Page 36 of You for Her (The Edge of Retaliation 2)
“What …” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“Get dressed.”
“Excuse me?”
He uncrosses his arms and looks right into my eyes. “Get dressed. You’re coming with us.”
“First of all, I’m not going with you anywhere, you made it very clear last night how you feel about me, and second—”
“Get. Dressed.”
I blink. “I’m sorry, but I don’t owe you a god damned thing, Tanner Yates.”
His eyes flare at my use of his full name.
I glance at Tatum and Garret, who are both quiet, both standing and staring at me. The tension in the room is huge. Out of this world. If everyone could unleash, there would be bloodshed, no doubt about it.
“You want your revenge, you want your justice, you want your happy fuckin’ ending? That’s what you told me last night, isn’t it? That you are sick of livin’ with this fuckin’ shadow of your perfect fuckin’ head? Then you’re comin’ with us. We’re going to get Chase, we’re goin’ to fuckin’ get our answers.”
I shake my head, confused. “You’re going to get Chase?”
“Fuckin’ yeah we’re goin’ to get Chase. We’re goin’ to make him fess up to what he fuckin’ did. Know you want in on that. You and Jo are comin’. Andrea is happy to give you time off. Jo can get time off, too. Now, get dressed, pack a bag, and get in the fuckin’ car. We’re goin’ to be gone for a while.”
I look to Jo, and her eyes meet mine. “You want in on this?”
She nods. “Yes, I do. I want justice for Celia, but mostly, I want him to fess up to what he allowed to happen to you. As for them, they’re dead to me, but I’ll go.”
She glares at the three men.
I look back at them, then my eyes move to Tatum. “Why him?”
Tanner’s shoulders tighten at the mention of his friend. A friend who let him down in the worst possible way. “He knows where Chase is, he’s the only one who Chase will trust, we gotta take him.”
“If you’re goin’, so am I.”
I swing my head around and see Ethan walking through my open front door. He crosses his arms and his eyes pin Tanner, angry and accusing. Does he know about what went down last night? If so, how does he know? Did Jo tell him? Tanner? Tatum? He’s here and he’s acting a whole lot like he’s in on this.
“Fuckin’ no way,” Tanner growls. “You’re not goin’ anywhere with us.”
Ethan steps in closer, not bothered by Tanner’s broodiness. “I’m comin’. If you’re takin’ Callie, you’re takin’ me. Not negotiable, Tanner. I don’t fuckin’ trust you, and I’m not letting anything else happen to her because of you.”
I look to Ethan, and his eyes finally move to mine. “That good with you?”
I cross my arms. “I don’t want to go anywhere, with any of you. But I’m going to, because I want Chase probably more than all of you combined. Jo is right, though. You are all dead to me, too. Know that I can’t stand you, and I wish I never met any of you.”
My voice is angry, and it’s hurt.
But it’s the truth.
Kind of.
There is still that part of me, deep down, that aches when I look at Tanner, when I see Ethan, and I hate it. I feel such a range of emotions when I look at them, when I think about them. I feel bad for what happened to Tanner, but that doesn’t mean I forgive him for what he did to me. He still made that choice, and he’s making it very clear he wants to be a prick about it. I can be a prick, too. No problems at all.
Tanner holds my eyes, long enough that I turn away, unable to look at him any longer.
“Whatever you want,” he mutters. “You ride with me; Tatum can ride with Jo. The other two can go wherever the fuck they want. As long as Tatum ain’t near me, I don’t give a fuck.”
Tatum looks like Tanner has punched him, but he nods and looks to Jo, who glares at him. “Pack up. We hit the road in ten.”
“What exactly do you plan on doing when you get Chase?” I ask Tanner.
Tanner crosses his arms and turns toward the door. “Right now, I’m trying to convince myself not to fuckin’ kill him. So, I can’t answer that question for you truthfully right now.”
Oh, boy.
Things are about to get … messy.
TWO HOURS.
We’ve been on the road two hours, and it has been probably the worst two hours I’ve spent with someone in a while. The car is dead silent. The drive so quiet I can hear every rock we hit, every car that zooms past, every bird that squawks outside. Ethan is sitting in the back of Tanner’s truck, and Jo is riding with Tatum and Garrett. We’re going to be driving for at least five days, according to Tanner. Chase lives on the other side of the country—that’s one hell of a ride.
