44. Thea
44
THEA
I stared so hard at Brendan that my eyes burned. The stinging bite made me realize I wasn’t blinking. Too scared that if I shut my eyes for even a millisecond, he would lash out and turn my world to ash all over again. And I had so much more to lose now.
Saliva pooled in my mouth as the panic set in. The idea that he could poison all the people in Sparrow Falls against me. That he could pull countless photos and videos I never consented to and post them anywhere he damn well pleased. It wouldn’t matter if Shep, Sutton, and the Colsons stuck with me. Even if Dex eventually got them pulled down again, I’d still get leveled with the stares and whispers.
It would turn my safe escape into a prison.
“Oh. My. Goooood !” the woman who’d been on her way out shouted. “You’re Brendan Boseman!”
I saw the briefest flash of annoyance in Brendan’s eyes before he turned to her, all charm and bright smiles. “I am. And what’s your name?”
“I’m Nelly Parker. I am your biggest fan. I must’ve seen Kisses for Christmas a million times. I know every line. And your Mask Crusader movies? I’m obsessed.”
Brendan’s expression transformed, getting serious now as his eyes glistened. “Nelly, you have no idea what that means to me. Fans like you make my world so much brighter.”
Nelly waved a hand in front of her face. “You’re going to make me cry.”
Brendan grabbed a napkin from one of the dispensers on a table. “Now, don’t do that.”
She dabbed at her eyes. “Could we do a selfie? My whole quilt group loves you. How generous you are with your fame and fortune. I have to get proof.”
My stomach soured. This was how it always was. Everyone seeing exactly what he wanted them to.
“Of course.” Brendan wrapped an arm around the woman as she took several shots.
“Thank you so much. I just knew you’d be just as kind in person. You’ve made my year!”
He winked at her. “Anything for a true fan.”
Nelly squealed and ran for the door, surely off to call every one of her friends.
Brendan turned then, the weight of his stare coming directly to me. My breaths came quicker and quicker as he started toward the counter, that easy smile stretched across his face. Even now, it was hard for me to see the falseness there. To read beneath the plaster to the evil that lay below.
“The lighting gaffer on my newest movie has a thing for bakeries. Can’t get enough. Wherever we film, she just has to try all the best ones around. Came here after she saw a writeup on some blog and swore the woman behind the counter looked just like you, only with darker hair.”
A bead of sweat slid down my spine, like ice melting against my burning flesh.
Brendan’s smile just widened. “You’re not even going to say hello? It’s been so long.” He shifted then, turning that charming smile to Sutton. “Hi, I’m Brendan. An old friend of Selena’s.”
A fresh bolt of panic jolted through me. How many times had he charmed friends of mine? Colleagues? So charming that they all started looking at me differently after we broke up. Started believing his lies.
The idea that he might succeed with Sutton was too much to bear. Losing her, one of the first friends I’d had in years? I wouldn’t be able to take it.
“I know who you are.” There was a frigidity to Sutton’s tone that had my head snapping in her direction. Cold fury blasted across her expression. And if it was possible to murder someone with your eyes, then Brendan would be dead. “And you’re not welcome in my bakery.”
A look of hurt flashed across Brendan’s face, so real I would’ve believed it if I hadn’t fallen for his tricks before. “Selena’s always taking things to the extreme. I see that hasn’t changed.”
“I’ve never known her to do that,” Sutton ground out.
Brendan flashed her another of those smiles. “Maybe you haven’t known her long enough. But that sort of thing happens with heartbreak. I know I was a mess after she left.” His gaze moved to me, the contact of it feeling like claws digging into my skin. “I’d like to talk. Make things right.”
“No.” My voice was stronger than I thought it would be. Because my insides were shaking, and I hadn’t moved an inch.
“Selly—”
“I said no . Go back to your set and sycophants and whatever makes you happy these days. Leave me the hell alone.”
There was the briefest flash of something in those blue eyes. The kind that used to make me feel crazy because I wasn’t sure if it had been real or imagined. “Selena, that’s not very kind?—”
“I think it’s incredibly kind. I’m leaving you to live the rest of your miserable life in peace even though you ruined mine.”
