In Seconds

Rex surprised him with an outright laugh. “That so? Guess I know how I missed it, then.”

“What do you do?” Myles asked.

Lifting his cup in a taunting salute, he sobered but a faint smile remained. “Whatever I want, Sheriff.”

“I figure whatever you’ve been doing must’ve been important. Otherwise, I’m sure you would’ve shown up long before now, given the fact that Vivian could use a hand around here.”

That mocking smile finally disappeared. “You know, I’m not particularly fond of anyone who wears a uniform. You might’ve noticed.”

“Oh, yes, I’ve noticed. And I’m guessing it comes from past experience.” He turned to go, but Jake grabbed his hand.

“Wait! You’re leaving?”

“I’ve got to get to work, buddy.”

“But you’re coming to dinner tonight? So we can cook the fish? You said you would.”

One glance at the stone-faced Rex and embarrassed Vivian, and Myles decided he should’ve listened to his better judgment yesterday. Whatever he’d felt when he was with Vivian last night…he must’ve been confused or looking for an escape from the tedium that’d become his life. Vivian was beautiful; there was no question about that. And there was something about her that stirred him on a very deep level. But he wasn’t about to get involved in some kind of love triangle. If Vivian wanted this guy, who was obviously not a productive member of society, she could have him.

“Actually, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me and I’ll probably have to work late.” He mussed Jake’s hair, hoping a bit of affection would soften any disappointment. “But I’m sure Uncle Rex will be happy to help out.”

It was small consolation that Jake didn’t seem enthusiastic about the substitution. “I don’t think he cooks,” he said with a frown. “He doesn’t even eat much.”

Myles wanted to say that drug addicts rarely do but bit his tongue.

“Anyone can fry a fish,” Rex muttered, and Myles accepted that as the end of it.

Without acknowledging Vivian, he offered Jake and Mia a quick goodbye and left. Then he sat in his car for several seconds before starting it, wondering why he felt sick.

Vivian cradled her head in her hands. “That went well,” she groaned.

Rex continued to nurse his coffee. “What is he to you?”

Jake dragged his precious cooler to the fridge. “I told you, he’s our neighbor.”

“Friendly guy.”

Vivian couldn’t resist the urge to defend Myles. “You started it.”

“So? I didn’t like the look of him.” Rex watched her with heavy-lidded eyes. He was sexy—she had to give him that, even when she was angry with him. The pretty face that’d earned him his nickname was so appealing, so arresting. It didn’t matter that he was haggard and spent after doing God knows what to himself for the past few weeks, months, years. He was as much a danger to her peace and well-being as The Crew. She couldn’t love someone who was so broken. She was too broken herself.

“It was the look of him that made you so unfriendly?”

“Maybe it was the way he looked at you.”

Distracted from his catch, Jake’s attention shifted between them as if he was watching a Ping-Pong match. No doubt he could feel the undercurrent, and Vivian didn’t want that. She lifted one hand. “Let’s just…let it go.”

Rex opened his mouth to argue, seemed to realize he had no right, and finished his coffee instead. But she could tell he understood that Myles was a bit more than the average neighbor. And he wasn’t happy about it. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation, either. Especially because, when she was with Rex, the comfort of the familiar engulfed her, made her want to slide down the mountain she’d climbed, right into his open arms.

Hoping to dispel the sudden gloom that hung over her, Vivian stood and tried to infuse her voice with some enthusiasm. “Who wants pancakes for breakfast?”

“The sheriff already made us pancakes.” Jake moved his fish into the fridge before taking his cooler outside to empty out the water and ice.

During his absence, Mia twirled around in the middle of the floor. “He made my pancake look like Mickey Mouse.”

“He’s a regular father figure,” Rex drawled.

The phone rang, giving Vivian an excuse not to respond. But once she picked up, she wasn’t sure this conversation was going to be any easier than the confrontation she’d avoided. It was Virgil. And he started by saying he had bad news.

“What kind of bad news?” she asked.

Hearing this, Rex came forward. She could feel him, standing directly behind her.

“Ink broke out of prison a week ago.”

Vivian felt as if the floor had just dropped out from under her. Ink was the man she feared more than any other; it was his face that appeared in her nightmares and woke her in a cold sweat. “Out of Corcoran? How?”

“Out of the California Men’s Colony. The details are sketchy but I was told they cut through the fence around the yard.”