“Please turn around for me.”
My stomach sinks. To be honest, I don’t want to know why he’s requesting that. So, I do as he says. Giving him my back, I look out at the lake that has yet to freeze over.
I try to steady my breathing. My heart doesn’t care, it’s slamming against my ribs hard enough to hurt.
“Do you have a cat?”
The urge to look at him nearly cracks me in half. “Yes.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“Yes… she’s inside.”
“You sure?”
I’d just seen her. I’mpositive.But the way he asks makes my skin crawl. “Yes. She’s probably waiting for me to come back in. Why?”
He releases a sigh, then comes the rough rubbing of cardboard as he closes the box.
“Can I turn around?”
“Mhmm.”
I spin back to see him already on his feet, the box shut and tucked under his arm.
“So…?”
“Let me take care of this for you. It’s nothing you want.”
Terror slides deeper into my chest than before—worse than his questions about Clover. “Tell me. Please, Levi.”
He rubs the back of his neck, fingers threading into his black, silky hair. For one split second, the gentleness I’ve come to know vanishes. That saying when someone’s eyes go dark, yeah,thisis what that looks like.
Holy shit.
Before I can process any fear, that expression is gone. His lips curve into that easy smile again. “Don’t worry about it. Do meanother favor though, okay?”
I slowly nod my head.
“Just message me if you get anything else like this. In the event we are out of town, just take the box to Echo Ridge.”
He begins to walk past me, and I try to look, even draw in a long breath, but don’t see or smell anything. “But shouldn’t I report it if it’s something bad?”
“It’s a scare tactic…”
“And? What if?—”
“It won’t do any good but give the sender what they wanted. To scare you. I know I’ve not done a lot to ask this, but, can you just trust me on this one? Let me, and Evelyn, take care of it.”
I roll my lips together, thinking, before nodding to myself. “Okay. Thanks so much, Levi…”
He pauses mid step, his back to me, then takes a deep breath. “No problem. We want this community… quiet. We can’t have anyone coming in and fucking that up.”
My brows pinch. “Oh…” I really hope he isn’t talking about me.
“You’re smart, Ayden.” He releases a low, sultry chuckle. “Listen to your gut,always.”
My cell vibrates in my pocket, and I jump in surprise. I fumble for it before pulling it out to see a text in the Sapphire Valley chat.
