Stand and Defend (Lakes Hockey Series Book 4)

My car is warming up outside. I check the clock one last time as I pace—1:00 a.m.

It’s time.

I flip up my black hood and tuck the burner phone in my pocket. The house is silent. Tiptoeing into the garage, I’m careful to face the mud room door as I make my escape. Walking backward toward my car—while praying Cam doesn’t wake up—my fingers feel for the driver door handle, I pull it and spin around, ready to make a mad dash.

“You’re up late.” I jump out of my skin with a shriek when I see him already in the driver’s seat.

“What the fuck?! You’re supposed to be sleeping!”

“I could say the same to you.” He waits for me to explain myself.

“I need you to get out of the car. I have an errand to run.”

He chuckles. “Get in, Jordan. I’m not going to stop you from whatever this errand is, but you’re not going alone.”

My weight shifts. I don’t have time to argue with him. It’s now or never. I hurry around the car and climb into the passenger seat.

“Where are we going?”

I glare at him in the darkness. “Veronica’s.”

“Oh, is it a slumber party?”

“It is for Bryan.”

“We’re not about to commit murder, are we? Because if that’s the case, I need to change my outfit.”

“Cam, please don’t joke. I need you to trust what I’m doing and not try to stop me. I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t want to put you at risk. You cannot get in my way tonight.”

He nods, and we drive in silence. When we arrive on the street, I tell him to turn off the lights, and we pass Veronica’s house, parking behind Bryan’s car—my old car.

“Turn off the engine.” So far, he’s been doing what I ask without question, and I appreciate it.

Bryan liked to keep tabs on my location. How convenient that I can still track the Lexus he once gifted me. He’s been at Veronica’s all evening, based on the car’s tracker not moving, he’s staying the night. I’ve been waiting for this. I know exactly where her security cameras are and am careful to stay out of sight. Her house will easily allow me to get in and out undetected. She has no neighbors across the street, which is helpful.

I didn’t have confirmation they were still seeing each other, but when Veronica agreed she would end it, she told me everything I needed to know. I knew if I told her to invite him over to end it, he’d likely fuck her “one last time.” Now that I’m free of his gaslighting, his narcissistic habits are easy to anticipate. He’s so predictable.

I wait, needing to make sure the conditions are right to make my move. It’s not quite time yet. Cam looks at me. “Now what?”

“I’m waiting for a phone call.”

At 1:37 a.m., my burner phone vibrates with a call from an unmarked number. It’s Seven.

“I’m here,” I answer.”

“His notifications will be disabled for the next twenty minutes. Is that enough time?”

“Perfect. Send me a bill.”

“Pleasure doing business with you. I look forward to watching the news tomorrow.”

I smile. “Me too.”

I end the call and grab my personal cell to turn it on. Bryan enjoyed control over people and things. Which is why almost every device he owns is connected to our phones. I have no idea if he has proximity alerts set up for me on his phone, but he likely has them if his car is being tampered with, so I need to cover my tracks. Seven helped with that. I reach behind me for the duffel bag and unzip it.

Cam sucks in a breath. “Jesus fuck. How much money is that?”

The day I withdrew 20,000 cash, I requested a variety of bills. It took me hours to roll them into little bundles, giving the appearance of contraband. I’ve never touched the money with my bare hands, and I never will.

“It’s a small price to pay to get even.”

I crack the window of my car and listen. A police siren sounds in the distance, and I wait for it to fade before getting out of the car. Once it’s quiet, I open my door and stalk to the trunk of his car, open the Lexus app on my phone, and pop the trunk. My breath is visible in the trunk’s interior light. It’s cold as fuck out here.

Next, I disconnect the taillight—thank you, YouTube—I attempt to push the light out, but it won’t budge. I practiced on my car three times with no problems, but my hands are cold and stiff and shaking. Behind me, the passenger door quietly opens.

“What do you need?” Cam asks.

“To knock the taillight loose. Don’t break it, just pop it out partially so I can thread some of the wires through.” He gets his hands in there and does it in two seconds.

I delicately place the bag of money in the trunk. Looks impeccably suspicious. Last, I tuck the stack of papers regarding the financial statements for Bluetower, all with his signature, in the bag.

“’Kay. Let’s go.” I click the trunk closed and return to our car. We put our seatbelts on and pull away from the curb. Please let this work.

Cam gives an exaggerated exhale. “My dick is so fucking hard.”

I chuckle and look over at him. Glad he’s excited about it. I’ll feel better once everything goes according to plan. Though, I am quite pleased with myself.

When we get home and climb into bed, we lie there staring at the ceiling.

“We never left.”

“Nope.”

In the morning, I’ll track Bryan’s location again. As soon as he’s on the road, I’ll report erratic driving from a Lexus with a busted taillight.