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Jules smiled softly up at me, her brown eyes gentle. She touched my cheek with reverent fingertips. I wanted nothing more than to stay there in bed with her, holding her all day.
But I tore myself away with one final squeeze to her hip. After cleaning myself up in the bathroom, I pulled on a fresh t-shirt and headed for the kitchen.
As I reached for the refrigerator door, a scrap of paper on the counter caught my attention. I stopped dead in my tracks. I always kept the kitchen spotless, everything neat and tidy in its place.
Upon closer inspection, the scrap of paper turned out to be envelope. Blank. No name, no address. I definitely hadn’t left it there, which meant someone had been in my apartment.
Tearing the envelope open, I found a picture inside. A picture of Jules and me in the parking lot of her family’s greenhouse. I had just pulled up to take her to the barbecue. She smiled against my lips as she kissed me, her arms flung around my neck.
Feeling sick, I turned the picture over. In the chunky black ink of marker, a phone number was scrawled, followed by the words:Let’s chat. Or your darling beauty finds herself in hot water.
Chapter Eight
Jules
By the time Tank dropped me off at the Fairbanks Farm Greenhouse, Crow was standing outside the shop entrance. I had no doubt that Bear would be guarding the farmhouse, tucked into the rear of the orchard. It sent a jolt of dread like lightning through my body to see them so present now when they had been invisible and silent before.
“Get your family, pack an overnight bag, and go to the clubhouse,” Tank said. “You’ll be safe there.”
I wanted to protest that I wasn’t going to hide. But Lars wasn’t just threatening me. He was threatening my family’s livelihood.
I gave Tank’s hand a squeeze. “Please be careful.”
He nodded grimly, his eyes hidden behind his aviator sunglasses. I hoped he would give me one final parting kiss or some words of reassurance. In the end, he simply stared at me for several seconds. That photo had bothered him, getting under his skin far deeper than he would admit. I knew he was beating himself up for dragging me into possible danger, even though it wasn’t his fault, no matter how many times I tried to remind of him of that.
The door of the greenhouse opened and seventeen-year-old Calvin stood on the threshold with a sticky six-year-old Katelyn in his arms. Her cheeks and fingers were stained purple with fruit juice. She must have raided the blueberries again. Calvin cast a wary glance at Crow before fully emerging into the parking lot to greet me. He’d probably been running the shop all morning.
“Mom said you called. Told us to pack up for a trip.”
I herded Calvin and Katelyn back toward the door. I didn’t want them in the open. Didn’t want Lars taking pictures of them, too.
“We’re going to visit some of my friends for a while,” I said.
“You mean that guy you’re dating,” Calvin replied. “The biker with the tattoos.”
I stifled a sigh. Everything had happened so fast that I didn’t have a chance to sit my family down and introduce them to Tank properly. I flipped the sign at the door from OPEN to CLOSED.
“Yes, it has to do with him,” I said. “His name is Tank. I’ll tell you more later. I promise. Right now, just pack up everything you need for a day or two, okay?”
I guided them out the back door of the shop, hurrying through the orchard to the farmhouse. I could just see the dark green roof above the treetops.
Then a shout went up, echoing through the orchard. Katelyn whimpered and buried her face in Calvin’s shoulder. I glanced in the direction of the sound to see black smoke billowing into the sky.
“No,” I whispered. “No, no, no.”
“Keep moving.”
I startled at the gravelly sound of Crow’s voice at my back. Flinching, I turned to face him but he was already cupping my elbow in one hand, his other arm going around Calvin’s shoulders. I hadn’t heard him approach, hadn’t even known he was following us. But that was the whole point he was here – to protect us, guard us while Tank was busy.
“Get to the farmhouse,” Crow added. “Bear is waiting there with the van.”
He ushered us down an aisle of peach trees, the sweet scent of ripe fruit a stark contrast to the burning scent of smoke beginning to thicken in the air.
At last, we reached the farmhouse. Mom was already seated in the van with Jayden. But Dad and Amelia were nowhere in sight. Bear stood at the front door of the house, one hand tucked into his leather vest as he scanned the horizon.
“Looks like trouble is moving in,” Crow said.
Bear nodded. He descended the steps, scooping Katelyn out of Calvin’s arms so Calvin could climb into the van.
