Top Dog

Even if he could hear me, he didn’t acknowledge that he could.

“I’ll pay for it. Whatever it takes. If you want me to call someone, I know a guy downtown who can come and—”

“No thanks. It’s fine,” the man said.

He raised up from his truck, and I got to take in just how tall he was. He was massive. And stacked. Strong underneath his clothing and stern behind his gaze. I felt like I was shrinking in front of him, reduced to nothing but the size of an ant as he gazed down at me.

He was an incredibly handsome guy with thick shoulders and a well-trimmed beard. His dark hair was cut casually, and his eyes were a deep, probing blue. He had an air of confidence about him that I found both intriguing and also a little intimidating.

“I’m sorry,” I said again. “My daughter was kicking the back of my seat and I thought I checked properly before I pulled out.”

“Came out quick,” he said.

“I’m … sorry.”

“You said that already.”

“Because I am,” I said.

He nodded, casting his gaze off into the distance before his eyes came down to my car.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I can fix it.”

“Are you a mechanic?” I asked.

“No. Your car’s worse off anyway. You’ll need your own money to fix it.”

My eyes fell to the damage done to my car. The taillight was busted, and the fender was bent. Very bent. Almost popping away from the body of the car kind of bent. Just what I needed on top of everything else.

“Looks like it,” I said.

“Your girl. Is she okay?”

I looked up at him before my eyes fell to Lily. She was turned around in her car seat, her eyes looking at the massive man I was talking to. Her eyes darted to me, and she grinned, sat down in her seat, and started wiggling around.

“Looks like it,” I said.

“Good. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Shouldn’t we exchange information or something?” I asked.

“Do you want to be held at fault for the accident with your insurance company?” he asked.

He had a point.

“Have a good day,” I said. “And I’m really sorry about your truck.”

“Tell your daughter to keep her feet off your seat. You could kill someone with your driving.”

I watched the man drive away in his truck. Gruff wasn’t the right word to describe him. More like brutish asshole. I shook my head, got back into the car, and buckled myself in. I looked back at Lily who had an apologetic look on her face.

“Let’s go get some ice-cream.”

CHAPTER 4

GRAHAM

What a fucking mess.