Stephon has anything to do with this. It could have been anyone under that tree."
"Or it could have been your lousy ex who's here to terrorize you," London said tightly.
Everyone in the truck could feel the anger in London's voice. Grey saw Beth shrink in her seat and Tracy reaching for her hand. He wished he were sitting beside her to comfort her as well.
There was silence for what seemed like an interminable amount of time. Just as Grey was about to address the uncomfortable situation, London spoke.
"I'm glad you noticed the man, Beth. At least now we know that Stephon could be on the island," he said pragmatically.
London's words were encouraging and his tone neutral. Both factors served to take the tension out of the air.
Jennifer reached forward and rubbed his shoulders from the back seat. She was grateful for his forgiving attitude. She didn't want him to be mad with her sister, especially when she was trying to re-establish a relationship with her. London reached up and caught her hand before bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss.
"We have to tell the constables to keep an eye out for Stephon," Blaze said. "Jennifer do you have a recent photo of him on your phone? We can send it to them so they will know what he looks like."
"Of course not!" Jennifer replied. "I burned every real photo and, if deleting the ones on my phone wouldn't have been possible, I'd have burned that, too! But if I have cell service it will be easy enough to find a picture of him online."
She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and began searching.
"It's crazy to think that he would try to kill someone to save a little money," Tracy said anxiously.
"It's not a little money in his mind. But, in fact, it's probably not about the money at all," Blaze said. "Many guys in his situation start resenting their ex-wives for living the life of Riley on what they consider to be their dime and it just eats away at them until they snap."
"Well, Stephon definitely felt like he lost in our divorce settlement and it's been eating him up inside ever since," Jennifer said. "He detests not coming out on top, whatever the situation. I could never have imagined something like this coming of it but you're all certainly making me reconsider that."
"Men can do crazy things when they think they have been wronged," Grey said.
"Wronged! Wronged?" Jennifer laughed sarcastically. "He cheated on me with dozens, maybe hundreds, of women while I sat at home like an idiot and he thinks he was wronged? Bullshit!"
"I will dance a jig when he's arrested," Beth said gleefully.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Grey said calmly. "We're just spitballing here. We don't know for a certainty that Stephon has anything to do with the attack on Jennifer. We have to be alert to whoever may be to blame."
They all went quiet, each absorbed in their own thoughts.
London wondered how the night would play out. Was someone really after him because of his efforts as an activist or was it as simple as bad blood between a woman and her ex-husband? Either way, it was a dangerous situation and he hoped they'd be ready to deal with whatever came their way.
All three men were especially concerned with their decision to bring the girls with them. Of course they felt better able to protect them being together. But the fear of the unknown left them second guessing themselves for the rest of the ride. Especially now that one of the girls may actually be the prime target.
They traveled in relative silence during the rest of their drive to the ranch, little more than nervous energy passing between them. And when London eased the vehicle onto the final stretch of dirt road, their apprehension was at fever pitch. He parked the vehicle, took a deep breath and looked around at everyone.
"It's time," was all he said.
In its current state, the property was an isolated,
"Or it could have been your lousy ex who's here to terrorize you," London said tightly.
Everyone in the truck could feel the anger in London's voice. Grey saw Beth shrink in her seat and Tracy reaching for her hand. He wished he were sitting beside her to comfort her as well.
There was silence for what seemed like an interminable amount of time. Just as Grey was about to address the uncomfortable situation, London spoke.
"I'm glad you noticed the man, Beth. At least now we know that Stephon could be on the island," he said pragmatically.
London's words were encouraging and his tone neutral. Both factors served to take the tension out of the air.
Jennifer reached forward and rubbed his shoulders from the back seat. She was grateful for his forgiving attitude. She didn't want him to be mad with her sister, especially when she was trying to re-establish a relationship with her. London reached up and caught her hand before bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss.
"We have to tell the constables to keep an eye out for Stephon," Blaze said. "Jennifer do you have a recent photo of him on your phone? We can send it to them so they will know what he looks like."
"Of course not!" Jennifer replied. "I burned every real photo and, if deleting the ones on my phone wouldn't have been possible, I'd have burned that, too! But if I have cell service it will be easy enough to find a picture of him online."
She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and began searching.
"It's crazy to think that he would try to kill someone to save a little money," Tracy said anxiously.
"It's not a little money in his mind. But, in fact, it's probably not about the money at all," Blaze said. "Many guys in his situation start resenting their ex-wives for living the life of Riley on what they consider to be their dime and it just eats away at them until they snap."
"Well, Stephon definitely felt like he lost in our divorce settlement and it's been eating him up inside ever since," Jennifer said. "He detests not coming out on top, whatever the situation. I could never have imagined something like this coming of it but you're all certainly making me reconsider that."
"Men can do crazy things when they think they have been wronged," Grey said.
"Wronged! Wronged?" Jennifer laughed sarcastically. "He cheated on me with dozens, maybe hundreds, of women while I sat at home like an idiot and he thinks he was wronged? Bullshit!"
"I will dance a jig when he's arrested," Beth said gleefully.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Grey said calmly. "We're just spitballing here. We don't know for a certainty that Stephon has anything to do with the attack on Jennifer. We have to be alert to whoever may be to blame."
They all went quiet, each absorbed in their own thoughts.
London wondered how the night would play out. Was someone really after him because of his efforts as an activist or was it as simple as bad blood between a woman and her ex-husband? Either way, it was a dangerous situation and he hoped they'd be ready to deal with whatever came their way.
All three men were especially concerned with their decision to bring the girls with them. Of course they felt better able to protect them being together. But the fear of the unknown left them second guessing themselves for the rest of the ride. Especially now that one of the girls may actually be the prime target.
They traveled in relative silence during the rest of their drive to the ranch, little more than nervous energy passing between them. And when London eased the vehicle onto the final stretch of dirt road, their apprehension was at fever pitch. He parked the vehicle, took a deep breath and looked around at everyone.
"It's time," was all he said.
In its current state, the property was an isolated,
Similar Books
