Ethan (Ghost Ops #5)

Chapter 1

“Hey, you want to join us at the Salty Dawg for a drink?” Emma Grace Sutton asked.

Paisley studied the five expectant faces arrayed around the conference table in the library’s meeting room.

These women had been open and welcoming since she’d arrived to take over the librarian job in Sutton’s Creek.

She’d worried at one point that not being a local would be a hindrance, but she’d been wrong.

Everyone she’d met was kind, which was something she desperately needed these days.

“It’s okay if you’re tired,” Emma said. “You’ve only just moved to town and here we are keeping you in the library late for our book club meeting.”

It was eight o’clock, and Paisley wasn’t tired.

Violet would be in bed by now under the watchful eye of Aunt Hettie, who used to be the town librarian until she’d retired recently.

Once Violet was asleep, Paisley could carry her through the middle of town with a band playing a John Philip Sousa march and the kid wouldn’t wake up.

Aunt Hettie insisted she was a night owl these days so that wasn’t a problem either. Hettie had said to stay out as long as she liked when she’d dropped Violet off. Paisley hadn’t intended to take her up on it, but maybe a little social time with new friends wouldn’t hurt.

“I’d love to go,” Paisley said. She wasn’t a local, but Hettie really was her great-aunt.

She’d moved to Sutton’s Creek over sixty years ago when she’d married Horace Woods, God rest his soul.

Paisley had been to visit precisely once, when she was five and her grandfather, Hettie’s brother, was still alive.

The women gathered the casserole dishes they’d brought, put any leftovers into the fridge for Paisley and her staff, stuffed their books into tote bags, and tidied the room. Nikki Crowell, Callie’s teenage sister, picked up the trash and wiped off the counters in the kitchenette.

Paisley’s chest ached. These women seemed happy with their lives and comfortable in their friendship.

She didn’t know what that was like. She’d always been an extroverted introvert, capable of faking her way through parties or gatherings, but she was happiest buried in her books or playing with her daughter.

A current of fear snapped to life as she thought of Violet sleeping soundly across town.

But Paisley had a restraining order and the courts knew where she was.

She had not snatched Violet away in the dark like a thief.

She’d done everything right, and Trey couldn’t touch them here, at least not legally.

He didn’t even know where they were though he could probably figure it out if he wanted to.

That was one of the things about Trey McCann.

He knew how to find people. He’d been a soldier in an elite unit before he’d gotten out of the military to start his own business, and he’d maintained ties to people who could get information for him.

He’d demonstrated it more than once when she’d still been naive about his nature.

She’d chatter excitedly about a new friend at work, or her new hairstylist. Anyone really.

He’d dig up dirt on them, and then he’d make her quit seeing them because they were, quote, bad people for her to be around.

That was how he’d systematically cut her off from everyone she knew. How he isolated her and made her dependent on him. He’d kept her scared for the past four plus years until she’d finally had enough.

Until she’d realized that soon enough, it wouldn’t be only her he’d abuse. It would be Violet, too.

“We ready?” Rory Harper asked as she stood by the door.

“I’m ready.”

“Me too.”

“Yup.”

“Paisley?” Daphne Bryant asked. “Did we get everything?”

Paisley looked around the room. “Yes. We’re good. Thank you all so much for this lovely potluck. I’m going to enjoy those leftovers tomorrow. Everyone will.”

The ladies filed over to the library entrance, Paisley checked the locks on the rear and side doors, and then flipped off the lights as she stepped outside to join the women on the sidewalk.

The Sutton’s Creek library was small, but the town supported their library.

They elected city council members who went to bat for it with the county.

There was also a private endowment from the Sutton family that helped buy new materials and fund programs. In short, the library was thriving and she felt lucky to have been selected for the position.

It was precisely the new start she and Violet needed.

The walk to the Salty Dawg Tavern, otherwise known as the Dawg to locals, was only a couple of blocks.

It wasn’t quite dark yet, though the sun had set behind the horizon.

