I Don't Come Back to My Alpha Again novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The Boathouse

I typed back with my thumb shaking.

"Can I see you? Anywhere you want."

The dots came and went three times.

Then: "Boathouse. Tomorrow. 4. Don't bring anyone."

I looked at Beck.

He was propped on one elbow, reading over my shoulder without his glasses, squinting.

"He said don't bring anyone," I said.

"I heard."

"You're coming."

"Obviously," he said, and lay back down.

The old boathouse sat at the north end of the lake, where the pines came right down to the water.

Nobody used it anymore. The roof sagged, and the paint had peeled off in long gray strips.

I hadn't been near it in five years.

The last time, I'd been in handcuffs.

Tobin was sitting on the end of the dock with his basketball between his feet, staring at the water.

He looked up when he heard us, and his face went dark.

"I said don't bring anyone."

"He's not anyone," I said. "He's the man who measured the tracks that night."

Tobin's eyes narrowed at Beck.

"You're the guy from the cabin."

"I'm the guy from the cabin."

"You're sleeping with my mom."

Beck didn't blink. "That's your mom's business."

"That's a yes."

"That's your mom's business," Beck repeated, perfectly calm.

Tobin glared at him for a long moment.

Then, unexpectedly, the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Okay," he said. "Whatever."

I sat down on the dock beside him, not too close.

"Where did you find that photo?"

"Dad's old cloud account. I know his password." He shrugged. "It's my birthday. It's been my birthday since I was six."

"Of course it is."

"I was looking for pictures of me when I was little." He kicked the ball gently. "There's like ten of Coral at the lake that week. Swimming. Lying on the dock. Arms all over the place." He looked at me sideways. "At the hearing she wore long sleeves. I remember. She rolled one up to show the council and everybody gasped. And it was all red and ugly and puckered."

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