Page 119 of Crimson Love

Jett throws me a glance and pairs it with a smirk. “Two kids or three?”

I gape at him.

He keeps going. “Four?”

“Jett!”

He frowns. “Only one?”

I turn to my window and cradle my head in my hand.

He keeps talking. “See? Talk of kids is stressful. Hardwood flooring and a picket fence in comparison is not stressful at all.”

He exits the highway and comes to a stop on the county road to take a left toward Winslet. The traffic isn’t heavy, but the snow is, which makes the visibility lower than normal.

“Why am I making choices about a house you don’t own yet?”

“Because when we get there, you might see things differently since we’ve talked about them. You’ll know what you want. I want you to have what you want.”

“What do you want?”

He ignores the traffic and turns to me. “I only want you—and to not mooch off my brother-in-law-to-be anymore, which means we need a place to live.”

I look left and right for traffic when something catches my eye. Through the side mirror, I see an SUV pulling up beside us on the shoulder of the road.

Jett keeps talking. “I suppose if I had no other choice, I could move into the library with you. But I’d really like to get the animals back. I miss them.”

I have no idea what model SUV it is, but it’s black with black tinted windows. They either can’t see the stripes for the snow or are incredibly rude.

That’s when the driver’s window starts to slide down.

Oh my God.

“Jett!”

“What—”

“Go! Go!”

A gun appears through the snowstorm, and it’s pointed directly at me.

And my father is the one holding it.

That’s when everything happens in slow motion.

My dad looks directly into my eyes.

His jaw goes tense, but his hand fisting the gun is even tenser.

I scream.

And my father pulls the trigger.

“Fuck!” Jett ignores all traffic and hits the gas.

Jett’s hand lands on the top of my head. There’s nothing gentle about it when he yanks me to the console the instant my window shatters.

Cold air and glass fill the cabin along with flurries of snow.