Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
This one’s for you, Dylan.
“My apologies,” Allison muttered, grabbing my wrist and yanking me toward one of the rooms on the first floor. “Urgent matter. Shouldn’t take more than a minute.”
She shut the door behind us when we reached a guest room. It was probably lovely, but I couldn’t see past my panic and determination. I squared my shoulders. She whipped around to face me, knotting her arms over her chest with a scowl. “What on earth makes you think Tucker and I—”
I held up a hand. “I’ll be the one asking the questions. If you answer honestly, I just might reciprocate. No promises, though.”
Allison’s face morphed into the exact shade as her dress and hair. She dropped her arms, her hands curling into fists. “Who do you think you—”
“I think I’m the woman who can destroy everything you’ve ever worked for and will probably do it no matter the outcome of this conversation. I have the receipts. I have the ammo. I have the witnesses. Drop the attitude, Allison. We’re not in high school anymore.”
The more I spoke, the less I ticked. History was on my side. I strode toward her confidently. Allison stumbled back, bumping into a credenza and knocking down a flower vase. She wagged a finger in my face. “You have no proof about the Tucker thing. Don’t you dare make up stories about me.”
“Sanders confirmed it,” I said matter-of-factly, happily throwing the old captain under the bus. After all, all he’d done was speak the truth when he was confronted about it. “He saw you picking Tucker up from the port.”
Allison paled. “He needed a rid—”
“Did you know Dylan gave birth the day before he touched land?” I slashed into her words.
Allison’s nose twitched, and she faltered. “Well, I mean, what does that have to do with me?”
“Tucker was with you when we tried reaching him. Oh, I almost forgot.” I snapped my fingers. “Row knows too.”
That made her mouth drop in horror. “You told him?”
“Sanders did.” I sighed, then patted her arm. “If it makes you feel any better, you didn’t stand a chance even before he knew.”
Damn, Bestie. Look at those claws, I heard Dylan’s voice cheering in my head.
“This is insane.” She tossed her hands to the ceiling. “Just because I picked Tucker up doesn’t mean anything.”
“Listen to yourself.” I shook my head. “You really think anyone is going to believe you? Tucker has his own truck; he doesn’t need a ride. And he deliberately gave Dylan a different return date so he could have a little time with his mistress.”
My eyes swept over her body. I was sure I looked as disgusted as I felt. “Out of all the men in town, you had to go for the engaged, father-to-be one? And you have the audacity to call me a slut?”
I hated the s-word. Had never used it before. But to hurt Allison, I afforded myself this one-off.
Allison’s entire demeanor changed. She sneered, trying to seize back control. “Tuck and Dylan don’t even like each other!” she growled ferally, tossing her glossy hair over her shoulder. “They never stood a chance. Tuck and I are childhood friends. Our families went on vacations together. We babysat each other’s siblings. She was an elaborate booty call that…that…got out of hand! A plaything—”
“It must be so hard to forever come in second place.” I jutted out my lower lip, feigning sadness. I wasn’t going to stand there and listen to her talking shit about my best friend. “Not with Franco at the time, not Row. Now Tuck made you his sidepiece…” I trailed off, watching her wincing again, getting ready for a blow. “I’m sensing a theme here. Wanna know why?” She didn’t, but I was about to tell her anyway. “You’re always so busy tearing other women down, you never stop and work on becoming a better one yourself. No one in this town is going to forgive you for running around with an engaged man and a new father. You and Tucker will be written off for good. You will no longer be seen as a pillar of the community. But that’s the least of your concerns.”
“What do you mean?” Her eyes narrowed into slits. “What other concerns do I have? And just so you know, I’m going to deny it through my teeth and so will Tuck. Besides, there is no such thing as bad publicity. People will play the did-she-or-didn’t-she guessing game before letting it go and moving on.”
“All right.” I shrugged. “Let’s say you can survive the reputational damage—nice delusion, by the way, really complements your dress—you still have the small problem of having to defend yourself from the criminal charges that will be pressed against you for sending people to stab Row.”
Allison tipped her head back, laughing manically. I hoped she was a better mayor than she was an actress because she wasn’t about to win any Oscars for this performance. “You’re making some grand accusations here, don’t you think, little Calla? Seems like you forgot your place in the world—you’re the girl with the tics and social anxiety who is so scared of her own shadow, she can’t even look people in the eye. No one will believe you.”