The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

After the sheriff left, Diana was sure Jed was going to tear a strip off of her, but he coolly walked away and got into his truck.

She called out to him. “Jed, nothing happened, other than Andy threatening to have me arrested.”

He turned and faced her with a sadness she’d not seen before, and it shredded her heart to think she could do that to another person. But what hurt even more was the fact that someone cared for her this much, and she could hurt them. She didn’t quite know how to handle it.

“Diana, the fact that he didn’t should tell you he has feelings for you. You know how I feel—I won’t play second. And I won’t allow a woman to play me.” He climbed into his truck and pulled the door shut, leaving Diana standing there watching as he drove away.

Diana didn’t have much time to brood, but what she really wanted to do was kick herself in the backside. Her cell phone rang from where it had been shoved in her SUV. She yanked the door open and grabbed it on the third ring before it could go to voicemail, setting her empty coffee cup on the seat.

“Diana here.” She was breathless from running.

“Diana… this is Bonnie.” It sounded as if she was crying. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from. And I’m sorry for what I said. You were right about everything. I’ve had time to think. I’d like to leave, if you’ll help, and see if Andy would agree to pay a settlement, and then I’ll move on.”

Diana gripped her phone and shut her eyes. Against her better judgment, she replied, “Okay, let me talk with Andy and see what I can do. But I’m warning you, Bonnie, no games.”

Bonnie really was crying, as she sniffed loudly on the other end. “Thank you, Diana. I truly am sorry for what I said before.”

Maybe it was curiosity that had her asking, “Bonnie, you said something when I was there about my mother drugging Todd. What was that about?” There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before Bonnie answered.

“Well, yes. Todd told me a while back what she’d done. Thinking back now, I’m pretty sure it was a warning to me. He said she also tried to say she was pregnant, and that it was his, but he’d laughed and told her he took care of that problem long ago, that no woman would ever have anything on him and only one was good enough to have his kid. Apparently, she’d slipped something into his drink, and when he woke up he called Andy. He was pretty messed up for a few days. He never knew what it was that she’d slipped him, or why she’d done it. She cleaned out his wallet, a few hundred dollars, and Todd set Andy loose.” Bonnie sighed on the other end. “Look, Diana, whatever your mama did was pretty bad, but Andy doing what he did to you kids—that wasn’t okay. I know there are a few other folks around who also believe it wasn’t right, but they’ll never admit it. Folks around here are scared. They don’t want to shake things up. They’re looking to protect themselves. I sure found out that no one likes to take a stand for the underdog. They would just as soon you go away than stir things up. So I’m leaving.”

Diana sighed, trying to formulate a plan. “Bonnie, let me see what I can do. How soon are you planning on leaving?” Diana reached for a pen tucked into her center console, and the pad of paper she always kept there, as well.

“Andy was here this morning, all fired up, and said that I have until tonight to be gone from town.” Bonnie’s voice caught, and she whimpered.

A tide of pain swept over Diana. Her stomach knotted when that all-too-familiar memory consumed her. The memories of the horror she’d lived through could still bring her to her knees. It was a fate she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy, and yet she could picture the same horror happening to Bonnie, and she wouldn’t stand for it.

“Don’t worry, Bonnie. I’ll get back to you before the day is out.”

She hung up the phone and went inside her cabin, changing into her dark pantsuit and flats and putting on a light touch of makeup, just powder and blush, so that she wouldn’t appear washed out. Then she brushed her long, tangled hair until it shone, and the unruly waves became manageable, then she tied it back into a ponytail and hurried to her vehicle. She stopped and glanced at the empty spot where Jed’s truck should have been. Oh Lord, she needed to tell Jed. It wasn’t right for her to go and say nothing. She owed him more, so she scribbled a note for him and tucked it in the front door, praying he’d see it and understand why.

Then she slid in under the steering wheel and drove out, determined to put an end to the feudal lord of the county and his heavy hand, once and for all.