AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You were so close to graduating. What happened?”
She rubs her eye and stands from the stool, grabbing a bag of Doritos off the front counter. She pulls the bag open and the scent of cheese and spice wafts toward me, taking me back to the grade school lunchroom. “Everyone there was awful. It made me rethink why I even wanted to be one of them. It really isn’t a big deal, and don’t get me started on the cost. The loans were getting crazy. When you’re a kid dreaming about the future, they should really put price tags next to every dream.”
“You still love it? You wanted to go into family medicine, right?”
She nods. “That was the goal, but when my dad died, I started wondering if I was really doing it for me… or for him.” She adjusts herself in her seat as she looks out the window, then back at me. “I still have all those credits I earned. Maybe I’ll get my nursing degree or—”
“There’s still time for you to get whatever you want.”
“That’s easy for you to say. I’m smart enough to know that you can’t have everything you ever want. It’s a rule of the universe.” A wide grin crosses her face. “Oh, I forgot who I was talking to. Mr. Max, rule breaker. I can remember you freaking out in the pew every time someone would tell you to quiet down during service.”
“I have loads of rules. I’m living by them right now—no guns in town.”
“And here you are… guns in town.” She huffs out a sigh and crunches a chip. I miss this… listening to her, smiling with her, dreaming of a life with her.
My phone rings in my pocket and I stare down at the screen. It’s Outlaw, and I’m sure he has news on the ex.
“I’ll be back,” I say, sliding my phone to answer the call.
Collette doesn’t reply. She sticks one hand in the bag of chips and redirects her attention to her phone as though she doesn’t give a fuck what I do. Maybe she really doesn’t. Maybe she did move on when she met the asshole, and she really is back only to be close to family. It doesn’t happen often, but maybe, just maybe, I’m reading this all wrong.
“What’s the news?” I ask, stepping out into the street. It’s a gorgeous day. The sun is shining brightly, the last bits of snow have melted, and the scent of fresh dirt and flowers is in the air.
Outlaw clears his throat. “You said this is personal, right?”
“Absolutely. What’s wrong?” My chest tightens.
He pulls in a deep breath. “The name of the woman was Collette McAdams, right? From Wyoming?”
My heart pounds. “Right. I’m gonna need you to speed this up, man.”
He sighs. “The man that was living with a woman by that name is currently out on bail.”
Outlaw is never this cryptic. He’s a straight shooter all the way, so this dance we’re doing tells me something he found is really bad. “What… did… he… do?”
“He’s out despite domestic violence charges.”
My fists ball and my blood stings my skin. “Last known address?”
“Dude doesn’t have one. Last address was the apartment they were living in, but it’s since been rented to someone else.”
“He’s out on bail, though. He isn’t supposed to leave town. Does he have any family he’d run to?”
Outlaw clears his throat. “Look, man, we agreed when we came here, we were going to stick to the plan. We weren’t taking personal jobs. We’ll lose our edge, and doing so means lost money and potentially lives. You can’t be making these decisions right out of the gate.”
I growl into the phone, “Give me the fucking address right now, or I’ll come take it from you.”
“Get one thing straight, man. You keep talking that shit and we can settle this real quick.” Outlaw’s tone is flat and stoic as he says, “I don’t have an address. All I know is that he has family in Rugged Mountain.”
My face is hot and my skin itches from the inside out. “What do you mean his family is in Rugged Mountain?”
He groans low in his throat and pauses for a long beat. “It’s all I know, man. They have a few hunting cabins, but you have to promise me you’ll—”
“No promises. Collette never should’ve left. It’s my fault. This piece of shit is going to pay for what he did to her. The end. Give me the addresses. I’ll check them all.”
He pauses for a few beats. “You keep it out of town, and I’ll text you the addresses.”
I disconnect the line and pace the street like a fucking monkey in a cage, until finally, I hear the ping come through. Four cabins, all of them less than ten miles from here. Whoever this asshole is, he’s going to pay.
