Besides, I was sure he wouldn’t harm Tina #1 with me having witnessed their tiff… I raced to my car and texted Junior. I told him to stop by the agency and buy some products for his mom. I explained the situation and told him to go immediately. He texted back he would.
As much as I wanted to tear Tina #1’s limbs from her body, I didn’t want to knowingly be responsible for someone harming her. I wanted that honor for myself…
Chapter 8
There was no missing them. Dwayne’s bald head and face were dotted with purple and green paint specks, making him look diseased. Granny was wearing a greenish hued blush and her left eyebrow was royal blue. Clearly, protective headgear during paint ball wars wasn’t necessary for them.
I rolled my eyes and sat down in the booth. Casey’s honky-tonk was a hole in the wall diner a block from the beach. It was a total dive and one of my favorite places in town. The food was awesome and the human owner loved all the locals, so much so that she often threw startled tourists out when there wasn’t a table available for one of her regulars.
“You do realize you look ridiculous,” I said as I pulled out my phone and snapped a few blackmail shots.
“Essie,” Dwayne said as he bounced in his seat. “Granny is going to take me to a football game in the fall.”
“The Georgia Vultures?”
“Yep,” Granny said. “I got some season tickets real cheap.”
“That’s not a big surprise.” I laughed. “They lost every game last season.”
“Who cares? Hot guys in tight white pants with grease paint under their eyes grabbing each other’s asses and… Oh my GOD,” Dwayne squealed, making me jump and slap my hands over my ears. “What are you doing here, Jeff?”
Who in the hell was Jeff?
“Actually, Dwayne, my name is Hank.”
The sexy bane of my existence stood next to the table with a grin on his face that would melt hearts, but not mine. One mystery solved. The pieces fell together with sickening clarity. Dwayne was Hank’s informant. Dwayne had been giving up the goods on me for a year to the assmunch who had cheated on me.
“Oh sweet Jesus, Essie, I am so sorry,” Dwayne gasped, going as green as the paint dots on his head.
“It’s alright, Dwayne,” I said as I stared daggers at Hank. “There wasn’t much to tell.”
“Oh, but there was,” Dwayne moaned and placed his hand over his mouth. “He knows…oh god, I can’t even say it.”
What in the hell had he told Hank? My stomach roiled and my appetite disappeared.
“However,” Dwayne said carefully as he recovered from his shock. “The whole thing is kind of hot in a reality TV show kind of way. Don’t you think so, Essie?”
“No. I don’t,” I snapped.
Granny was quiet and watched the exchange with great interest. Where was her loyalty? She was supposed to stand up and cold cock Hank. Instead, she had a sneaky little grin on her face. I pretty much hated everybody right now and I still had no clue what Dwayne had told Hank.
“You are not welcome here,” I hissed at him. “Go away. I will talk to you after I have lunch with the people I love.” For a brief second I could have sworn pain flashed in his eyes, but it had to be the sun streaming through the windows. He was a heartless wanker, obsessed with what he thought he owned.
“Nope.” He grinned and wedged his huge body into the booth next to Granny, who patted him on the head with affection. I was so going to divorce her. “We have things to discuss and time is of the essence.”
He was right, which only made me hate him more.
“Fine. Talk and leave.”
“Essie, your boob is kind of falling out of your top,” Dwayne announced loud enough for all the tables in the restaurant to hear. All eyes shot to my boobs. Hank quickly leaned across the table and covered my chest with his bare hands. A zing shot right through me and my evil traitorous nipples hardened with delight. Hank’s grin almost sent me into meltdown. The kind where I killed him, but first I would stick my tongue down his throat and ride him till he was blind.
Shoving him off and grabbing a napkin, I covered my tatas and raced to the bathroom. I had a sundress in my bag. Being an agent had taught me to always carry something extra to wear. No one liked sitting around in blood-spattered or bullet-riddled clothes.
The bathroom of Casey’s honky-tonk was an anomaly. The restaurant was tiny but the ladies room was huge — six Pepto Bismol colored stalls and a diaper changing station. I went to the farthest stall and locked myself in. Peeling off the slutty outfit, I realized I was still wired. Not knowing if I would need it again today I left it taped to my body and pulled my sexy but comfy sundress over my head.
I leaned against the cool wall and tried to decipher my feelings. Why was I so angry with Hank if he didn’t mean anything to me? Maybe because I was still madly in love with him… No. I was stronger than that. I had more pride. He had cheated on me with the three Tinas and I had seen the results with my own eyes. I deserved someone who wanted only me. Was I nuts?
The magnitude of what I still felt for him was confusing. Maybe I should have talked to him—did he get cold feet and make a mistake? Mistake was mild for what he did. However, the girl I was a year ago only knew how to run. The woman I’d become might not have, but it was fruitless to be consumed with what ifs.
“I can’t believe she came back,” a voice hissed. “I was sure she’d never set foot in Hung again.”