No. No. No.
“Is he here too?” The question slips out, my voice shaking with it, and I know any cover I may have had goes with it.
“No?” he answers like he’s asking a question.
“Juni?” Niamh steps up beside me, startling me a little, and I turn my wide eyes to her.
“I need to go.” My words tumble out.
“Hey,” her eyes flick to Ned and then back to me, “What is it? What did he say?”
“Can I grab another beer?” Ned asks, completely unaware, but he’s distracted on his phone, his thumbs moving over the screen, typing out a message. From this angle, I can just make out the contact name at the top of the screen.
Calvin Scott.
“Serve him,” I whisper to Niamh, “But I need to go. I need to speak to Silas.”
“Okay,” she touches my arm softly, “Let me call him; he can come pick you up.”
“The kids will be asleep,” I rush out, wincing. I had planned on leaving with Niamh at the end of the night, but this can’t wait. There’s no way he’s just come up with this bright idea. And I have to wonder if it’s come about because he knows this is where I am. He can’t just walk onto Knight Falls, but if he has an excuse to be here…
“Take my truck,” Niamh hands me her keys, “I’ll call Roman to get me.”
“Are you sure?” I hesitate.
“Positive,” she assures me. “It’s parked around the back. I couldn’t get a space on the street.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, grabbing my purse as I slip out from behind the bar and make my way toward the door. The air is still warm when I get outside, rushing around the side of the building and hit the button on the key to unlock the truck. The lights flash and just knowing I’ll be able to get to Silas inless than fifteen minutes is enough to settle the anxiety swarming my veins.
I tell myself to breathe, remind myself that I’m safe. Pulling the handle, I climb behind the wheel and turn over the engine, feeling it rumble to life, but just as I am pulling out of the space, I spot a figure standing on the sidewalk across the street.
My blood runs cold when I recognize the familiar bulky shape that looks all types of wrong. They’ve positioned themselves between two streetlights, the hood of their jacket up to hide their face. Slowly, they reach into their jacket, and that’s enough to kick me back to reality. My foot hits the gas pedal, and I don’t wait around to find out what they’re hiding in there. Tires squeal as I pull out onto the road and gun it away from the bar.
My heart sits in my throat, pulse pumping wildly the entire ride back to the ranch, and I’ve barely got the truck stopped when I’m throwing myself out of it. I rush toward the door, practically falling through it to find Silas on the couch.
He bolts up and is in front of me without me ever needing to utter a word.
“What is it?” He demands, looking behind me through the open door.
“He’s coming,” I rush out. “Calvin is coming here.”
“Breathe, Honeybee,” Silas pushes back the hair that’s fallen around my face, “How do you know this?”
“I saw someone who works for him at the bar,” I press my hand to my stomach as if that may help with the nausea, “He said he was there for Cal, that they were looking at buying property here as a secondary location.”
Silas’s brows twitch, and I can see him working over the information in his head. “Did he touch you?” He asks.
“No.” I shake my head. “But I saw the same person who was here the other night.”
A thundercloud passes over Silas’s eyes, darkening the amber in them. “Where?”
“After I got into the car,” I swallow thickly, “they didn’t do anything. Just stared at me.”
“Stay here,” he commands, moving away from me to grab his boots and hat from the hooks next to the door.
“Where are you going?” I rush to stop him, “Don’t leave, please.”
He halts his movements, his body vibrating when he looks at me again. “Please don’t.” My voice feels too small, too shaky.
