I jumped from the wreck and stumbled to the ground, the split second of freefall sending adrenaline shooting through me, my eyes fixated on the gun. My heart knocked hard against my ribs.
Did Harvey put her up to this?
The woods around me slid out of focus.
Did he know it was me, ordering her services? I’d used a fake name and my cabin up in the woods instead of my town address.
But Harvey had eyes everywhere, and this was a tiny town. Belonged to him more than it had ever belonged to me. He’d started pursuing crime way before I started fighting for justice.
And he’d outlasted me too. My easy money had pulled me out of the game.
Or had it?
Maybe youcouldn’tretire out of a vendetta with East Greenwich’s crime kingpin. Maybe he’d kill you whenever, wherever, no matter what.
He’d even send the woman you loved to shoot you dead.
eleven
. . .
Mia
I wokeup on a couch that wasn’t my own.
I was sure of it, because I didn’t own a couch here in East Greenwich.
My arms and legs were so damn cold, which didn’t make any sense either, with the crackle of a fire nearby.
I blinked my eyes open.
The cabin.
The accident.
Armin.
Details came back, slow. My head ached viciously, and I recalled that we’d been using whiskey as my main painkiller, while Armin snapped my dislocated body parts back into place. But I didn’t feel hung over, exactly. Maybe because I was still drunk.
I struggled to push myself up to seated. It didn’t feel great, but I wasn’t screaming about it anymore, either.
“You’re awake.”
Armin’s voice from behind me. He brought a refilled plate of snacks and dragged an upturned crate over as a makeshift end table. “I didn’t manage to get off the mountain to get you realfood, so we’ll have to make do with this for another hour or two.” He reached out and lay my phone next to the plate. “Your phone was wedged up in the dash. Might not even have any damage to it. I didn’t check. And your purse is by the door. That one I had to dig up out of the muck.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Sure. I also called your employer, so, uh, they won’t be expecting you for another couple of days. Or more, if you want. It’s, um, up to you. I got the tree divided up but I needed more equipment to drag it out of the road. So I’m going to load up and head back out in a moment to take care of that.”
I nodded. The room swam, violently, this time.
God, how much had I drank? I lay back down. Sitting wasn’t as painful, but it still wasn’t for me. I reached for the blanket, but Armin beat me to it and covered me over.
“Then I’ll go and grab us some food from Martin’s. Any requests?”
“I trust your judgement,” I said. My voice sounded small and far away.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll try not to let you down, but Martin’s is a little limited. Except in ice cream.”
