“Like hell I do!” Brock spat out over Jax’s shoulder.
Rhys stopped moving. He glared at Brock, his eyes seeming to change colors from pale blue to an icy grey. “Listen to your friends, Brock…or whoever you are. You have no idea who I am.”
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” Rhys glanced at Sky suggestively.
Shy was sure Brock was about to pound on the guy, but Rhys came to his senses.
“I have things to do. See you around, Sky.”
“Stay away from her,” Brock ordered him.
“Or what?” Rhys continued to his car.
Jax and Toby held off Brock, each of them gripping an arm until the SUV turned into the street.
“Meth lab?” Sky asked. “What was that about?”
Without answering, Brock turned and started walking back towards the fire truck, jamming one fist into the other palm.
“Will someone tell me what in hell is going on?” Sky demanded.
“Let it go. It’s nothing,” Toby answered.
“That was not nothing. I’m not stupid.”
Instead of answering, Brock started pacing, staring at the ground.
“Brock,” Sky spat through gritted teeth. She tried not to yell again but holding her temper back got harder by the second. “Will you just talk to me?”
He stopped pacing and looked at her. “This is not a good time to be spending time with that…that…that lowlife scum.”
“What? I’m not spending time with him. I asked him to leave. What did he do anyway?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Tell me.”
“I have to go.”
Sky spread her palms wide, staring at him. What did he expect out of her? For her to continue to lay down like a doormat and accept everything just the way it was?
I love you, you fool, and you’re pushing me away all over again.
The words burned in her throat, but she didn’t let them out. They were already making a scene. Customers were showing up, looking at them funny, and it didn’t need to be taken to the next level with overdramatic declarations.
“That guy is no good. That’s all you need to know.”
Sky let out a dry laugh. “You don’t even know him. You have no right to say that.”
“I know enough about him.”
Sky crossed his arms. “What, just because he went out with me you’re going to call him despicable?”
“That has nothing to do with it.” He stuck out his clenched jaw. “I came here to protect you from him.”
“You’re never around. How are you going to protect me if you’re never around?”
Behind Brock, Jax and Toby stood around, looking uncomfortable as ever.
Brock ignored her question. “What happened between you and him?”
“I already told you. We went to dinner and then to his house on Lake Tahoe. We talked. That’s all. What do you want me to say? Nothing happened. There’s only one man I want, Brock.”
Tears blurred Sky’s vision. Why was every interaction between them either devoid of any depth, or full of this kind of unnecessary drama? Brock stared at her, his chest still heaving. Behind him, Toby typed away on his phone. Jax walked over to the fire truck and got back in his seat.
Toby looked up from his phone. “Time to go.”
Brock nodded, and continued to stare at Sky. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Sky turned and stormed back to the front door of the saloon.
“Sky,” came Joleen’s voice at the doorway of the saloon. “What happened?”
Sky shook her head. “Nothing. Everything. Let’s go back inside. I need to get to work.”
20
“I’m fine now.”
“No, you’re not,” Toby told him, not even taking his eyes off the road.
Brock dropped his head back against the passenger’s seat. Toby had a point. He was seething back there at the saloon, a hair away from shifting and letting his bear rip Dillon’s throat out. The man deserved it. In the heat of the moment, any repercussions from that move would have been well worth it. Brock’s relationship with Sky would still be in shambles, and he would be behind bars for life, but at least Dillon wouldn’t be around to hurt her or anyone else.
“I texted Zeke,” Toby continued. “Sky mentioned Dillon has a house on Lake Tahoe.”
“So?” Jax asked.
“It’s something for Zeke to look into.”
“Hmmm,” Jax murmured.
Jax shuffled up to crouch between the seats. Looking between the two men in the front, he rested his arms across the seat backs. “We could also ask Sky to take us to his house. Or at least tell us the way.”
Brock closed his eyes. “I doubt she’d help.”
“She would if you gave her something to work with.”
“I’m not getting her involved.”
“Looks to me like she’s already involved.”
“We’re not asking Sky.”
“Why don’t you trust her?”
“I never said I didn’t trust her…I’m not talking about this right now,” Brock said with finality, shutting down the discussion for the rest of the ride to the fire hall.
Zeke was back when they arrived, sitting in the same spot as before.