"She needs you to leave."
Holt's not moving. Not posturing. Just standing there like a wall.
Evan snaps.
I see his face twist and then he's lunging. Swinging at Holt—wild, furious—and the punch connects with Holt's jaw. The sound makes my stomach flip.
Holt barely blinks.
Then he moves.
Fast. Grabs Evan's arm, twists, and suddenly Evan's on the ground with Holt's knee on his chest. It happens in seconds. Less. Despite the prosthetic, Holt's balance is perfect. This isn't a bar fight. This is something else. This is military Holt.
"She said no." Quiet. Calm. "That's the end of it."
Evan's gasping. Face red. Eyes wide. He looks small down there. Smaller than I've ever seen him.
Holt just took him down. Barely tried. And Evan—Evan who always seemed so in control—is just a man on the concrete.
Truck doors slam outside.
Multiple trucks. Boots on pavement. The sound multiplies and the garage fills with bodies—Maeve climbing out of her pickup, the baker from down the street, someone from thediner. More. They come through the bay doors and form a wall around us, silent but there.
They came.
Finn called them and they came.
For me.
Finn's grinning. "Cavalry's here."
The sheriff walks in. Boots on concrete. He looks at Evan—still pinned, shirt rumpled, shoes scuffed—and takes in everything. "What's going on here?"
"This man showed up uninvited." My voice is steady. How is my voice steady? "He grabbed me when I told him to leave. Holt stopped him."
The sheriff looks at Evan. At the outsider who doesn't belong. "That true?"
"She's my—"
"She's nothing to you. Not anymore." The sheriff looks at Holt. "Let him up."
Holt stands. Steps back but stays close. He's right there—solid, unmovable.
Evan scrambles up. Adjusting his shirt, brushing off dust like he can salvage this. "She needs to come home—"
"Son." The sheriff's voice could freeze this heat. "I suggest you get back in your car and leave town."
"She made a commitment—"
"She is home." The sheriff gestures to everyone—Maeve with her arms crossed, the mechanic leaning in the doorway, Finn still grinning. All of them saying you're not welcome here. "And if you come back, you won't be leaving Coyote Bend in one piece. Understand?"
Evan looks around. At the crowd. At me standing next to Holt with my chin up and my shoulders back. At everything he just lost.
"You're making a mistake."
"The only mistake I made was staying with you as long as I did."
He flinches again. Like he can't believe I'm still talking back. Still standing.
