Chapter 3
JESS
“So, are you coming to our game night next weekend?”
Nora takes a sip of coffee, regarding me over the rim of the mug as she waits for my response. When I don’t answer immediately, she sets the mug down and gives me a sympathetic smile. “If you don’t want to go, I understand. But I think you would enjoy it. Our game nights are a lot of fun.”
“I’m sure they are,” I reply. “But if it’s a team thing, I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be. It’s just a whoever is around and wants to join thing. Jackson will be there, of course. So will Leo and Georgia. I think Maya is asking Scarlett and Grant to come. So it’s not just the team.”
The team we’re discussing is the Blade and Arrow Security team, a group of seven Special Ops veterans who run a private security company here in Sleepy Hollow. Nora’s the lone female member of the team, and her husband, Jackson, joined a couple of years ago, shortly after their wedding.
When I first met Nora during our PTSD support group, I was hesitant to even talk to her.
She looked so confident, so capable, so strong—I couldn’t imagine us having anything in common.
But once I got to know her, I discovered she wasn’t just this badass former Green Beret, but a regular woman with fears and insecurities, just like me.
For months, we’d just chat before or after group, but one day, she invited me for coffee.
We chatted. Found that we had things in common, like our love of reading and fancy coffee and jogging.
And after years of keeping to myself, of relying on my online games for companionship, I found a new friend.
Now we meet for coffee at least once a month, and sometimes Nora will ask me to come to trivia or one of the events in town. And even though I hate being in public any more than absolutely necessary, when Nora asks, I always say yes.
Still, the idea of a big Blade and Arrow party makes me uneasy, even though the B and A teammates are all transplants to Sleepy Hollow, so they don’t know my dark history or the reason why so many people in town dislike me.
Or maybe they do. Now that I’m thinking about it, it would make sense for them to investigate me.
I don’t know the details of all of Blade and Arrow’s cases, but I know a lot of it is confidential.
And given that they have a literal computer genius on their team, it would be simple for them to look into my background.
It would be easy for anyone to look into it, really .
A heavy weight sinks to the bottom of my stomach. The few sips of cappuccino I just drank start to creep back up my throat.
How could I not have thought about it before? How could I be so clueless?
It was just so freeing, having a friend who knew nothing about my past. But in reality, she’s probably known all along.
“Jess?” Nora’s eyebrows pull together as she looks at me. “Is something wrong? If you don’t want to go to game night, that’s okay. I shouldn’t be pushing.”
“It’s not that.” Pausing, I glance around the cheerful diner, my gaze lingering on the giant mural of the Headless Horseman riding his horse while clutching a giant sub under his arm.
A lot of people who grew up in Sleepy Hollow turn their noses up at the Headless Horseman and his presence all around town. They say it’s cheesy. Boring. And some people even claim it’s too scary for kids.
But I grew up here, and I was never scared of him.
I love the tradition of it, the murals and sculptures and the month-long Halloween celebration.
I love how creative the businesses get, especially around the holidays, like when the owner of the Hop-less Horseman commissioned a life-sized horseman dressed up as Santa with a giant hop flower under his arm instead of his head.
It’s one of the reasons I don’t want to leave Sleepy Hollow.
In my heart, I love this place. Not how some of the locals treat me, but other parts of it.
The quaint park in the center of town with live music every weekend in the summer.
Hiking in Rockefeller Park as soon as the weather gets nice.
The independent businesses instead of impersonal chain stores.
The way our little downtown looks after the first snow, the lamp posts wrapped with lights dusted in a pure and shimmering white.
“Okay.” Nora’s still watching me, concern etched into her forehead. “What is it, then?”
“Did you investigate me?” I blurt out. As her brows jump up in surprise, my cheeks go hot.
“Investigate you? What do you mean?”
Crap. I don’t know why I said it, but now I’m stuck. “When we started hanging out,” I explain. “Did Leo research my background?”
Nora frowns.
My stomach rolls over.
“Some,” she answers after a long pause. “But only because I was abducted. He had to look into everyone, you know. It wasn’t personal.”
The anxiety I’ve been battling for the last few months makes an eager appearance, squeezing my chest and making my heart race. “So… you know.”
