Celeste looks at Austin and then down at the floor.
She can move out of here. Stay with me. They can’t stop her now …
“I don’t want to know,” Austin says softly.
I look at her, and I hate the look of sadness on her face. How her mother, once again, showed her that she didn’t matter. It was all about the sorry bastard of a husband. “Austin …”
“I don’t care, Cole. Don’t you see? She got what she wanted. She got rid of me, and she got him to marry her.” She turns and walks out of the room, leaving me alone with Celeste.
“What did you do?” I growl, turning to her.
She places her hands up. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit!” I snap and advance on her. “What the fuck did you do, Celeste?”
She swallows nervously. “Her mother called me the other day …”
“And?” I demand when she trails off.
“And she said that Bruce promised her twenty thousand dollars.”
“That was if he sent her back!” I bark. “And that isn’t happening.” Bruce better not go back on our deal or I’ll do more than just steal his precious car. I’ll break both of his fucking legs. It didn’t look like her mother even wanted her back. Hell, she didn’t want her in the first place.
I yank my phone out of my pocket and send a quick text.
Me: You busy?
Deke reads it and responds right away.
Deke: I’m with Becky. What’s up?
Me: I have something that needs to be taken care of.
Deke: I can be ready whenever.
Me: Give me five.
I turn and go to exit the living room when Celeste grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop. “What are you gonna do?” she asks wide-eyed.
Something Bruce should have done a long fucking time ago. But I growl, “Nothing.” I’m not gonna tell her anything about what I have planned.
I open Austin’s bedroom door to find her sitting on the end of her bed. I kneel in front of her. “I gotta go,” I tell her, pushing some hair from her face.
“Where are you going?” she asks softly. “I thought we were gonna take Lilly to the zoo?”
I nod. “Later. I got something I have to go do.” Standing up to my full height, I lean over and kiss her on the forehead. My phone starts to ring, and I pull it out of my pocket. Deke flashes across it, but I silence the call. “Why don’t you go and get Lilly and then meet me at the clubhouse,” I offer, and she nods.
“Here.” She stands and unzips my hoodie, exposing her naked chest to me.
My eyes fall to her tits, and my hands grab her hips. “Are you trying to distract me?” My voice is rough and my cock now hard. It’s working.
“No,” she answers. “Just thought you would want it back.”
I lean down and kiss her cheek. Then my eyes meet hers. She’s waiting for me to tell her where I’m going, but she’s not gonna get it. Some things are better left unknown. And as much as I hate to leave her, I have something that needs to be done. I turn and walk out of her room. As I exit the front door, I call Deke back.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” He answers on the second ring.
I throw my car into gear and squeal the tires, driving around the five-tier fountain. “Austin’s mother is in town. With her new husband.”
“Okay,” he says slowly.
I take in a deep breath. I haven’t told Deke what I know about Austin and her now stepdad. Only Shane knows, and as far as I’m concerned, he’s kept his mouth shut. “They were waiting for Austin when we walked into Bruce’s house.”
“And?”
“And they need to be taken care of,” I answer. It’s that simple.
“Where do you want me to meet you?” he asks without hesitation.
And just like that, he offers his help. That is why Deke is my best friend. He’s down for anything at any time.
It wasn’t hard for us to find them. We went to the cheapest hotel Collins offers, which was right outside of town, closest to the airport, and there they were. Deke and I watched them enter their room at the very end of the property. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot, which works in our favor, but we couldn’t do anything about it at the time. I wasn’t gonna risk getting caught. We came up with a solid plan, and I rushed back to the clubhouse to shower and get ready to go out with Austin and Lilly to the zoo. I ended up punching the wall while in the shower, busting my knuckles open. When Austin showed up, she looked down at them. I knew what she was thinking, but I didn’t admit anything, and she didn’t come out and ask. I would have lied anyway.