Page 35 of Stone
Naomi crouched down because even though Willa said she couldn’t be seen from leaning there, Naomi didn’t want to face him right now. She wanted Stone with her.
“Do you know where she is?” he demanded.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know anyone named ‘bitch of an ex-wife,’ and if I did, I’d tell her that she was well rid of you. Calling women bitches doesn’t make you a bigger man, just a jerk,” Willa retorted.
“Foul-mouthed bitch,” Jared sneered.
Willa chuckled. “Let me tell you a little secret: I served in the military, so I’ve been called worse. You should jump in your car and leave Bluff Creek while you still can,” Willa advised, her tone turning ice-cold.
Jared pounding on the windowsill startled Naomi.
“Listen, my bitch of an ex-wife, Naomi, moved here to live on some cult-like biker compound. Do you know where she is?” Jared demanded again.
“Yes,” Willa replied flatly.
“Where?” Jared yelled.
“I’m not telling you. I answered your question,” Willa stated calmly.
“Hey, Willa, is this guy bothering you?” a man called out.
Naomi thought it sounded like Finn or Ben. Unless she could see them, she couldn’t tell them apart. Their voices were too similar.
“He is very annoying, and he’s blocking the line from other people who’d like to order food,” Willa said.
Naomi stood up. If Finn and Ben were back, then her girls were too. She motioned to Willa that she was going out the door on the opposite side of where Jared was. She opened the door and the girls were there with Stone. Pulling them into her arms, she held them tight.
“He’s not taking you,” she promised, her voice trembling but fierce.
“Oh, we know. Finn and Ben said they had it handled,” Regan said with a confident grin.
Yelling had the sheriff’s department, which was on crowd control, rushing past her toward the chaos. Stone nodded and herded Naomi and the girls around the trailer but kept them back. Finn and Jared were fighting on the ground. Deputies pulled them apart. Jared saw her as he was being cuffed.
“You bitch. I’m taking the kids this weekend,” Jared snarled.
The deputy behind him chuckled. “Sir, you’re not going anywhere besides to a jail cell.”
“What? No! He started it,” Jared screeched.
“I want to press charges. He assaulted me and broke my nose. It was definitely unprovoked,” Finn groaned, holding his nose, which was dripping blood.
The deputy called for a medic. “Until we figure out what happened, you’ll both be taken in. The cells here are full, so we’ll be transporting you to Dodge City,” the deputy said.
“No! She planned this. It’s your fault, bitch!” Jared screamed.
“You leave Mom alone! You can’t ever hurt her again. Stone and everyone here will keep us safe,” Beck screamed, turning her head toward Naomi’s chest after she was finished.
"We’re never going with you. I don’t trust you. I saw what you did to her,” Regan declared, her voice steady and clear.
“Ladies, no one will be going with him. He’ll be taken to the jail in Dodge City and booked. We’ll go from there, but I’m guessing there might be more by the time we get there,” the deputy reassured them.
After the medic had addressed Finn’s bleeding nose, he was put in handcuffs too. As he walked toward the squad car, he turned his face toward the girls and started singing the chorus toYou’re Welcome. As they put Finn in the back of the car, he was still singing. The deputy closed the door and grinned as he walked around the car.
“You folks have a nice afternoon,” the deputy called out, climbing into his patrol unit.
Willa leaned out the window of the food truck. “It was plan A,” she yelled.
Naomi shook her head. They’d told her not to worry, and she should have listened. Her girls were safe, and they weren’t going with Jared.
