Claiming the Enemy: Dustin (Porter Brothers Trilogy 3)

“Rachel told us you’re going to be a father again. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“If it’s another girl, you know you’re fucked, right? You’re going to be busy enough keeping the boys away from Ema.”

“Don’t I know it? She wraps everyone around her little finger. She takes after her mother.”

“Yes, she does,” Dustin agreed. Ema had gotten most of her looks from Cash, but her personality was pure Rachel, with a little bit of Greer’s stubbornness. “Take care, Cash.”

“You, too, Dustin. Good night.”

Dustin disconnected the call, hovering the pad of his finger over a name on his contact list that he hadn’t called since Logan had gone to school. The only reason he hadn’t deleted it was because now Rosie went to the daycare.

Not pressing the Call button, he watched the light on his phone dim as he debated making the call. His head started to swim in tiredness, letting fatigue be the culprit for why he didn’t call Jessie to warn her.

Dustin stood, gripping the post of the porch to steady himself. The last three nights, he had gotten little sleep. It took him to the point of exhaustion to even fall asleep, just to have the nightmare wake him and keep him awake for the rest of the night.

He was really dreading going to bed tonight. The intensity of the dream the night before had been unbearable. The savage beating he had taken had been imaginary, yet the aching soreness in his body was real.

Dustin closed his eyes tightly, then opened them before righting himself to go inside. Locking the door, he knew avoiding sleep was no use. The grim shadow that plagued his nightmares would find his way inside. He always did.

4

Jessie yawned as she opened the dryer door to thrust her wet clothes inside. Humming, she closed the door before going to the washing machine and transferring another load to another dryer.

She was putting the coins in the machine when the laundry room door opened and a woman came inside. Jessie had seen her around the small apartment building, usually coming and going the same time of the day as her.

“Hi,” Jessie greeted with a friendly smile as she moved around her to reach inside the dryer that was next to hers.

“Hi.” The polite smile she received in return didn’t surprise her. They had seen each other a couple of times as they passed each other on the outside landing of the building, but the woman had always hurried away before any attempt at conversation.

“Sucks having to wash clothes on a Friday, doesn’t it?” Jessie asked, dropping another coin in.

“Yes, I hope I didn’t hold you up using the machine I was using. I was watching a movie and lost track of time.”

“You’re good. I only needed two, and they were open.” Turning toward her, Jessie held out her hand. “I’m Jessie.”

The woman removed her hand from the dryer. “I’m Tori.”

“It’s nice to meet you. You’re new to town, aren’t you?”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Removing her hand, Tori went back to putting her laundry in a basket that she had carried in with her. “I moved in a month ago.”

Jessie sat down on the metal chair that was propping the laundry room door open. “You have family in town?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

Tori gave her a quizzical look as she closed the dryer then picked up her basket. “Why?”

“Because you’re definitely not from Kentucky, or you would have told me your life story in sixty seconds or less.”

Her lips twitched. “I’m finding that out.”

“You’ll also find out that most of the town is trying to figure out who you are. Most of them think you’re on the run from an ex or a celebrity who’s hiding from the media.”

Tori’s eyes widened in shock at the revelation. “Seriously?”

Jessie nodded. “The rumor going around the diner is you’re a model.”

“What do you think?” Tori’s lips curled in her first real smile.

“I think you’re the new librarian who’s taking over for Ms. Riley at the school. She’s due any day, and the school board has been trying to replace her since she decided to stay home after she has the baby.”

“How did you find out?”

“The modelling almost suckered me in, but I happen to work with your realtor’s wife,” she confessed.

The townspeople’s tongues had been wagging the moment the beautiful woman had shopped at the market. Jessie could practically describe everything that Tori purchased since it had been mentioned so many times. She had bought enough for everyone to know she wasn’t passing through, and then her being seen moving into the apartment had only increased their curiosity. That she was so attractive added more interest to their speculations.

Her height had everyone believing she was a model, but Jessie thought she was an inch or two shy for that to be true. Her spiraled, ash-brown curls fell to her shoulders, and the pale purple tank top and shorts accentuated the caramel skin tone of her shoulders and legs. But it was the aloof way she carried herself that was preventing people in town from approaching her.