“Shot two of the tires.”
“Good job.”
I ended the call to Mac. The next call I placed was to Rile.
“What’s your twenty?” I asked before Rile had the chance to say anything.
“Entering Highway 35.”
“I’ll send you coordinates in a few minutes. We need an escort.”
I set the phone down on the dash. Mila looked at the one sitting on the console. “You have two?”
“Personal and business.”
“Which number do I have?”
I picked up the secure line and sent Mila a text. “Both.”
Once we got to Waco, I drove to the same restaurant we’d gone to for breakfast on our way to Bluebell Creek.
“Is this okay with you?” I asked when I pulled into the parking lot and sent the text to Rile.
“It’s fine,” she said, but her cheeks were flushed, perhaps remembering her embarrassment over the declined credit card.
“Would you rather go over there?” I asked, pointing to another diner.
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
I crossed the road and parked in the lot.
“Wait,” Mila said before I got my door all the way open.
“What?” Following her line of sight, I saw what had made Mila warn me; Judd Knight was sitting in the front window, looking directly at her.
17
Mila
It had been n
ine years since I last saw my father. Before that, it had been an equal number. When I first noticed him sitting near the window, I considered the possibility that he wouldn’t recognize me. That hope was quickly squashed. Once his eyes met mine, they remained locked on my face.
His expression was impossible to read. I saw no sign of recognition, no smile, not really a frown—just a steady gaze in my direction.
“What do you want to do?”
I tore my gaze from my father and looked at Decker. “I don’t know.”
“It’s evident you and Judd are estranged.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I mumbled, not necessarily meaning to say the words out loud.
“Your call, sweetheart. I’m happy to drive away.”
Was I strong enough to face the man who had betrayed my trust, who’d lost the right to be acknowledged as my parent? It seemed with everything I’d been through in the last few days, I felt empowered—as long as Decker was by my side. It was inexplicable, but it was real.
“Let’s go in.”