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Liv took her bags and turned to me again. She reached out, putting one thin, cold hand over mine. “Bless your heart, sweetie. I’m glad you’re up and about. Take care of yourself, ya hear?” She smiled widely and she leaned closer, whispering so that the crowd she’d been performing for couldn’t hear.
“This is my town. If there’s one thing you can be certain of, it’s that I can make life here for you very difficult. If you thought you could waltz in here and take anything you wanted, I’d reconsider your choices.” She pulled back, smiling that sickly sweet smile, and strutted out of the door.
The shop had gone eerily quiet. My skin prickled as I glanced around. People were staring, their lips pressed in thin lines and brows pulled low. A couple of women leaned toward each other, whispering.
My face heated and my heart thudded.
“Wren…” Faye said in a small voice, but I couldn’t look at her. I didn’t want to see her pity.
“I’ll see you later,” I said hastily and darted toward the exit.
I burst out into the fresh warm air, my chest tight. My eyes darted around, but I didn’t see Liv anywhere. With my head spinning, I headed toward the truck all the way on the other end of the street.
How far was Liv willing to go with this? I wrapped my arms around myself. The image of all those people in the boutique staring as Liv shouted about my private matters made me sick.
I knew people liked to gossip, but Liv had been right about one thing. I didn’t know how things worked here. Would people treat me differently after they heard I’d acted like an unstable nutcase?
My breaths became shallow as I stared at my feet. I concentrated on putting one in front of the other. I’d be at the truck soon.
I was passing a narrow alley between two buildings when something caught my eye. It looked like someone stood in the alley. Staring at me.
I turned, my blood turning to ice as I caught a glimpse of a man at the far end of the alleyway.
He was tall, wearing dark clothing. But there was something in the way he held himself, in the build of his shoulders and the style of his hair that reminded me of—Cain.
It felt like a punch to the gut as an all-consuming terror engulfed me. My skin broke out in a sweat, and I opened my mouth to scream when a car horn blared on the street. I jumped, glancing away for only a moment before returning to where Cain stood in the shadows.
Only he was gone.
