“Yeah, that’s a mess. Talk to Scarlette, and together, you’ll figure it out.”
Having finished my beer, I grabbed another one. Dad must have sensed I was done talking about it and changed subjects. “What are your plans now? You plan to stay here in Arkansas?”
“Not sure. I want to see where this goes with Scarlette. Then I suppose if things go the way I want, we’ll figure it out together. I like this area. It’s family oriented.”
Something changed in my dad’s expression, and I knew he liked hearing the word family. Dad slapped me on the back. “I’m proud of you, son.”
Those were words every son wanted to hear from his father, and I was no exception.
My phone vibrated with a message from Mom.
Mom: Angie… what does she look like?
This felt a little like déjà vu. Why is Mom bringing up Angie? I’d mentioned something to her the other day over the phone about the frequency of her calls, but I didn’t think it had been that big a deal. Mom had amazing intuition.
Luckily, when I met people, I immediately profiled them and filed that information away in my head. It was a habit from being a sniper.
Me: 5’6. 120 pounds. Short black hair. Pale complexion. Green eyes. Why?
Mom: I think she’s here talking with Scarlette but she said her name was Felicia. She looks like the girl in the picture of Kevin you showed me.
What the fuck? We talked less than twenty minutes ago. She had been in Bentonville the entire time.
Me: Where?
Mom: At Tusk and Trotter off of main street.
Me: On my way. Don’t let Scarlette out of your sight.
Mom: On it.
Mom had a sweet heart, but if you crossed the line with her family, she could be ruthless. I was already walking into the house as I read her last message.
“Dad, we need to go. I’ll explain on the way. Hurry.”
Without a question, Dad followed me, and I filled him in on the way to restaurant. What the hell is Angie doing here? The anger continued to build, but I needed to stay calm and level-headed. Pretend you’re in the field. Immediately, my pulse slowed and I regained some much-needed perspective.
Stay calm. Get Scarlette out.
I parked the car and rushed into the restaurant. Bypassing the maître d’ altogether, I rounded the corner into the dining room, scanning the tables. In the far right corner, motherfucking Angie stood, talking to my girl. She had her phone out like they were about to exchange numbers. My mom was animatedly talking.
When Angie saw me, her eyes widened and she took a step back from Scarlette.
“Angie, what are you doing here?” My voice was deceptively calm. Inside the anger boiled. This was a first. Normally when I was in the zone, nothing shook me.
Angie gave me a nervous smile, and then something passed over her face. “Austin? What are you doing here?”
Oh, that’s the game she wants to play? “I decided to meet my mom and girlfriend for lunch.”
Her expression changed to one of fake realization. “Oh my gosh! Is this Scarlette? What a small world.”
Small world, my fucking ass. Scarlett looked confused. Shit. I would explain it all later. I kept my voice terse. “Small world, indeed.”
“I asked Scarlette about her shoes. We struck up a conversation and I found out she’s new to town. We were going to exchange numbers for coffee.” Each word was sweet—like honey dripping from a bear’s mouth. And they were all lies. One thing about my job, I had become an expert at reading body language, considering I watched people for hours as I waited for the kill shot.
When I said nothing, she rambled on. “I’ve been thinking about moving to Bentonville.”
Then we’ll be moving away.