It was a lie. I knew it, and she knew I knew it. But pushing harder would only make her retreat, so I nodded and started walking again.
“If that changes,” I said quietly, “if you need help withanything, you tell me. Alright?”
“Alright.”
The walk back felt strange, both of us holding secrets. Mine was the golden mark on my wrist and hers was whatever had her scanning every face we passed. I couldn’t let loose the feeling that something was about to break our fragile peace, that the world was about to tilt beneath our feet.
We reached the pottery barn as a familiar figure appeared in the doorway. Dungar stood there in his full sheriff’s uniform, his badge catching the afternoon sunlight and his expression serious.
Allie froze beside me.
“Afternoon, brother,” I said, but my attention was on Allie, who looked like she was about to pivot and run.
“Hail.” Dungar nodded, his gaze only on Allie. “You must be the woman everyone’s talking about.”
Allie’s face had gone pale, her eyes fixed on the sheriff’s badge pinned to Dungar’s chest. Every muscle in her body was coiled.
“This is Allie,” I said carefully, moving closer to her. “She’s working wi-with me now.”
“Nice to meet you,” Dungar said. I could see him taking in her reaction, filing it away for consideration.
“Hi,” Allie said, her voice barely a whisper.
The silence stretched uncomfortably, and I stepped between them, blocking Dungar’s view of her.
Something was very, very wrong.
Chapter 7
Allie
The sheriff’s badge caught the afternoon light like a warning beacon, and every instinct I had screamed at me to run. The familiar copper taste of fear filled my mouth, the same taste I’d woken to every morning for years now. It was becoming as much a part of me as my heartbeat, this constant readiness to flee, my muscles coiled tight enough to snap.
My legs actually twitched with the urge to bolt, but Hail stepped closer to me.
There was something about this male I couldn’t explain that cut through the panic. Like finding solid ground in quicksand. I’d never felt this before with anyone, this instant sense of safety. It terrified me almost as much as Dungar’s badge, because safety was the most dangerous illusion of all.
“Nice to meet you.” Dungar’s dark eyes took in everything, including my reaction to his uniform, the way I’d gone pale, how I was practically panting with the need to escape. He was a cop, all right. Even if this was some tiny tourist town in the middle of nowhere, he had that look they all got when they sensed something was off.
I forced a nod, hoping he couldn’t see how badly my fingers were trembling. “You too.”
“Should we go inside?” Hail gestured toward the pottery barn. “I was about to show Allie more glazing techniques.”
“Good idea.” Dungar still watched me with that cop expression that made my skin crawl.
We walked inside, and I tried to focus on breathing normally. This was fine. I was fine. Just because he wore a badge didn’t mean he was here for me. He was Hail’s brother. Family visit. Nothing more.
Before everything fell apart, I wasn’t the type to lie about my abilities. I’d been confident, maybe even proud of what I could do. But that woman seemed like a stranger now, someone I’d watched in a movie once and vaguely remembered. They’d taken that from me too, along with everything else.
“So you’re the sheriff here?” I asked, trying to sound casual and probably failing miserably.
“That’s right.” Dungar leaned back against one of the workbenches. “Though it’s more of an honorary title. We needed someone to keep order for the tourists, handle any disputes that come up.”
“But you can make arrests?” The question popped out before I could stop it.
Dungar’s brow ridge rose. “If needed, yes. Though mostly I arrest people for charity.”
My blood turned to ice. “What?”
