I tugged it back shut.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Jay.”
