“He still here?” Noah asked.

“Yes, but he’s leaving.”

The guys got out of the truck but stayed near it keeping an eye out.

“Where is he?” Noah demanded.

“I’m right here, Noah.” Derek opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. “You got something to say to me?”

Veronica held Noah’s big arm and she looked him in the eyes pleading. “Just let him leave, Noah. Please.”

“Don’t worry about it, Roni. I’ll leave peacefully. But I’d seriously think about what we talked about the other day.”

“What was that?” Noah asked, to Veronica’s disappointment giving in to Derek’s obvious baiting.

“Oh, I just filled her in on a few things I thought she should know.” Derek said walking past them down the stairs.

Noah scoffed turning around to face Derek now that he’d walked past him. “About me? Like she’d believe your bullshit.”

“I don’t need to make anything up, Noah. We both know you have a colorful enough past. Maybe even present.” Derek glanced back at Veronica. “And I’d say she’s understandably concerned.”

Noah turned back to Veronica. Infuriatingly, it appeared Derek’s attempts to rattle Noah had worked. She could see it in his questioning eyes.

“Not concerned,” she explained. “Curious.”

“About what?”

Now that the guys saw Derek on his way to his car they remained unmoved near Abel’s truck, giving them their privacy. “Let’s go inside,” she reached out for him.

Noah flinched back. “No first answer the question. What bullshit lies has he been feeding you? And while you’re at it you wanna explain why you got together several times with your f**king ex this week and didn’t mention this to me?”

Abel turned on his truck and he waved as he pulled out of the driveway. Veronica barely lifted her hand to wave back. Noah didn’t even bother his eyes were back on Veronica and they were on fire now.

“I was confused.”

“About what?”

“I saw the text from Rita on Sunday and I didn’t know what to think.”

His expression softened tiniest bit. “You should’ve asked.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t okay? I thought maybe it was time I gave my social life a boost and decided to take him up on his offer.”

His eyes shot open. “Really and what offer would that be?”

“That we have dinner after work.”

“And what else?”

“That’s it. We had dinner twice and then Thursday, I wasn’t going to meet with him but he showed up at the park where I told him I’d be taking pictures.”

“So what did this guy you claimed you wanted nothing more to do with tell you about me that has you so concerned?”

She could see he was getting worked up again. “I said curious not concerned.”

He crossed his arms in front of him. “Alright so what is it?”

“He said you dropped out of school and went MIA when you got a girl pregnant.” She prayed Derek was wrong about this. She really hoped Noah wouldn’t have it in him to do something like that. Holding her breath she waited for his response trying desperately to pick up a hint of what he was thinking but his expression had gone blank.

CHAPTER 28

The fact that Roni would believe such a thing about him spoke volumes. It was so like Kratz to make his past sound worse than it really was but the kicker was Roni was so ready to believe him.

“So let me see if I got this straight. This ass**le comes back out of nowhere after walking out on you when your mother was dying, knowing he’d be leaving you all alone. Supposedly you’re not interested in his ass anymore even though months after you and him were through you still had those f**king pictures up?”

The more he thought about it the heavier his chest felt. He wasn’t sure what hurt more—the fact that she’d lied or that she’d bought this crock from a guy who obviously hadn’t given a shit about her.

“You tell me you want nothing to do with him but the moment you decide you need to broaden your social life, he’s the first one you f**king call?” He knew his words were harsher than he’d ever spoken to her but he couldn’t help it. It hurt like hell to find out she obviously did care enough about this guy to buy into this guys horseshit version of the truth—the truth about him—even after what the ass**le had done to her. “What other bullshit did he tell you about me?”

She shrugged looking ready to cry but she wasn’t denying any of it.

“Tell me!”

“That you did drugs or drug trafficking.” Noah laughed but stopped when she asked. “Did you?”

She couldn’t possibly be serious. “What do you think?”

The answer to that was in her uncertain eyes. She believed that, too. “Wow,” he said taking a few steps back. “I had no idea I’d made such an insignificant impression on you, that you would think so little of me.”

“I don’t—”

“I’m a f**king orphan, Roni! Or did you forget?” He’d never felt so ready to explode in his life. Not even on his way there when he could think of nothing else than getting there and ripping Kratz apart. He was just pissed then and he’d been incensed with jealousy. What he was feeling now was much worse. He hurt like he’d never hurt before.