Something about the order cuts through the noise. I lock onto him.
Wyatt’s gaze holds mine for one beat—steady, grounding—and then he turns back to Graham like he’s decided something final.
“You want to talk legal?” Wyatt says. “Fine. You can talk to the sheriff.”
Graham’s eyes harden. “You think your little town badge scares me?”
Wyatt steps in close enough that Graham’s smile finally cracks. “No,” Wyatt says. “But my patience should.”
Graham’s composure slips—just slightly. “You can’t keep her,” he snaps, and the words are sharper than he intended, too possessive, too revealing.
The shop goes quiet.
Even Levi shuts up.
Wyatt stills, and for a second I swear I can see the exact moment his restraint fractures.
His hand shoots out, grabbing Graham’s wrist—hard. Not enough to break it, but enough to make Graham suck in a breath.
My stomach drops. “Wyatt?—”
Ethan steps forward instantly, voice firm. “Cooper.”
Wyatt doesn’t look away from Graham. “Say that again.”
Graham’s face goes pale for half a second, then goes red. “Get your hands off me.”
Wyatt’s eyes go cold. “Say. It. Again.”
Maddie’s hand clamps around my arm, pulling me backward, her voice steady in my ear. “I’ve got you.”
I stumble half a step into her, breath catching, and she positions herself between me and the men without hesitation. She’s small compared to them, but she feels like steel.
Sadie’s voice cuts in, sharp. “Wyatt, don’t.”
Levi mutters, “Ohhh this is about to get messy.”
Graham jerks his arm, trying to pull free. “This is assault,” he spits.
Wyatt tightens his grip. “You threatened my wife.”
Graham’s eyes flick to me over Wyatt’s shoulder, and the mask is gone now. His mouth curls. “Your wife,” he sneers. “She’ll get bored of you. She always comes back to me.”
My stomach twists.
Wyatt’s grip goes brutal for one terrifying second. Graham makes a sound—pain, shock—and I flinch.
“Wyatt,” I snap, voice sharper than I feel. “Stop.”
Wyatt’s head turns a fraction, eyes flashing. For a second he looks like he doesn’t know where he is—like he’s still in smoke, still in flames, still in that place where you do whatever it takes to eliminate a threat.
Then my voice lands.
His grip loosens.
He releases Graham with a hard shove that sends him stumbling back into the display case. Truffle boxes rattle. The bell on the front door jingles as someone outside shifts closer.
Graham straightens, fury blazing. “You psychopath?—”
