Hooked (TKO #2) by Ana Layne Page A

dances across my taste buds. As I finish that piece and reach for another, Garrett begins to speak and I almost wish he hadn’t.
    “So…Raegan, Lance tells me the two of you are on some sort of mission of goodwill, or whatever you want to call it.”
    Raegan reaches quickly for her glass of tea as she nearly begins choking on her pizza. Even I begin to gag as I try to swallow the bite I just took.
    “Mission of goodwill? What are we, superheroes?” she jokes.
    “You tell me.” His tone is serious, his eyes locked on the both of us, narrowing in.
    “I sure as hell know I’m not a superhero,” I retort, trying to lighten the mood. His gaze shifts to me, and my laughter stops. He’s clearly not joking.
    “We’re both a little concerned about Hilary,” Raegan says. “I wanted to talk to her and find out what’s really going on. I needed a friend when I went through this same thing for myself, and I couldn’t open up to anyone. I wanted to be that person for her.”
    “It’s not her dad doing it, though. It’s Travis. This is something you two probably have no business meddling in,” Garrett says gravely. “This isn’t the same thing you went through, not by a long shot. What do the messages even say? I want to know what you’re in the middle of.”
    She glances at me with sad eyes as she opens the messages and begins to scroll up to the very beginning.
    She takes a deep breath as she begins rattling off the beginning of the conversation. Raegan didn’t play around. She immediately expressed her concern for Hilary. When Raegan tells us the truth, the words twist in my gut.
    After a friendly exchange, Hilary admitted that Travis threatened to kill her if she tried to get help. Hilary explained he had a terrible temper, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Sex is something she dreads now, and she feels she has no way to escape him.
    My veins throb in my neck, and I can feel my blood begin to boil. Garrett’s face looks the same and I know what he’s about to say. This is more than Raegan needs to be involved in.
    “No more,” he snaps. “I know you feel bad for her, Raegan. Call the cops and report it. Let them deal with it.”
    “Yeah, I’ll call James right now,” she says sarcastically, referring to her ex-boyfriend. Oh, our little fireball Raegan. She’s not going to let this go without a fight. She’s already become emotionally involved.
    “Don’t go there, Raegan. Did you really have to bring him up?”
    “What?” she says defensively. “He’s a cop. You said to let the cops handle it.”
    “Cut the jokes, I’m serious. And don’t call him.”
    “Really? You don’t think I would actually call him, do you? Chill out. I want to help her, Garrett. It’s not right. He’s hurting her. He practically forces her to have sex. You heard the messages. She’s terrified of him.”
    “And it’s not our problem. Yes, I feel sorry for her but I’m not letting you get too heavily involved in this. Why would I risk you getting hurt?”
    “This is my fault,” I interrupt. “I should have never agreed to let Raegan step in and help me with this. This is my problem. I wish to hell I had never agreed to anything like this. I didn’t want to hear any of that because now I just want to fuck him up bad.”
    “She agreed to have lunch with me tomorrow,” Raegan says. “Let me do lunch and then I’ll wash my hands of this.”
    “No, dammit. You’re done now .” He throws his hands up in frustration. Raegan scowls as she drops her phone on the counter.
    “Don’t tell me what to do, Garrett. I want to do this and I’m going to. I told you I’ll be completely done after tomorrow.”
    I know she’s pregnant and all, but the two of them look like they may end up going at each other’s throats before this conversation is over. “What if I go to lunch with the two of them, Garrett?” I suggest. “She won’t be alone with her, and I can bring this back under my control.”
    “You two are