Levi gasps. “I do not cry.”
Sadie’s eyes flick to him. “You cried when you dropped your burrito last month.”
“That was grief,” Levi argues.
I don’t have time for this circus, but the truth is, Ellie’s shoulders loosen a fraction when they bicker. The tension in her throat eases. The fear dims—just slightly.
It pisses me off that it takes my friends making jokes to do what I can’t.
I shift my stance, blocking the alley with my body while I punch in the code Saxon got from the sheriff’s office. The lock clicks. I open the door and gesture Ellie inside.
Levi leans toward the opening like a vulture. “Chocolate. Now.”
Ellie shoots him a look. “Touch anything in my shop and I’ll?—”
“You’ll what?” Levi teases. “Stab me with a truffle?”
Sadie’s voice cuts in, calm as a blade. “I’ll stab you with a stir stick.”
Levi pauses. Slowly looks at her. “Babe.”
Sadie smiles sweetly. “Try me.”
Levi immediately steps back. “Okay. No theft. I respect boundaries.”
I step inside first, scanning the dim back room. Nothing looks disturbed—no shattered glass, no obvious forced entry—but the air feels wrong. Like a space that’s been controlled by someone else.
Ellie moves past me, shoulders tight, eyes darting everywhere at once. Her shop is her heart. Seeing it locked up has to feel like someone put their hands around her throat.
I keep close—half a step behind, half a step to the side—making sure she stays in my line of sight.
“You can grab what you need,” I say quietly. “Fast.”
Ellie snaps on a light. The room brightens, revealing shelves of cocoa, sugar, molds, packaging. Her apron hangs on a hook like it’s waiting for her to come back.
Her jaw tightens.
She moves toward the storage closet, but the door is padlocked.
“Son of a—” She catches herself, then hisses, “He locked the storage too.”
My hands curl into fists.
Levi strolls in behind us like he wasn’t just threatened with death by stir stick. “Wow. Banker ex is thorough.”
Ellie whips around. “Get out.”
Levi holds up his hands. “Fine. I’m out. But first—” He points toward a box of truffles on the counter. “One.”
Ellie’s eyes blaze. “No.”
Levi looks to me like I’m the judge. “Wyatt.”
I stare at him.
Levi grins. “That’s a yes.”
Sadie appears in the doorway, eyes on Levi. “Levi.”
