"Let's go outside." He guided her out the backdoor.
The late-day heat sat heavy over the water, thick with salt and the sweet rot of mud. An egret lifted off with an ugly squawk.
Juniper stopped near the railing and gripped it with both hands.
Sterling stood beside her, angled enough to watch the door and the tree line at the same time.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I know without a doubt Bea’s a problem.”
“What did she say?” he asked.
“She said Pike is one of hers. She looked me in the eye and fed me that lie, and I know it's a lie. Not unless he's been undercover for two fucking years, and everything Mia found is bullshit.” She glanced up. "I believe Mia. What does that say about me?"
"It says you're a smart woman who knows a lot, and I'm sorry Bea isn't who you thought she was."
"I wasn't put here to protect you from Shrike," Juniper said. "I was put here to watch you for them. Do you have any idea what that does to me? How that makes me feel?"
"I have some idea," he said. "I wish I had great words of wisdom. But you can't hold onto that. Because right now, we're one step ahead. However, they're not far behind."
"I know."
“Anything else?” he asked.
“She's gonna try to pull me,” Juniper said.
“I know people," Sterling said. “So do Nick and Buddy. She can try to pull you. That doesn’t mean she gets to make you disappear before we know what she’s tied to.”
Relief forced its way in, heavy and ill-fitting. She hated how badly she wanted him to be able to make sure there was no way Bea could remove her. Hated how much she trusted him to try.
Sterling shifted closer, pulling her into his arms. “The shit’s going to hit the fan fast.”
Juniper blew out a breath. “That’s a terrible way to put it.”
“It’s accurate.”
“Still terrible.”
“I’ll work on phrasing after we survive the next twenty-four hours.”
She lifted her gaze. He had changed since she’d met him. Or maybe he’d finally allowed her to see the man under the careful layers. The quiet operator. The man who remembered everything.
“I care about you," she said. "I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did."
He smiled. “I’ve fallen in love with you.”
"Well, that's a statement." She rested her head on his chest.
"It's the truth."
"I know," she said. "I love you, too." God help her, she loved Sterling with everything she was. And while the timing was horrible, and she had no idea what tomorrow would bring, it somehow didn't matter because he would always remember she loved him.
Chapter Twenty
Sterling pulled behind Juniper’s Pub a few minutes before ten with Nick in the back seat complaining he'd been replaced and Juniper riding shotgun with her laptop bag pressed against her knees and her hair still damp from the shower.
Sterling put the truck in park, and Nick jumped from the vehicle. He pulled open Juniper's door. "Have a good day."
