Crash and Burn Read Online Free

walked over. Diego’s wasn’t a dive bar—not on the tourist-driven peninsula—but it wasn’t a trendy hangout for Orange County’s gorgeous people.
    “I thought you might’ve left.”
    “Five minutes and ticking,” she said. She grabbed her water bottle and motioned for him to follow her to a table along the wall. She pushed the empty mugs aside. Almost immediately, Heather came over and cleared them, giving the table a quick wipe.
    “Can I get you anything?” She spoke to Scarlet, but glanced at Jim.
    “No,” Scarlet said. “Just a quick meeting.”
    Heather left and Jim sat across from her. Scarlet kept quiet. She could ask questions, but there was something about this situation—from the minute she saw the accident—that rubbed her wrong.
    It didn’t take Jim long to talk. “Wendy is crazy.”
    “So you said.”
    “The cops didn’t believe me. I could tell because they kept asking me the same question over and over. She followed me from work. I pulled over to turn around, to go back because I knew she was following me home. I’ve had to move twice so Wendy wouldn’t find me.”
    Scarlet pulled a small notebook and pen from her back pocket. “Jim Douglas, correct?” she said as she wrote.
    “Yes.”
    “Where do you work?”
    “I teach high school math. At IV Prep.”
    Ouch. That cost parents upwards of thirty thousand a year, more than many colleges. “And you left work today at what time?”
    “A little after four.”
    “When did you notice her following you?”
    “I was on the bridge and she pulled up next to me. I swear, I thought she was going to run me right off the road. I pulled ahead, didn’t know what to do, and she got stuck at a light. So I decided to turn around and head back to the school. But I couldn’t turn around, too many cars, and then she stopped in front of me and immediately backed into me. No one stopped—someone had to have seen it, but no one stopped until you did. I’d hoped you’d seen her—”
    “What did the CHP say?”
    “They just took our statements, but they’re not doing anything.”
    “File a restraining order—”
    “She already filed one against me and I’ve never done anything to her. I’ve been too nice.”
    Warning signs blinked in her head. “Go back. Tell me everything.” She was going to regret this.
    Jim swallowed. “Can I—get a beer?”
    “Are you twenty-one?” she said sarcastically. He obviously was, but he grated on her.
    “Yes, of course—” He stopped. “Look, I know what you think.”
    “I doubt it.” Scarlet motioned for Heather to bring her and Jim two drafts. When the waitress left, Jim took a healthy swig. Scarlet sipped, assessing him over the rim of her mug. She couldn’t figure out what game he might be playing, but she was still suspicious. Then again, she was suspicious of most everyone.
    “I started teaching at IV six years ago,” he said. “I was twenty-three, right out of college. Nothing happened between Wendy and me when she was a student—”
    “Stop. I don’t want to know anything else. I’m not taking this case.” What was it with men? Were they all idiots? All guided by their equipment below the belt?
    He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Wendy’s from a very wealthy family. She went to three different colleges and either got expelled or left. When she was nineteen, we got together—it was stupid, I know. But then, she went back East for college, and I didn’t think about her. Then she moved back home a few years later and we ran into each other again and… well, she was twenty-two . We dated for a few months, and I thought it would work, but she got possessive and she’s high strung and moody. She threw my high school basketball trophy out my apartment window! Cost me six hundred dollars to replace it. Then suddenly I’m served with a restraining order. But she’s the one who’s been following me. But I didn’t want to do anything about it because, well—” He stopped.