I gape at her. “And I thought I was addicted.”
We both laugh, and suddenly, it’s like the awkward drive never existed.
“If I show up to work one wheel down with the axel draggin’ I’ll never hear the end of it. I’m already on thin ice with West for—get down!” Raelynn shouts, shoving me, hard.
Teresa screams. Something grazes my cheek, stinging just below my right eye. I stumble, slamming my knee into the counter, and hit the ground.
By the time I look up, she’s halfway across the shop, racing straight for a man in a black suit. He ducks around one of the tables, picks up a chair, and throws it at her.
Her slide is worthy of Major League baseball. The chair sails over her head and hits another table. With a whimper, Teresa scrambles into the stock room. Someone else—the woman with the laptop?—screams. I think the couple escapes out the front door. Raelynn tackles the guy and grabs his arm.
Something in his hand hits the floor. She lunges, but he punches her in the stomach, then shoves her onto her back. Wrapping his fingers around her neck, he growls, “Fucking bitch.” But she escapes with one of West’s signature Krav Maga moves—slamming her hands against his wrists while her knee crushes his nuts.
The guy falls over with a high-pitched yelp. “Ain’t too bright, are you, asshole?” She flips him onto his back, but before she can pin one of his arms, he jerks the other up and catches her in the shoulder.
She goes down, and fear tightens a noose around my heart. “Raelynn!”
“Stay the fuck back!” In the second it takes her to glance over at me, the guy scrambles to his feet, grabs for something I can’t see, and sprints for the front door. “Don’t follow me!” she orders and takes off after him.
Like hell I’ll stay here. I think…in his hand…he had a gun. But as soon as I hit the sidewalk, Raelynn jogs back around the corner.
“I told you to stay inside.” She takes my arm and steers me back into the coffee shop. It’s empty. “Sugar? You still there?” she calls. “Teresa?”
The barista peeks her head out from the back room. Tears stain her cheeks. She’s shaking so hard, I grab a chair and carry it over to her. “The police are coming,” she manages.
I can hear Frank in my head.
“If trouble finds you, run.”
He warned me so many times. Don’t go over the speed limit or get a parking ticket. Don’t talk to the police. No hospitals. Free clinics only. Nothing that could leave a trail.
Nash Grace might have a birth certificate, social security number, and expired driver’s license, but he’s a figment of “Uncle” Duncan’s imagination. None of my paperwork will hold up if anyone looks too closely.
I edge toward the side door, three quick steps before I stop myself. What the fuck will Raelynn think if I bolt? And Teresa is still crying. I can’t just walk out on her.
“Nash?” Raelynn fastens her hands around my biceps and holds my gaze. “I can’t help you once the police get here.”
“Help me?” I’m confused. “With what?”
She gives Teresa a sideways glance, then lowers her voice. “That idjit tried to kill you, and I think you know why.”
My world grinds to a halt with all the grace of a semi truck. “No. That’s not possible.” Shaking off her hold, I take a quick step back. No one knows I’m alive. He couldn’t have been after me.
First the car accident. Now this.
She stares at me, disbelief shining in her eyes. “If he’d been a better shot, you’d be dead.” After a beat, she shakes her head. “You want to keep your secrets? Fine. For now. Go upstairs and lock the door. I’ll come get you when I’m done.”
I don’t move until she forcibly turns me toward the back door and gives me a light shove. Duncan. I have to call Duncan. He’ll know what to do.
He’ll tell you to run.
Every step feels like I’m carrying a thousand pounds on my shoulders. Raelynn’s voice carries after me, and I stop to listen. “When the police show up, sugar, you tell them that asshole came in, shot at me and you went to hide. We clear? I don’t know where the other folks got off to, but everythin’ happened so fast, they probably didn’t see shit.”
“You don’t want them to know Nash was here?” she asks with a tremble to her voice. “Why not? Is he in trouble?”
“I don’t know. But you can be damn sure I’m gonna find out.”
Shit.