Sutton’s Creek was quiet, a beautiful Southern town with just enough old buildings and quaint charm to make it a tourist destination in the warmer months.

And the cooler ones too since there was a Christmas tour of homes in the historic district that included carriage rides and warm mulled cider, though people told her it was just as likely to be warm enough for a light jacket in December as it was cold enough for a hot drink.

But it wasn’t going to be South Alabama or Florida hot, so she couldn’t wait to experience the holidays in Sutton’s Creek.

The lanterns in the park were adorned with American flags since Independence Day was next week.

There was going to be a big festival in town with food and crafts and fireworks at the end of the evening.

Violet kept asking if the fireworks were happening today and Paisley had to tell her it was still a few days away.

Violet was excited because the children she played with kept talking about it.

Paisley had promised to take her downtown for the festivities, and she was looking forward to it almost as much as Violet.

The women laughed and talked about plans for the weekend as they walked.

Paisley was quiet, taking it all in. She’d worn a black dress today that she knew looked good on her, to give her a confidence boost for the book club meeting she’d been invited to, and she felt pretty.

Her hand snaked to her nape, missing the long hair she’d had until recently.

She’d chopped it all off, getting a short style that was more masculine than anything she’d ever had before.

She’d cried after she’d done it, but she’d been determined to make a drastic change in the hopes she’d feel different inside.

Violet had blinked at her, patted her head, and told her she looked pretty. That’d only made her want to cry harder, but she’d kept her tears until she was alone so she didn’t scare her daughter into thinking anything was wrong. There’d already been so many changes in her kid’s life at that point.

Rory led them up the front steps and into the Dawg. Paisley’s heart raced at the sight of so many people, but she focused on breathing deep and slow to keep from having a panic attack. Something she’d never had in her life until she’d met Trey.

Townspeople waved at the women. One of the waitresses came over and high-fived Nikki as they called each other sis.

“We call them Big Nikki and Little Nikki,” Callie said, leaning toward her. “They’ve bonded over their shared name.”

Paisley smiled and nodded. “Got it. I didn’t remember you mentioning another sister.”

“Technically, no,” Callie said with a smile. Her gaze slid over the other women in the Bookalicious Besties Book Club, a name Paisley officially loved. “But I’m learning that sisters aren’t just born. They can also be made.”

Paisley didn’t know what that was like. She’d been painfully shy growing up and didn’t have a big friend group because her mother was constantly moving them around from place to place. Paisley had long ago lost touch with the few girlfriends she’d had as a teenager.

She followed as the women headed toward a table of big, brawny looking men.

She knew these men owned One Shot Tactical, the gun range and training facility just outside of town.

She’d heard them talked about in the library and the Piggly Wiggly, and she might have seen one or two of them from a distance, but she’d never met them.

Six men looked up as the women approached. Paisley dropped her gaze, her heart beating a little faster. They were former military, like Trey, and that made her more nervous than it should. Not all military men got off on intimidating anyone weaker than they were.

In fact, there’d been a military man once who she’d thought might be The One. Until he left town suddenly for a mission overseas and didn’t bother to tell her goodbye. He’d sent Trey to let her down easy. She’d never heard from him again.

“This is Paisley,” Emma said after a few moments. “She’s the new librarian.”

Paisley lifted her head and pasted on a smile. “Hi,” she said, waving like she was the friendliest person on the planet.

Six handsome faces stared back at her. She let her gaze slide quickly over them. Her throat squeezed tight, her heart battering her ribs as sudden shock filled her. She forced her gaze past the man staring back at her so intently.

But she wasn’t mistaken. It was him.

Ethan Snow. The man she’d thought about almost every day for the past five years.

The room narrowed to just the two of them. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe.

And then, as if someone had thumped her on the back, her heart kickstarted again.

The men said hello, but she could only feel one man’s hot stare boring into her.

That golden hazel gaze that’d haunted her dreams for so long was the same, though instead of the laughter she remembered filling it before, it was now cold and hard—and stunned.

She’d known him for a month before they spent the weekend together, but she’d thought—