“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” I say, watching Navie use the broomstick as a microphone.
“Do you really think it’ll be any different between you guys if you stay?” Cross asks. “I mean, I hoped it would. God knows my life would be easier.”
“Ha.”
“I mean it, Had. You’re confident. You make decisions. You’re stronger than I’ve ever seen you. As much as I hate to admit it, Vigo seems to have done you some good.”
“Yeah, well …”
Cross sighs. “Just promise me that you won’t let Machlan get to you. You can’t fix someone else’s problems, no matter how hard you try.”
“I’ll be fine. Promise.”
He sighs again. “Come see me before you leave, okay? And call me if you need me.”
“I will. Love you, brother.”
“Love you too.”
Ending the call, I reach for my purse when my phone buzzes again. This number I don’t know.
“Hello?” I ask, blowing out a breath.
“Hadley?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Spencer Eubanks.”
Sitting up, I wonder how he got my number. My eyes flip to Crave, and I wonder if something has happened to Machlan.
“What can I do for you?” I ask. “Is everything okay?”
“I know we don’t really know each other, Hadley. And I’m sorry for getting your number from my mother, but I thought it was imperative we speak this afternoon.”
My mouth is dry. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“I had a meeting with Machlan today.”
“I know.”
“Hadley,” he says with a gush of a breath that isn’t a chuckle, but more like an exasperated reaction. “How well do you know him?”
“Very well. Why?”
“He threatened to kill me today. It was ugly. I’ve never seen someone snap like he did.”
My jaw drops to the floor. I almost drop my phone.
“What?” I open the door, needing the fresh air.
Nothing about this makes any sense. Is this why Machlan didn’t come home? Where is he? Is he okay?
“He literally threatened to kill me,” he says again.
“That’s not like Machlan, Spencer.”
“He went into a rage when I told him my attorney had issues with his business plan. Had I not called the police when I did …”
My eyes bug out. “You called the police?”
“It was that or get hurt. Hadley, the man is reckless. Please, please be careful around him.”
“I … What?” My head hurts, pain streaking over my forehead as I attempt to reconcile this information. “Spencer, this doesn’t make any sense.”
“I agree. It doesn’t. But you need to watch yourself around him. He’s … impetuous.”
The way he spits the last word out snaps me back to reality. I switch the phone between my hands, the sun warming my back just enough to make me sweat.
Imagining Machlan snapping on someone without just cause doesn’t seem likely. He might have a temper, but it’s never unjustified. And the longer I think about Spencer pushing him or needling him to get a reaction, knowing he’d get one, the angrier it makes me. Because that’s what had to have happened. It’s the only explanation.
“I appreciate the call,” I say, a rush of energy pulsing through me. I need to find Machlan. “Take care.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“If Machlan lost his cool, it was for a good reason.”
Spencer chuckles angrily. “Remember that when he’s in your face ready to hit you.”
My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t look the other way, Hadley. Men like him are dangerous.”
“You know who is dangerous? Men like you,” I snarl. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but I’d bet my life that Machlan didn’t start it. And I’d bet even more that he’d never hurt me. This call you just made? It was to hurt me as a way to hurt him because you obviously feel like he got one over on you today.”
“Hadley—”
“Goodbye, Spencer.”
I end the call. Stepping out of the car, I head for the stairs and decide how to find Machlan. The railing wiggles as I yank on it and start the ascent. Only then do I hear Navie.
“Hey, Hadley!” she exclaims, popping her earbuds out of her ears. “How are you?”
I don’t stop. “Good. How’s it going?”
She laughs. “Good. Machlan taught me how to do the ordering today, so I think that means I have some job security.”
My foot falters. I turn to her, my hand on the rail. “Mach was here today?”
“He came in about halfway through lunch. I’d keep some distance today. He’s in a really bad mood.”
“Hey, Navie,” Machlan’s voice drifts through the air.
I look up. His eyes meet mine somewhere over the ashtray, and he clearly didn’t expect to see me.
My heart slams against my ribcage, my breath caught in a gasp and an exhale. Whether it’s the way he holds his body or the steeliness of his eyes, I don’t know. But I can’t smile or walk to him. That much I know.
He holds my gaze for a long second, maybe even two, before he gives me a twitch of a smile and turns to Navie.