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“What the hell are you doing outside my house, taking photos of me and my baby?”
The guy gave me a blank look. “I was taking photos of the houses. I like mid-century modern architecture.”
“Bullshit,” I spat. “Get the fuck out of here, before I call the cops.”
The guy scowled at me. “This is a public street. I’m nowhere near your property line.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Sure, fine. I’ll tell the Hendersons—whose house you’re parked outside right now—that you’re a predator, trying to take photos of Lila through the windows, then? Lila Henderson is known to swing her Louisville first and ask questions later. I’ll definitely support her statement that I saw you looking through her windows. Maybe she’ll call the cops or maybe she’ll call Hank, her husband, who once beat a guy until his jaw was in pieces for groping his wife.”
Technically, that was completely untrue. Hank was a giant, but he was soft and sweet. I wasn’t kidding about Lila, though. She was fiery as fuck.
My phone started to vibrate in my pocket, and I knew that if this fucker didn’t move on soon, Hayes was probably going to call the cops himself.
The guy sighed. “Whatever, asshole.” He wound up the window and started the car, peeling off down the street. I snapped a picture of his plates, then redialed Hayes.
“Thank fuck. I was about to call the cops.” His relieved voice poured down the line. “Was it a tabloid photog?”
I made a noncommittal noise. “I don’t know. I don’t think so, though. His camera was kinda crappy, and he had an attitude.” I raced back up the stairs and unlocked the door. Junie was still safely asleep.
We were both silent for a moment as we chewed over who the guy could be. Finally, Hayes sighed. “Just head home. Keep an eye out, in case he’s some psycho stalker. Maybe he’s a Rocco fanboy?”
I didn’t think so. Still, I grabbed Bobbi-June up and carried her out, locking the house back up tightly. “Maybe. I’ll see you back at home.”
Hanging up, I looked up and down the road for that black sedan or the guy inside it. It seemed all clear, but I was spooked. As I climbed into the car and started it, I checked in the rearview mirror. “How do you feel about online shopping, Junie?”
I hated the idea that some guy was going to chase us home, so I drove around for a while, going through the Starbucks drive-thru, down the highway along the coast, back around through the city. If I was being followed, they must’ve been pretty freaking impressive.
We ended up at a strip mall, and I was hungry enough to eat, despite the turmoil of the morning. Finding a little cafe, I grabbed the bottle from the warmer in the diaper bag and began to feed Bobbi-June. She’d definitely need changing after this.
“Jesse?”
Looking up, I saw Cat, who hosted the street races in the area. Smiling at her, I waved her over. “Hey, Cat. How’s it going?”
Cat looked down at the baby, then back at me. “I guess this explains why you haven’t been to the last couple of races, huh?”
She reached me, and I stood up, hugging her close. We’d been friends for a long time; she’d been there when Hayes was still on the NASCAR circuit. We hadn’t been close, but if I crashed out on a race, I was fairly sure she would have called an ambulance for me.
I’d been a regular on the street-racing scene for a while there, chasing something that was missing from my life, momentarily forgetting my loneliness by replacing it with the adrenaline of being reckless. I didn’t need it anymore; I had Tally, and I had a purpose.
I shrugged. “I guess so.”
Cat pulled a pretty, brown-haired girl with almond-shaped eyes closer. “This is Talia, my girlfriend.”
I lifted the baby a little in my arms. “This is Bobbi-June.”
“She’s yours?”
This time, I didn’t even hesitate. Her mama was mine. Which meant as far as I was concerned, this little piece of her was mine to love also. “Yep. Isn’t she the cutest?”
Talia began babbling baby talk at Bobbi-June, and Cat rolled her eyes. “You’re going to give her baby fever, and then who’ll provide an outlet for the reckless adrenaline junkies of the city, hmm?”
I laughed. “I’m sure they’d be fine.” I looked past Cat, but froze as I saw what looked like the same guy from the front of my house.
How the fuck did he find us here?
Anger bubbled up in my chest, and I passed the baby to Cat. I trusted Cat more than I trusted most people. “Watch her for a minute.”
“Jesse, what the?—”
