“What about me? Last I checked, there’s still a psycho after me.”
His smile falls just a bit. “Yeah, but you’re happy. Sawyer makes you happy.”
“He does.”
“Good. Then I don’t have to break his legs.”
I roll my eyes and retrieve a pot to fill with water. “You guys are ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously protective of you,” he replies.
As the pot fills, I pull out a deep skillet and start pre-heating it. The pause in activity gives me a moment to wrap my mind around everything that just happened. Around the truth that I hadn’t wanted to believe. “He was going to kill them both,” I tell Weston.
“Yes. He was.”
“I walked Sawyer into a trap.”
“While I don’t agree with you coming back, Sawyer walked himself into it, knowing what it was.”
“Jack—”
“Is not the reason Sawyer did that, and you know it. Sure, losing Jack would have been horrible, but any one of the rest of us would have sent the cavalry in instead of risking you by bringing you back here.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That Sawyer respects your opinion. Now, if the psycho had requested that you go after Jack, he would have taken that boat to the edge of the world.” He chuckles softly.
Tears blur my vision. I am so tired of crying. “I want to get to a place where he doesn’t have to risk his life for me.”
“You will. We’ll catch this guy. Now, put me to work, chef.” He claps his hands together, and I smile.
Weston loves to cook. Like, loves it. Probably partially because he doesn’t get a whole lot of time to actually prepare food. But his smoked brisket? It’s legendary in Stormwatch Landing. During the fall, I sell his brisket chili in the shop. Most days, we sell out before lunchtime.
“You start on the sauce.” I point to some jars of marinara I canned right before this nightmare started. “Meat is thawed in the fridge.”
“You’ve got it, boss.”
As we cook, we fall into enough of a rhythm that my mind begins to wander again.
What’s next?
Will this guy still come after me even though Sawyer and Jack both escaped? Will he disappear just like he did after killing Violet?
Somehow, I very much doubt that.
So what then? What’s going to be his next move? Will he decide that catching me is too much trouble and opt to blow up my coffee shop—me inside—instead? My stomach twists at the thought. Especially because of the three men currently inside with me.
Will he go after my mom?
Zane?
Tessa?
Weston’s phone rings. “Hayes,” he answers. His gaze locks on mine. “You’re sure? Okay. We’ll be right there.” He ends the call and shoves it back into his pocket.
“What is it?”
“Leopold thinks they caught the guy.”
