“You publicly accused him of putting his hands on Miss March and then threatened to murder him. Is that correct?”
“Who told you that?”
“I need you to answer the question, Mr. Hayes.”
“I said, ‘Get out before I murder you.’”
The deputy wrote something down. “Is it also true that you’ve assaulted Miss March more than once?”
Noah flinched. “Where are you getting your information?”
“That’s not relevant. I’ve been informed that you put your hands around her throat. You also shoved her. And you threatened to hit her. So you have a record of violence. Is that correct?”
Noah didn’t just flinch this time, it was a whole-body jerk. Because it was true. All of it. And when said out loud like that, it made him feel like the scumbag he sometimes thought he was. “That has nothing to do with this.”
“That’s not what I asked you. I asked you if it was true.”
“Yes,” Noah growled between gritted teeth. “But it’s out of context. I wouldneverintentionally hurt her. And I didn’t kill Rhett.”
“But you do suffer from flashbacks from your time in the military, during which you lose control, right?”
Where the fuck was he getting this information? “That has nothing to do with Rhett’s murder. This interview’s over.”
He turned and moved toward his car.
“Mr. Hayes.”
He ignored the deputy, and from his peripheral vision, he saw Jesse look up from where he was talking to another officer before calling for him.
“Where are you going?” Jesse called.
“Unless I’m under arrest, I’m leaving.” He went straight to Addie, who was looking at him now, concern on her face.
She met him halfway across the lot. “Are you okay?”
“I’m going to head home.”
“I’ll go with you.”
A part of him wanted to say no. Because the deputy had been right. He’d done all those things. And it made every fear about Addie not being safe with him, every doubt about whether he should be with her, come to life.
She pressed her palm to his chest. “Noah—”
“Come on. Let’s get you home.” He pressed a hand to the small of her back and led her toward her car. But even touching her made something inside him want to retreat. To pull back. To put as much distance between them as possible to keep her safe from him.
“You’re not safe,”her father growled. “You’re coming home,now.”
Addie lowered her head into her hand, the phone feeling heavy as she ran her gaze over the bed sheet. She’d wanted time before telling her parents, but Rhett’s murder would be on the news and she’d prefer they found out from her.
She’d expected the conversation to be bad…but this was worse. “I haven’t changed my mind about staying here.” She closed her eyes against the string of stern words from her father and the pleas from her mother that followed.
“Addie, darling,” her mother said, sounding desperate. “We just want you safe.”
“I know. I want to be safe too. And I will be. This person murdered someone. They had to have left some evidence, and Jesse will find it.”
“That someone was killed inyouroffice,” her father pushed, a mixture of fear and rage in his voice. “They wrote you a message in the guy’s blood.”
Her stomach rolled. “I know. I saw it. But I haven’t been hurt. Not once. I’m living with Noah, who’s a former Marine. Colt, the other owner at the park, is also a Marine. Jesse, our town sheriff, was special operations in the military. I’m as safe as Icanbe.”
