“I hope not, but that’s the chance I’ll have to take.”
She got the feeling he didn’t care about Olivia anymore, either, which was another difference she noticed in him. “Then you’ll go to jail!”
“So be it,” he said flatly. “I’ve finally realized that the only way I’ll ever be rid of you is to accept whatever losses I have to in order to make it happen. And I’ve reached that point. I don’t care about the consequences. You will have no more hold over me. Do you understand?”
Curling her hands into fists, she stepped closer, got right in his face. “You son of a bitch!”
He tsked as if she was the most pathetic person he’d ever seen. “You shouldn’t have set fire to my plant, Noelle.”
When she tried to strike him, he caught her wrist, which just made her angrier. “Let go of me!” she cried.
“Don’t ever lift your hand to me again,” he said.
He’d always been a sucker for tears, so she started to blink and sniff. “Things could’ve been different, for both of us, if only you’d allowed it.”
He remained unmoved. “You can stop the show, Noelle. I don’t love you, I never have and I never will,” he said and let her go.
“You’re a bastard!” she screamed. “I’m glad I did it. Here I’ve been feeling bad that I let my temper take over, but now I’m mad I didn’t burn your damn plant to the ground! Next time, I’ll make sure you’re in it!”
His eyes narrowed. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him look so dangerous. “Did you just threaten my life?”
“You heard me,” she growled. “You’d better pay me my spousal maintenance, or you’re going to lose a lot more than your plant.”
He stepped back. “And if I call Chief Bennett and tell him what you said?”
“I’ll deny it. It’ll be my word against yours—an ex-husband who’s trying to get out of paying his alimony.”
The smile that curved his lips seemed so incongruous with his anger of a moment before—and with what she’d said—that a sick feeling entered the pit of her stomach.
“There’s one small problem with that plan,” he said.
She’d made a mistake. She wished she could take back the past few minutes, but something told her it was too late to even try. “And that is...?”
“I’m not the only one you admitted it to.” He lifted up his shirt to show her that he had a small microphone taped to his chest.
“You... You’re wearing a wire? You set me up?” She gripped her throat because she suddenly felt as if she couldn’t breathe. She’d never dreamed backwoods Whiskey Creek would be so high-tech. She’d thought that was something that happened in movies or maybe in big cities like Chicago and LA.
“I figured it was time for a little honesty,” he said, and the next thing she knew, Chief Bennett was in the living room, handcuffing her.
*
As soon as Kyle returned, Lourdes put down her guitar. She’d decided to try to make some progress on her album, to help keep her mind off her imminent departure from Whiskey Creek, and surprised herself by making furious progress on the song she’d been writing for him. Somehow it was all flowing and coming together fast. But she didn’t want him to hear it yet. First, she’d finish it, and maybe even record it, so it would sound its best.
Besides, she was anxious to hear what had happened with Noelle.
“How’d it go?” she asked. “I’ve been texting you, but I haven’t heard back.”
“I forgot to charge my phone last night,” he replied. “It ran out of battery about the time Noelle got arrested.”
Lourdes jumped to her feet. “Arrested? She’s going to jail?”
“Yes. My idea worked. All I had to do was rile her up, make her mad enough to lose control, and...she admitted it.” He hesitated. “Actually, it was more like she threw it in my face, thinking there wouldn’t be anything I could do about it.”
“And Chief Bennett heard?”
“Every word.”