“Know about what?” Nora pushes her mug to the side and leans across the table. Her eyes darken with concern. “Leo just wanted to check for a criminal record. Make sure you weren't connected to the abduction. But you weren’t. Obviously.”
“About everything that happened in high school. What I did.”
Understanding fills her gaze. “You mean the accident?”
Bile burns the back of my throat. “Yes.”
Nora’s expression turns solemn. “I know you were in an accident, Jess. That you were hurt. And it wasn’t your fault. ”
“But there’s more to it,” I protest. “You must know. Everyone in town?—”
“I don’t care about everyone in town. I care about you.”
“Still. You must wonder…”
I’m not sure why I’m pushing. Nora’s giving me an out, and instead of taking it, I’m doubling down.
“Do I wonder why you let that secretary at the community center talk to you like that every time we go there?” Nora interjects. “Of course. And it pisses me off.”
Pain stabs into my chest. “I’m sorry?—”
“Jess.” Nora pats my arm. “I’m not pissed at you . I’m pissed at the secretary. And believe me, I’ve thought about telling her off more times than I can count. But then I remind myself; you’re an adult. You probably don’t want me butting in to fight your battles.”
Oh.
In a small voice, I ask, “But you would? If I asked?”
“Of course I would.” A shadow moves across her features. “Did I mess up, Jess? Should I have stepped in? I’m so sorry.”
“No, no.” While I like imagining badass Nora telling off Janet, the condescending secretary at the community center, I know it’s something I need to handle myself. Eventually. “You didn’t mess up. I just didn’t realize you noticed.”
“How could I not? Even the way she says your name is obnoxious.” Nora wrinkles her nose as she imitates Janet’s nasally tone, “ Jessica . This isn’t a barn , you know. Could you please make sure the door is closed behind you?”
It’s so similar to the way Janet says it, I burst out laughing. “That’s exactly how she sounds.”
“I know.” Nora chuckles, but her smile quickly sobers. “ If you want me to help, Jess, I’m happy to. I’ll tell her off. Tell her to close the damn door herself, if she’s so worried. If anyone is giving you a hard time, I’ve got your six. You know what that means, right?”
My nose prickles. “I do. I looked it up the first time I heard you say it.”
“Okay, then. So that means if you ever need anything, just ask.”
As I look across the table at Nora, at the earnest look on her face, I almost tell her all about the creepy things happening at my house.
The mail and the mysterious footsteps and the broken bird feeders—which I didn’t mention to Kane the other day—and the furniture I still can’t bear to touch after knowing some intruder had his hands on it.
She could help. I know she could. But that would mean bringing Blade and Arrow into it, which is something I’d really rather not do.
I want to be Nora’s friend. Not her client.
I don’t want her to feel forced to spend time with me.
Or be put into the awkward position of having to tell me her team won’t take on my case, explaining that there isn’t enough evidence.
Then she’ll feel bad, and it’ll make things between us weird, and I might end up messing up a friendship that means a lot to me.
So I swallow back the words balanced on the tip of my tongue. With a smile that almost feels real, I say, “I will. And if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask. I might not be a kickass Green Beret, but I’ll try my best to help.”
“Jess. I know you will.” Her expression softens. “And I think you’re pretty kickass, too.”
Just like I have every time I’ve come home since the break-in two days ago, I hold my breath as I walk through the door.
Even though I know no one’s here, thanks to the new and improved security system Kane helped install, it’s not enough to ease my fear.
Logically, I know if anyone had approached the house while I was out with Nora, an alert on my phone would have gone off.
The police would have been notified. And they wouldn’t ignore me this time, not after Kane went to the police chief and complained about how some of the employees had treated me.
The chief actually called to apologize. That was a shock.
He told me how sorry he was, and promised to make sure the employees in question were punished.
“That’s not how we do things here,” he told me.
“And I blame myself for not being more on top of things. After a while, you trust your people to do their jobs without having to check on them. But I shouldn’t have.
That’s on me. But I promise, anything that happens going forward, you can come to me. ”
While I appreciate the apology, I’m not completely sold. I know there are still a lot of people working at the department who don’t like me. Who may pretend to help for the sake of their jobs, but who’ll turn their backs at the first opportunity.
Not like Kane.
Kane, who did everything he promised.