He looked up, pain darkening his brown eyes. “I loved her. Likereallyloved her. And I thought we were it. I’m not the type who gets involved with a woman who’s already in a relationship. I didn’t want to do that to Cody, but…I really believed that she loved me too.”
“Sometimes we think we know a person when we don’t.” When he didn’t respond, she touched his arm. “I’m sorry, Miles, but you’re the last customer, and we really need to close up.” She felt awful making him go, because she could just about feel the pain cascading off him, but she barely knew the guy. She wasn’t in a position to help him.
Miles sighed and shuffled to his feet.
Harper turned to see Cody was on the phone, frowning, his voice loud enough to hear across the quiet room. “Yeah, he’s here at the bar. Harper’s just seeing him out.”
Who was he talking to?
Cody’s muscles visibly tensed. “Someonebeather?”
Her breath caught. Eastern. He had to be talking to Eastern. Who’d been beaten?
Cody’s gaze moved to Miles. “I won’t let him leave.”
Something cold and uncomfortable slid over Harper’s skin. Was he talking aboutVanessa? And Miles was a suspect?
Her eyes swung back to Miles, and she took a quick step back, suddenly wondering if he really was a victim…or if he was a perpetrator.
“Grip those beerbottles any tighter and they’ll explode in your hands, son.”
Cody shifted his gaze from Harper and Miles to Barry. “I’m still thinking about Travis.”
“Why?”
“Eastern said they put a lot of pressure on him to admit to the fires and the alley attack on Harper, but he never caved.”
Barry frowned. “What are you thinking?”
“That my brother’s good at what he does, and Travis is weak and should have admitted to everything by now.”
There was a moment of pause before Barry stepped closer. “Travis was found passed out on the lawn three houses down from Vanessa’s place. He had matches and stunk of gasoline.”
“I know that. But doesn’t that seem too easy? And based on how drunk he was, how could he have set that fire so carefully? Eastern said he was so wasted he blew off the charts, yet whoever set that fire broke in through the back door, threw gasoline all over Vanessa’s couch, and set it ablaze—without leaving any evidence. Not even fingerprints.”
Barry was silent for a moment, as if turning over what Cody said in his head. “So, you’re suggesting someone else set those fires, and is possibly responsible for Harper’s attack, and that person is framing Travis.”
“Travis would be an easy target. The town troublemaker. Not liked by many. Always drunk.”
“Okay, but who would—”
Barry’s words were cut off by the ringing of Cody’s phone. He pulled it out to see his brother’s name on the screen. “Eastern?”
Wind blew over the line. “Hey. I’m looking for Miles Whitley. You seen him?”
“Yeah, he’s here at the bar. Harper’s just seeing him out.”
“Don’t let him leave.” There was an urgency to Eastern’s words that had Cody’s muscles locking.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Vanessa went back to her house to pack a few things and she was beaten up.”
“Someonebeather?” His fingers tightened around the phone.
“Yeah. Pretty badly, too. She was found unconscious and rushed to emergency. A neighbor heard her screaming and called the police. They also reported seeing a man who fit Miles’s description leaving her house.”
Motherfucker. His gaze rose to see Harper and Miles standing close together. “I won’t let him leave.” Then, he lowered his voice. “Stay on the line.”