He chuckled, but tension radiated through it. “I think that’s a little extreme, don’t you? We broke up. It was messy. That happens to people every day. I don’t think that makes me a monster. ”
My fingernails dug into my palms so hard, I felt the flesh give way. “You know what you did. If this world was just, you’d feel every ounce of pain you inflicted.”
“Careful,” Brendan snapped. “You wouldn’t want to say something you can’t take back. Something you’d be liable for.”
“Leave now, or I call the cops,” Sutton barked.
Walter moved out from the kitchen. “I got a phone right here.”
“Funny,” Brendan began, “every other establishment I’ve been into around here has bent over backward to be hospitable to me.” His expression morphed in a flash, going dangerously cold. “It would be a shame if word got around about how bad the service is here.”
Bile surged in my throat as nausea swept through me, the urge to empty the contents of my stomach so strong.
Brendan turned back to me. “Selly, I’ll be seeing you.”
His words were a threat, pure and simple—to me and anyone who stood beside me. My eyes burned, tears just trying to break free. Free the way I never would be. Because Brendan would always find me. Would destroy any glimmer of happiness.
My vision blurred as I watched him walk out of the bakery and disappear across the street. It didn’t matter that he was retreating now, he’d never truly be gone.
“Thea.” Sutton’s hand curled around my arm. “Want me to call Trace?”
I jerked at the touch, at her words. I shook my head vehemently. “I need to go.”
I was already moving, grabbing my purse and heading for the door.
“Wait! Thea!” she shouted as I stepped outside, searching for my bike.
Suddenly, all the things that had happened over the past six weeks made more sense. The slashed bike tires. The person watching me outside the diner. The note. It had nothing to do with Russ. It had been Brendan all along.
My stomach roiled as I remembered the music blaring to life in the bakery just before Brendan came inside. It was his way of telling me he could get to me anywhere. And he could get to those I cared about, too.
I unlocked my bike and climbed on. Shoving my purse into the basket, I took off. I’d never ridden faster. My muscles strained, and my lungs burned. But it wasn’t until I felt the sting of the wind on my cheeks that I realized I was crying.
He’d won. Again.
I couldn’t stay in Sparrow Falls. Not with Brendan hovering, the long reach of his cruel fingers looming around me. Not knowing he could do the worst at any moment. I wouldn’t put Sutton through that. Not when she’d worked so hard to start over. And I wouldn’t put Shep through it either. Because if Brendan found out there was a man in my life, he would rain down hellfire on him.
I had to leave. There was no choice.
The moment I reached my house, I jumped off my bike and ran toward the front door. My hand shook as I tried to undo the lock. It took me a good six tries to get my key into the deadbolt.
As I stepped inside and locked the door behind me, Moose let out a warbled meow, and the kittens echoed him from the living room. I’d have to get the burner out of my nightstand and text Rhodes, ask her to come get them. But for now, I needed to move.
I hurried into my bedroom, moving to the closet and feeling for the loose floorboard. Popping it up, I pulled out the lockbox and input the combination. The moment it was open, I started shoving all the contents inside my purse. Passport, cash, legal documents.
I straightened from my crouch and reached up for the duffel bag on a shelf high above my clothes. As my fingers closed around the strap of the bag, the tears came faster. I hadn’t wanted to use this bag. Not ever again.
The duffel had been my only companion other than Moose on my trip from LA all around the Pacific Northwest. Until I found Sparrow Falls. The calming pull of the mountains here. The way the air soothed. I’d worked so hard to make it my home.
And Brendan had stolen that, too.
I yanked the bag down and dumped it on my bed. I moved quickly to my dresser, pulling out only what I’d need to get me to where I was going next. I needed to go farther this time. Maybe the East Coast? Canada?
My heart gave a vicious squeeze as if rebelling against the idea. Because all of that meant being far away from the last person I wanted distance from. Tears spilled over, sliding off my chin and landing on my comforter.
My fingers fisted in my clothes as I shoved them into the bag. Shep didn’t deserve the nightmare headed my way. He didn’t deserve people whispering about him because his girlfriend’s naked body had been up on porn sites. He didn’t deserve to have his finances hacked, or his business ruined by rumors of shoddy work or whatever else Brendan could dream up.
He deserved so much better. He deserved everything .
I was so caught up in shoving clothes in the bag, I didn’t hear the footsteps. I didn’t hear anything at all. Not until the deep voice boomed across the space.
“What the hell are you doing?”