“Sam, you still there?”
“Yeah, just uh…finishing up for the night. Listen…you wanna meet in town for a beer?”
“At The Beaver? Not sure that’s such a great idea considering what just happened.”
“Then the seafood place.”
“Sure,” he huffed. “We can eat chicken. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
I stuck my head out just a little, checking to make sure it was all clear. “Yeah, I’ll meet you there.”
“Is everything okay? You sound distracted.”
When I was sure Cassidy wasn’t coming back out, I pushed off the building and headed toward the restaurant. “It’s all good. Just trying to keep my head in the game.”
“I’ll be there in ten. You can tell me all about it.”
As I tucked my phone away, I crossed the street, staying as far away from Cassidy as possible. If I walked past her window, I’d want to stop and stare. And if I stopped to stare, I’d want to go in. And then I’d push her up against the counter and fuck her, completely ruining any hopes I had of maintaining my distance and getting my head back in the game.
I was going to have to quit her cold turkey. That was the only way forward.
Parker was already waitingfor me when I got to Seafood & More. Then again, I may have doubled back to take one last look inside Once Upon A Bookseller to see if Cassidy was wearing a skirt today. Not that it mattered since I wasn’t going to see her again.
I was just curious.
Nodding to Parker, I took a seat, snatching the menu to study even though I had no desire to eat right now. My stomach was churning at the thought of giving Cassidy up, but worse was the thought of leaving her alone while Austin was still out there.
“How’s it going?”
“Not great,” he muttered, peeling the label on his bottle. “Pop is really worked up about proving Austin had a hand in this.” Shaking his head, he stared off into space. “I don’t know if we’re ever gonna get what we need.”
I knew it went against everything Ben Parker announced the other night, but I couldn’t see another way around it. “You have to use Knight. He’s here. He gets the situation.”
“Pop won’t have it. He doesn’t want any of us making a move and risking the family.”
“He’s risking the family by not taking out Austin,” I hissed, keeping my voice low.
“But he’s got a point. If anything happened to the fucker, we’d be the first under the microscope. Our family has had a rivalry with theirs for years. There’s no fucking way the whole town could ignore that fact if an investigation started.”
“What does Mav say?”
Blowing out a harsh breath, he leaned back in the booth. “He’s behind us one hundred percent, but his hands are tied. He can only look the other way so many times before things get pushed to a state level. Then he can’t do a damn thing to help.”
“It’s Montana. Aren’t you guys all about avenging your families and vigilante crap?”
He quirked an eyebrow at me. “We’re not superheroes.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to bring it up, not with all the other crap going on, but there were a few things that were bugging me. “Austin showed up at Cassidy’s house on Thanksgiving.”
His eyebrows shot up at the information. “Invited?”
“By her parents. She didn’t know until after the fact. He was pushy with her, and it got me wondering if…”
“If what?”
I checked to make sure no one else was close enough to hear anything. “He went after Bailey because she was with Liam.”
“Yeah,” he nodded.
