I’m in Marissa’s apartment. Sitting on the couch with her lifeless body only feet away from me. Jason flashes me a look of betrayal as the police come swarming inside. Then he lunges at them with his bloody knife outstretched. He shouts, “You won’t take her away from me! I won’t let you!”
They warned him to stop. To drop the knife.
He didn’t.
And less than thirty seconds later, he was dead, too.
My fault. My fault. My fault.
“Hazel, sweetheart,” Alec croons. He pulls me into his arms. “Hey. Come back to me. It’s okay.”
“Hands in the air!” one of the officers shouts. “Everyone. Hands in the air. And step away from each other!”
I would. But I can’t make myself move.
Alec jerks his head towards him. “I’m not leaving Hazel,” he snaps. “Arrest me if you want.”
“Hands in the air!” the same officer snaps. Then in a more conciliatory tone, he adds, “Emerson. Come on. You know how it’s done.”
The tension thickens. Alec’s arms go rigid around me. In almost a growl, he continues, “She needs me. I’m not leaving. Period.”
There’s a long moment when I’m not sure which way things will go.
Then the officer—Dwight? Dwayne? Dylan?—backs down. “Fine,” he concedes. “Just don’t move. Okay?”
“Fine,” Alec grits out. Then he turns his attention back to me. His gaze is dark with regret. “Haze. You’re okay. You’re safe. I promise.”
I force myself to nod at him. Then I bury my face in his neck. He strokes my back and kisses my hair, telling me I’m safe over and over again. The desperate way he says it sounds like it’s as much for me as it is for him.
I know I’m safe. For now.
But what about the next time?
And who else will be hurt because of me?
CHAPTER 10
ALEC
I can’t decidewho I’m angrier with.
That piece of shit asshole who came after Hazel, or myself for not anticipating something like this.
When Hazel asked about going in to work, I should have said no. I should have been firm about it, instead of caving the moment I caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes. I should have come up with another way for her to make money in the interim; a loan, doing admin work remotely for my company,anythingother than allowing her to go back to Blissful Brews.
Instinct told me to keep her on the GMG property, but I allowed my emotions to make the decision instead.
I thought bringing Hazel to work would make her happy. And I prioritized that over everything else.
Instead, she was traumatized all over again.
“There was no indication of this kind of attack,” Enzo reasoned during our emergency meeting afterwards. “The brakes, the break-in; those were targeted solely on Hazel. Staging an attack during the afternoon, in public, with multiple victims… that’s a much more aggressive approach.”
“Whoever’s behind this, they’re getting desperate,” Knox added. “My guess is, the pressure’s on. So they’re willing to take more risks.”
We were all seated around the conference table in our headquarters, a newly-built barn not far from Enzo’s house. Casual meetings we hold in his dining room. But when it comes to more serious matters, like someone busting into Blissful Brews with flashbangs and a loaded shotgun, we meet at HQ.
Not that there was much to discuss, given that the attacker refused to talk. If it had just been me and him, I would have used more creative methods of interrogation, like Ace’s team does out in Portland. But with an audience and the police on the way, I couldn’t.
