“And they manufactured all the official documents they supplied me with? I’m sure you read the article,so you saw what I cited. Sebastian lied in his reports. It contradicts the findings in the autopsies of those three soldiers you shot, Stone.”
“I didn’t shoot?—”
“What is wrong with you?” Hawk’s voice boomed as he walked over to the booth. “Laurel, you’ve done what you came here to do. You need to leave.”
“Actually, I came here to get breakfast. Finding these two here was just icing on the cake.” She looked over her shoulder at the dessert display. “Or maybe I should say ‘whipped topping on the pie’?”
“I think you should say ‘goodbye’ and get out of town.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be gone in a few days, don’t you worry. I’ve got a job interview in New York City with a big news outlet. Until then, I won’t stop trying to get you to agree to an exclusive interview. Can you imagine being the reporter to interview both sides of a story that’s catching attention like a wildfire?”
“Who’s your source, Lo?” Gage growled.
“Can’t divulge that information, handsome. Sorry. But if you wanted to get the team to agree to sit down with me, there’s always the possibility I slip up and say something I shouldn’t. Let me know by tomorrow.”
Laurel turned, colliding with Jessie who was trying to pass with a smoothie. The pink and purple mixture flew out of Jessie’s hands, landing right down the front of Laurel’s designer outfit.
Perfect karma.
Unfortunately, Laurel didn’t seem to find the accident funny, because in one blink she was spinning on Jessie, her hands flying up to push Jess to the ground.
“Fuck,” Gage mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Laurel and spun her out of the way just as Jessie landed on the ground, screaming out as her hands hitthe floor.
Stone was moving towards Jess just as fast as Gage was working to cage Lo in, because the second he heard Jess scream, Hawk looked like he was about to kill someone.
Hawk dropped to his knees next to Jessie, cradling the wrist she was still clutching in her other hand.
“Shit, Doc?”
“You gotta let go of her, Phoenix, so I can see what we’re dealing with.”
Hawk didn’t move.
“Hawk?” Jessie whispered, her eyes wide and wet from her tears.
“I’m afraid if I let go, I’ll forget that it was a woman who hurt you. I don’t hurt women, but I want to hurt the person who hurt you…”
“Jessie!” Dolly’s voice carried over to them from the kitchen doorway. Stone looked up, and nearly every person in the diner was focused right on them. A figure moved at the back of the crowd and Stone’s eyes focused on a face he hadn’t seen in years. And just as quickly as he’d seen it, in one single blink, it was gone.
What the fuck? Stone shook his head. Had he really just seen…
Arguing broke through his confusion. Stone narrowed his eyes to Gage and Laurel.
“Jessie, you want us to call Colt?” Gage asked. “You can press charges against Laurel.”
“What are you even talking about? She assaulted me with that drink first.”
“Lo, don’t say another word.” Hawk growled.
“No.” Jessie said, slipping her hand out of Hawk’s hold and grimacing as she stood. “I don’t want to press charges. It’s just a sprain, if anything at all. But you’re not welcome here anymore. Not in this diner, and not in this town.”
“Funny, little girl. I don’t see your name on the welcome sign for Silver Springs,” Laurel hissed.
“Actually.” Jessie squared her shoulders and took a step towards Laurel. “My nameison the sign. Right next to the ‘founded by’. My family built this town. My brother,a sheriff’s deputy, would be happy to show you the words as he escorts your sorry behind from our beautiful town.”
“Hawk, you did always have a thing for feisty women,” Laurel laughed as she pulled her arm out of Gage’s grip. “No need to escort me anywhere. I’ve got exactly what I came here for. Enjoy my leftovers, honey.” Lo’s eyes raked over Hawk before turning back to Jessie. “If memory serves me, he’s ticklish, but only on his left side.”
Stone stared at Hawk as all the color drained from his face. His hand still held on to Jessie’s injured wrist, until she finally turned and pulled it away from him.
