The memory of what he’d done to that girl was punishment enough. He carried it with him like a scar, and the symbol he kept as a warning never to do it again.
But here he was.Again.
The fear twisted his gut. Because he knew what it meant, that if they kept pushing, if they wouldn’t stop, he might have to cross that line.
He might have to get violent. Really violent because Rory was bigger than that girl. Stronger, smarter. And he’d sworn he wouldn’t. Sworn he’d never step back into that place where the shadows ruled him.
And yet… he was already lying to himself and pretending he could make this go away with just a few letters or a warning.
Nope, didn’t work.
But there was still one more thing he could do. One last message he could send.
And maybe then Rory would finally understand that he meant business and leave.
30
THEY FAILED
“How are you feeling?” Gale asked when she showed up at the cabin on her parents’ property after work. She’d dropped her overnight bag on the bed and walked back out to sit next to him on the couch.
She hadn’t wanted to go back to the office earlier but needed to. Rory was in good hands on the farm.
All she needed to do was run home and get a change of clothes for work tomorrow.
“Better,” he said. “My head hurts but not as much as I thought it would. Most likely the adrenaline still from someone trying to kill me.”
She held the gag in place, barely.
What she couldn’t control were her fisted hands or the snarl that escaped through her clenched teeth.
“We are going to catch him,” she said. “This is way more personal now than it was.”
“Yeah,” he said. “For you. For me it’s always been personal even though we’ve been told enough it was random.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I never did. I believe Rene saw something she shouldn’t have. Or heard something. I don’t know. None of it ever made sense, but there was no other crime reported in the area either.”
“That we know of,” she said.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
There was a knock at the door so she got up to get it.
Her mother was standing there with a box in her hand. She grabbed it and moved in.
“Dinner,” her mother said. “Pork loin, mashed potatoes, gravy, baby carrots soft enough to not be loud if you crunch them, and a bottle of wine for Gale. I’m positive she needs it.”
She leaned in and kissed her mother’s cheek. “You’re a lifesaver. I was going to raid the mill if I had to.”
“That smells great,” Rory said. “I really appreciate it. And what you sent over earlier.”
“Think nothing of it,” her mother said. “Around here, we take care of our own.”
“That’s right. We always do. Which is why it kills me to think this is a local.”
“Gale,” he said. “It has to be. I’m sorry you want to think that way, but what other choice is there?”
