Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
I leaned my head back. I would sleep off the alcohol, go to urgent care, and be home when Hannah arrived. I would be calm and tell her what had occurred, and she would help me figure out the next step.
That was a good plan.
If only I had the strength to execute it.
I woke up to the sound of hushed voices. Movement. I frowned, not opening my eyes. I was a little fuzzy about what was happening until my mind cleared and I remembered what had occurred that morning. How my world had blown apart.
My eyes flew open, and I sat up, the pain in my hand blasting out the last of the haziness. The living room was full. Dom, Hannah, Maxx, Charly, and Stefano were there, all looking at me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, confused. “Why aren’t you at the garage?” I swung my gaze to Hannah. “Or at work?”
“Because Charly called me and told me what happened.”
I shook my head, ignoring the pain at the back of it. “You shouldn’t have done that, Charly.”
She sniffed. “And you shouldn’t have quit.”
“I had no choice. I won’t let you and Maxx suffer because of me.”
She glared at me. “Like losing you wouldn’t make us suffer? We’re a family, Chase Donner. We stick together.”
“And I’m looking after my family.”
“By walking away?”
“By walking away,” I agreed. “You keep Jim’s business. You keep the garage running. That is the most important thing. I’ll find another job somewhere.”
Charly crossed her arms. “I don’t think so.”
Maxx held up his hand. “Enough. Both of you. While I appreciate your sacrifice and decision, Chase, it is unnecessary.”
“What?”
Maxx sighed, sitting back. “You know the day was planned. Work, home, family. No fights, no cops, no standoffs.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. I looked at Hannah, who was watching me with tears in her eyes. “Sorry, Cinnamon. I lost my temper.”
She sat beside me, cupping my cheek. “I hate that this happened. That you’re hurt. Those are the only things I’m upset about.”
“Are you here to bring me into the station? Is Dan pressing charges?”
There were a couple of guffaws. Dom shook his head. “I doubt Dan is up to much today except licking his wounds.”
“What?” I shifted and groaned. Hannah checked out my hand, gasping.
“Chase, we need to go to the hospital. I think it’s broken.”
Charly peeked at it, nodding in agreement. “I think so.”
“I want to know what happened.”
Charly frowned. “Did you really think you could just quit and walk away? That we wouldn’t stop all this madness? I told Jim Albright if he was the kind of person who was so unforgiving and jumped to conclusions without all the facts, he wasn’t the sort of person we wanted to do business with. As far as I was concerned, he could go away. Dan started up again, running you down, and I told him to shut up and get off my property.” Charly’s color was high, and she was talking fast. “I might have gotten in his face a little. He was stupid enough to mouth off, and when I challenged him, he raised his hand to me.”
“Oh boy,” I muttered.
She nodded in satisfaction. “Maxx took him down in a second. Dropped him like a sack of potatoes with one punch. Broke his nose.”
I breathed out. “Wow.”
Maxx looked livid. “You don’t raise your hand to any woman. Especially my wife. I wasn’t giving him a chance to touch her.”
Charly tossed her hair. “I could have taken him, but whatever.”
Maxx snorted, and Charly hid her smile. She loved it when he got protective.
Dom continued with the story. “Jim Albright looked shocked. And suddenly, he was questioning Dan’s story. It turns out Jim’s daughter was in an abusive relationship. Only things he hates more than thieves are liars and men who hit women. Dan had totally snowed him, but Jim was looking at him with different eyes, seeing how he reacted to Charly. What you said about him pushing Hannah and harassing her.”
“How had he even made that connection between Albright, me, and the garage?”
“A couple of the guys were at the bar and talking about their new job a couple of nights ago. We think Dan must have recalled seeing Albright’s name in an old case file, put it together, and went to Jim with his whole concocted story. He took information from the files on you and Wes and conveniently tied them together, knowing what Jim’s reaction would be, given the history.”
“Where is Dan now?”
“At the station with the chief. Maxx called the cops,” Hannah said. “And Charly called me. I took personal time and came home.”
She leaned over. “The chief wants to talk to you. Today. But first, we’re going to the hospital.”
“Where does the contract stand with Jim?”
Maxx shrugged. “In limbo. He apologized. Explained his side and realized how he overreacted. He’s called twice since he left. His wife called him an idiot when he told her about it, apparently. He wants to apologize to you as well. He regrets his actions. He was younger when the robbery happened. It hit him hard, and he took a huge loss because he didn’t have much insurance. He was angry and bitter, and Dan knew exactly how to rile him up. Jim wants to talk to you. I told him the contract would depend on the outcome of that conversation.”