“What the hell have you two gotten me into?” Chelsea demanded. “Garrett knows I talked to you.”
Livvy and Felice exchanged worried glances.
“Did he say something?” Livvy asked.
“He didn’t have to. When I got off work today all four of my car tires were slashed.”
“How do you know it was him?”
“It was him. There was a little gift in my apartment too. A dead rat. In my bed.”
“How could he know?” Felice asked. “We didn’t say anything to anyone.”
“Someone at the restaurant must have overheard us. Probably one of the waiters he drinks or plays darts with.”
“Did you call the cops?” Felice asked.
“Hell no. His best friend is a sheriff’s deputy. They’re not gonna touch him.”
Livvy swallowed hard. “He told me tonight he knows we talked to you. We’re kinda freaking out over here.”
“Yeah, me too. Anyway, I’m outta here. Soon as they finish putting new tires on my car.”
“Where will you go?” Felice asked.
“My uncle owns a barbecue place in Tennessee. He’ll give me a job.”
“Damn, girl,” Felice said. “You gonna let him run you out of town like that?”
“Yeah, Felice, I am,” Chelsea said, her voice cracking. “I know what he’s capable of now. You two better watch your backs. One more thing.”
“What’s that?” Livvy asked.
“You know how I told you Garrett was messing around with Misty? The chick at the spa? I got bad intel. Turns out Misty is engaged. To a massage therapist. A girl massage therapist.”
“So… who’s M?” Livvy asked.
“His side piece,” Chelsea said. “That’s all I know.”
Livvy’s hands were shaking by the time the call ended.
“Garrett spooked you that bad, huh?” Felice sat on the bed beside her. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“It’s not just him,” Livvy said.
“What’s going on? You wanna tell me about it?”
She needed to talk to someone, Livvy thought. And surprisingly, Felice felt like the only person who might understand.
“You know how I told you my whole life it’s been this big dark secret about who my father was? Well, my mom just told me, and it’s totally nuts. I’m shook.”
“How nuts?” Felice asked.
Livvy leaned against the bed’s headboard. “When I was a little kid, I’d make up stories about who my dad was. Sometimes he’d be a superhero, like Batman, or a really cool movie star, like Matthew McConaughey.”
“I get that. I always knew who my father was, but Iwishedhe was Denzel,” Felice said.
“But what my mom told me today, it’s mind-blowing, and from what she says, it’s also potentially life-altering.”
