Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
CALLIE
The world keeps moving, but we stick close to home, only leaving for work or groceries.
But we all get tired of holing up at the house, so the next Sunday morning, we head into town for breakfast. Sunlight streams through the windows and warms the interior.
I sigh as the familiar scent of bacon grease and coffee hits me as we push into the restaurant.
Every head in the place swivels our way the moment we walk through the door. The conversation doesn’t simply pause—it dies a quick, brutal death. As per usual, everyone in this small town knows about everything.
I square my shoulders and lift my chin because I’m not going to skulk around my own hometown like some criminal. The guys are innocent.
Knox’s hand finds the small of my back, and I feel the tension radiating off him. His jaw’s already ticking, which means he’s about two seconds away from telling someone exactly where they can shove their judgmental stares.
“Maybe we should—” Brax starts, but I cut him off.
“No.” The word is firm, unyielding. We aren’t guilty. I take a breath. “We have nothing to hide.”
Jax catches my eye and nods. All I need to know is that they’re with me in this. We claim a corner booth, and I try not to shoot daggers at the people who watched us grow up, but my eyes are feeling a little stabby as I glance around.
Dolores, the waitress who’s been working here since I was little who is apparently a gossip, meanders over. “Coffee all around?”
“Please,” I manage, grateful for the normalcy of ordering caffeine. I half expected her to try to get some tidbits of information out of me.
She bustles away, leaving us to the vultures—er, the locals.
“Are you all guilty?” The voice comes from the man who owns the local feed store and apparently thinks his sixty-plus years on this earth give him the right to ask whatever the hell he wants.
Heat flashes through me. “No. Do you think we’d be sitting here with you if we were?” I snap.
“Sad thing about Penelope.” This comes from an older woman at the counter, lips turned down.
My stomach twists. Penelope was a grade-A bitch who made my life hell, but sitting here now, knowing she’s dead. . . Shit. She didn’t deserve that. She was another one of Theo’s casualties, another person whose life got destroyed because they got too close to him.
My throat is thick when Dolores returns with a tray of steaming mugs. Her movements are easy despite the tension crackling through the air. She’s about to pull out her order pad when the bell above the door chimes.
The entire restaurant goes silent like someone just ripped the needle off of a record. The quiet is unexpected and so abrupt it slams into me.
Trina steps through the doorway, her uniform crisp and her expression unreadable.
Everyone’s attention bounces between her and our table, anticipation thick in the air.
This is probably the most action half these people have seen in years.
Trina notices us from across the diner, and she starts walking over.
Each step closer sends my heart racing. This is it.
This is where they slap the cuffs on us and drag us out in front of half the town.
“Trina.” Knox’s voice is steady, controlled. He dips his head in acknowledgment, but I can see the tension in the set of his shoulders.
She stops beside our table, and for a moment, nobody breathes.
“I thought I ought to let you all know that we’ve been working with the FBI.” Her voice carries clearly through the diner, and I know every single person in here is straining to catch every word. Someone is probably scribbling notes on a napkin so they can talk about this later.
“Turns out you were right, Callie. Theo was being threatened.”
I knew it. “So does that mean the guys aren’t suspects?” My voice comes out smaller than I’d like. I don’t like thinking about losing time with them.
Trina nods. “The suspects are in custody and one has already confessed.”
Relief crashes over me. Without thinking, I jump up and throw my arms around Trina. She goes stiff as a board, and reality slams back into me.
“Oh shit.” I jerk back like she’s on fire. I basically just tackle hugged a cop. Hopefully that won’t count as assault. “Sorry.” I drop back into my seat and clasp my hands in my lap so she knows I won’t touch her again.
She shakes her head, a ghost of a smile flickering across her features as she glances around our little group. “Anyway, enjoy your breakfast.” She turns to leave, but something makes her pause and look back at us. “For the record, I’m glad it wasn’t you guys.”
“Yeah, no shit, us too.” Jax’s deadpan delivery breaks the tension like a hammer through glass.
Laughter erupts from the eavesdroppers around us. Even the people who were firing questions at us look a little sheepish as they turn back to their food. Trina grins, probably knowing exactly what we were going through before she came in, and heads for the door.
“Always knew those Williams boys were good kids,” a guy announces to his buddy, like he wasn’t assuming we were guilty five minutes ago.
I bite back an eye roll, but warmth spreads through my chest anyway. This place drives me absolutely insane with its gossip mill and small-town bullshit.
But it’s home. The words whisper through my mind as Dolores appears with her order pad, ready to pretend the last ten minutes never happened.
And as annoying as it can be, I love Big Ridge.