Never Doubt Me: Judge Me Not #2(36)

Will scrubs his hand down his face. “I don’t know. Just tell him I needed to forget for a while, all right?” He sighs, deflated. “Chase is going to be pissed, no doubt, but trust me, Kay, I don’t plan on doing anything my brother hasn’t done a thousand times.”

“That’s what worries me,” I whisper as Will steps out the door.





Chapter Seven


Chase


Just as I am hurrying to finish up with an electrical issue over at the school, all the while hoping I can get home in time to meet Will’s new pal Jared, my cell buzzes. I answer immediately when I see the caller is none other than Nick Mercurio.

“Hey, what’s up?” are the first words out of my mouth.

Getting right down to business, Nick replies, “I’m at Pizza House and thought you might want to know Doug Wilson just placed an order.”

Nick, who has given me the impression he isn’t exactly on board with my plan to corner Doug, alone, to talk with him, suddenly sounds like a f*cking coconspirator. Good, I need someone who has my back.

I take a deep breath, exhale slowly. “Great,” I reply. “Can you hold up his order?”

“I can try,” Nick tells me.

“I’m close by, over at the school. But I’m gonna need about ten minutes or so to reach the restaurant.”

“Ten minutes is not a problem. I can do that.” Nick pauses for a beat, like he’s covering all the bases. I guess, in a way, he is, as he adds, “Doug usually parks in the back. There are a few takeout spots. He’s got a silver sedan. A late-model Lincoln. Looks like a company car or something to me.”

“Got it,” I say.

“Okay, then I’ll keep him here long enough for you to get here.”

Our conversation up to this point has been rather stilted, but I relax and say sincerely, “Hey, Nick, thanks. I really appreciate you doing this.”

“You’re just going to talk to him, right?” he asks, wariness creeping into his tone. “I don’t mind helping you, but I don’t want trouble blowing back on me or the restaurant.”

“I have no plans to f*ck Doug Wilson up, if that’s what you mean.”

Nick’s silence tells me that’s exactly what he means, so I say reassuringly, “I just need a few minutes alone with him to make a point.”

“Uh,” Nick lowers his voice, “does this, by chance, have something to do with Kay?”

Nick is still hot for my girl, but she’s mine, so I see no point in being dishonest.

“Yeah,” I retort, “it has something to do with Kay.”

“Okay, man.” Nick sounds like he’s back on board. “I’m going to trust you on this.”

He’s about to disconnect, but I have one more thing to say.

“Hey, Nick, hold up a sec.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“If you happen to run into Kay, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention anything about me wanting to talk to Doug alone—and definitely nothing about today specifically.”

Nick is quiet for a beat, but then says, “Yeah, sure. She won’t hear anything from me.”

Everything is set, time to go. There is one more thing, though. I don’t want Kay to catch me leaving the church grounds. She’s expecting me to head home early to meet Jared, but with Nick’s call coming in, that plan is out the window.

I check the time on my phone. It’s after four, and there’s a good chance of running into Kay in the parking lot. Lucky for me, though, when I walk out of the school, the coast is clear. Kay’s car is in its usual parking spot, but my girl is nowhere to be seen.

I hop into my truck without delay, but before I drive away, I decide to turn off my phone. I don’t need Kay calling me while I’m setting her ex-boyfriend straight, especially since I plan to keep this little excursion to myself.

I am pretty calm driving to Pizza House, but I begin to slip into a shitty mood when I’m a couple of blocks away. This f*cking day hasn’t gone as I’d anticipated. Maybe if I’m quick with Doug, I can get back on track. Maybe I can make it back to the house before Will’s new friend leaves.

I don’t know why I’m so worked up about a teenager, but I just have this strong feeling that I should make sure this Jared guy isn’t trouble. His being from a family with money means shit. Back in my drug days, some of the biggest hell-raisers and hardest users I knew came from wealthy families. I sure don’t want Will hanging out with someone shady like that.

When I reach the old yellow-and-green frame building with the pizza house sign out front, I signal and slowly turn into the lot. In the back, just as Nick has said, Doug’s silver car is parked in a takeout spot.

I make sure I park right the f*ck next to it.

A few quiet minutes pass, and then dickhead Doug comes sauntering around the side of the building, not a care in the world, just a pizza box in hand. Little does he know, I’m about to change that carefree bullshit attitude.

Just as Doug reaches his driver’s side door, I step down from my truck. He looks my way and recognizes me immediately.

“Hey, look,” he stammers as he slowly backs away, “I know who you are”—No shit—“and I don’t want any trouble.”