I think this subject is one we’ve all dealt with at one time or another – whether we were the dumper or the dumpee. Well, in this snippet nobody is sure who dumped who…
Enjoy this snippet from Primed to Pounce by…well, me ;D
Delaine took the long way to the restaurant then drove on
by. She just couldn’t face Justin today. She’d left a message asking him to
meet her here, but after that conversation with Pam there really wasn’t
anything else to say. He’d obviously moved on. If Justin wanted Pam, fine, he
could have her. But what started raggedy would end up raggedy. And those two
raggedy mogillas deserved each other.
Her heart was in a million pieces, but she refused to feel
the hurt anymore. Instead, she focused on her anger and let it consume her
until she shook with rage. Bastard! And Pam? She couldn’t believe Pam would
steal her man like that. She’d sat up in that girl’s chair at the salon and
told her all of her and Justin’s business, so it’s not like the woman didn’t
know Delaine was serious about him. For someone she’d known since their
children were in preschool to stab her in the back like this was beyond
painful. Oh lord, what was she going to do?
*Suta, you are not using wisdom. This man is not like the
puny Gary person.*
‘But he slept with my best friend, Sapa! Hell, at least Gary
slept with someone I didn’t know.’ She slammed her hand down on the steering
wheel then looked down, expecting to see blood on her shirt from her breaking
heart.
*Your reasoning abilities are unsurpassed. Use them now.
All is not as it appears, Suta. Trust me.*
‘I do trust you, Sapa. I just don’t trust anyone else,’ she
replied sadly as a lone tear made its way down her cheek.
Fifteen minutes after she was supposed to meet him, his cell
phone number popped up on the caller id. She pressed the ignore button, turned
the phone off and threw it in the passenger seat. Heartsick but determined not
to cry over a man ever again, she dashed the tears away and instead did
something she hadn’t done in all the years she’d worked with Aegis. She called
in sick.
She flew home, stuffed a weekend bag with clothes, books and
nothing related to work, jumped back in her Jag and headed for Nantahala Gorge.
A nice quiet cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains was just what she needed.
* * * * *
Justin hadn’t called Delaine since she’d gone mental on him
at finding out he was D.E.A. But it was only to give her time to cool off. He’d
been totally surprised to get her message asking him to meet her for breakfast.
He’d dialed her cell several times, but it just rang and
rang. Now it was going straight to voice mail. This didn’t make any sense. The
woman had called him and left a message saying she wanted to see him then
didn’t show up? He drove over to her house and rang the bell. At first he
thought she just wasn’t answering the door, but after walking all the way
around the house, noting the closed blinds on every window, he peeked through
the small glass on the door that led into the garage from the side of the
house. Her car was gone. Damn, she wasn’t home.
His shoulders tensed and he felt the beginnings of a nasty
headache creep up the back of his neck. Flipping open his cell, he dialed her
again. Where the hell was his damned woman? Had something happened that made it
impossible for her to meet him? What if she’d run into trouble related to her
case? What if she was casing Astin and got caught? And why the hell wasn’t she
answering her phone?!
He drove toward home, his chest tight with one part anger
for the way she’d arbitrarily dismissed him and one part worry at not knowing
if she was all right. It wasn’t unheard of for someone to die in their
particular line of work. Tired of leaving the stubborn woman messages, he
finally called Derrick.
“Hey, Derrick. What’s up?”
“The usual. Chasing bad guys and doing favors for you.”
“Then everything is normal, isn’t it?” Justin said glibly.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, Jus?” Derrick asked with a
bit of a grin in his voice.
“I need to know where Delaine is. She’s not answering her
cell phone, she’s not at home and I haven’t seen her since we fell out a few
days ago. She called me in the middle of the night and asked me to meet her for
breakfast then she didn’t show up. She’s got the goods on Baker. I need to know
she’s safe.”
“And what if she’s safe but avoiding you?”
Justin took a deep breath and his head conjured an image of
Derrick, his mouth drawn tight with disapproval. The man had a way of making
him feel like the little brother right after the big brother said, “I’m gonna
tell dad on you”. He steeled himself and got ready for the I-told-you-so.
“Delaine found out I was D.E.A. And not from me.”
“Man, didn’t I tell you to talk to her? I told you sistahs
don’t play that junk,” Derrick said, managing to sound stern and sorry for
Justin at the same time.
But there wasn’t anything he could do about it now, except
try to patch things up with the woman he knew he had to be with at all costs.
Whatever it took. He wasn’t even shocked anymore at how strong his feelings
were for Delaine. He knew he had to find her.
“Look, Derrick, you were right, okay. But right now, I need
to know my woman is all right.”
“Let me work on it. I’ll call you back in half an hour.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem. By the way, Spencer spoke to her boss, which is
probably why she called last night. You two are supposed to close this case out
together. If you can get her to speak to you ever again, that is.”
Be sure and click through to the rest of our Snippet Saturday authors. It’ll be worth your while, I’m sure ;D
Lissa Matthews
Ashley Ladd
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Shelli Stevens
Eliza Gayle
Vivian Arend
Mari Carr
Lauren Dane
Shelley Munro