Chapter Twenty-Nine
Milo
For the next few weeks, life was blissfully beautiful. Eden caught a cancellation with one of the therapists Libby had recommended and seemed to be finally working through some of the baggage her parents had saddled her with.
She’d also been spending practically every night at my house and had agreed to move in for good once her lease was up in March.
It was the first time I’d been in a relationship as Valentine’s Day rolled around since high school, when Amy McIntire and I dated for exactly four days. I learned when she dumped me on February sixteenth that she just wanted to see what it was like to have a boyfriend for the big day.
Apparently the experience was disappointing, but I was only fifteen and a much bigger idiot than I was now.
While Eden was working expanded hours leading up to the holiday to take advantage of Valentine’s shoppers—she’d been teasing me with a variety of sexy as fuck lingerie for weeks now—I tried to plan something that wouldn’t make her uncomfortable but would show her just how much I appreciated having her in my life.
We’d taken both cars to work, so I had two hours to get everything ready before she got home.
But shit, I was trapped between feeling like it was too much and not enough.
Jiji watched, blatantly critical, from the back of the couch while I baked cookies and turned on the lo-fi music Eden loved to relax to.
The delivery from Thai Me Down showed up about two minutes before she walked in the door to find me serving up her favorites at the candlelit kitchen table.
“Milo,” she breathed. “What is all this?”
“I know we said no gifts, but you deserve a break after how hard you’ve been working recently. I’ve got dinner, dessert, and some bath stuff I bought from Mark’s shop so you can soak after we eat.”
She bit her lip and the flickering light of the candle danced in the tears filling her beautiful eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Come here,” I said, but I was already moving toward her, tucking her against my chest when a hiccuping laugh escaped her lips.
“Thank you. This is…perfect.”
Her fingers twisted in the sides of my shirt as she fought back those tears, so I didn’t take my arms from around her until she let go. Then she lifted up on her toes and kissed me, the sweetness of it voicing everything she'd told me she had difficulty speaking aloud.
And when she insisted I join her in the tub, which was definitely not built for two, I couldn’t refuse. We soaked, we laughed, we cuddled—not a barrier in sight between her heart and mine. That closeness lasted even when we went to bed, tangled together under the covers.
In the middle of the night, my phone rang.
Eden groaned as I shifted her off my chest to grab it from the nightstand, then the source of the ringing registered and she shot upright beside me. The number on the screen was local but unfamiliar—not a family emergency, thank fuck.
“Hello?”
“You’re next.” The voice sounded computerized, like one of those robotic voice-changers Carter got for Christmas a few years ago.
The call disconnected and I stared down at my phone in confusion. Eden frowned, leaning over to look at the screen.
“Who was it?” she asked.
“I have no idea. They just said I was next. I don’t even know what that means.”
The phone rang again, startling us both half to death. I fumbled it so badly, I was afraid I’d miss the call completely before I managed to pick up, but this time the caller was already in my contacts.
Detective Rose Hanson.
“Hello?”
“Milo, Rose here. Sorry to wake you.”
“You didn’t, actually. Someone called just a minute before you, told me I was next, whatever that meant, and hung up.”
Rose went silent for a beat. “Right. We have a situation on the street outside the stores. This might be presumptuous, but is Eden with you?”
“Yes, she’s here,” I replied, glancing down at Eden’s wide-eyed expression.
“If both of you can come over as soon as possible, we’d appreciate it. The stores are fine. Just…something we need you to see. And bring your phone. I want to take a look at it.”
I told her we’d be right there, scrambled to get dressed, and grabbed Eden’s hand.
The streets were silent and empty at this time of night, but an odd chemical smell hit us the minute we turned onto Main Street.
Then, as we got closer, the flashing lights of emergency vehicles illuminated the area outside our stores.
“What the hell?” Eden whispered.
Right outside our front doors sat the charred husk of a car. Barriers blocked off the street again, though there was no traffic at this time of night, so I pulled into a parking spot on the next block and we moved toward Rose, both of us staring at the burnt car.
“Milo. Eden, this is Chief Roberts,” Rose said, introducing Spruce Hill’s police chief.
Eden murmured a polite greeting as the chief shook her hand. Though Roberts was originally from Oakville, the next town over, he’d been part of our community for a long time, coaching Little League and volunteering at school events. In all my life, I’d never seen him look the way he looked now.
Completely and utterly furious.
He schooled his expression as he spoke to Eden, but when we all looked toward the car, I caught his scowl out of the corner of my eye. Whatever this was, he was not happy about it.
“I know it’s hard to tell,” Roberts said in a low voice, “but that car was originally pale gold. Plate matches the partial we got from a witness at the coffee shop.”
Eden jerked at my side, her hand clenching tight around mine. I turned her into my arms and met Roberts’ gaze over her head.
“If you were going to destroy evidence of a drive-by, wouldn’t you do it somewhere not associated with the crime?” I asked.
“You might, unless you wanted to send a message.” Roberts gestured for us to move to the sidewalk in front of the stores. “Hanson said you got a phone call tonight?”
“Yes. The caller said, ‘You’re next,’ and hung up.”
“Man? Woman? Any indication?”
I frowned. “No. It was quiet and hoarse, like they were disguising their voice.”
“Phone number?” Rose asked.
“Local,” I told her, “but I didn’t recognize it. I would’ve tried a reverse look-up, but you called right after.”
She held out a hand, so I passed her the phone.
Roberts led me and Eden closer to the wreckage of the vehicle while Rose jogged toward a police cruiser parked down the block.
When Eden shivered, I tucked her back under my arm, then we caught sight of the side of the burnt car and my body locked solid.
PURIFY.
The word was gouged deep into the metal, showing starkly silver against the blackened skeleton of the vehicle.
Eden let out a strangled sob before burying her face against my chest. For a long moment, I stared at the car, then I looked at Chief Roberts. My blood had frozen, like ice water now ran through my veins.
“Who owns the car?” I asked.
Roberts glanced at Eden, then said, “It’s registered to the Church of Eternal Light, out in Cortland. Do you know anything about that location?”
“That’s the church my parents belong to,” Eden replied, “but they were in Binghamton. My brother is the minister there now. I didn’t even know there was a congregation in Cortland.”
“Only name associated with that location is Pastor Simon Baumgartner, who reported the car stolen three weeks ago. His name ring any bells?”
Eden shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I stopped attending services with my parents when I was twelve. I haven’t heard from them since I left home at eighteen, and I only know about my brother because Addie found an article about him.”
“We’ll be taking a closer look, don’t you worry. Cortland’s only an hour and a half away, but that’s a trek for random acts of malice.”
That was true—which meant there was probably a resident of Spruce Hill with some connection to the church, maybe a connection to Eden’s past. I wanted to sweep her in my arms and take her away from here until the culprit was caught, but the chances of getting her to agree to that seemed slim.
“Are we in danger? Is Milo in danger? That phone call has to be related to this,” Eden said quietly.
I opened my mouth to brush it off, but Roberts sent me a stern look.
“I’d certainly like to know why he received that call.
We don’t have a whole lot of manpower, but I’ll have officers driving by your house, Milo, Eden’s apartment, and the stores.
If you see anything even remotely suspicious, I want you to call us immediately. ”
“Of course,” I murmured.
“Look, this might be overkill, but an old buddy of mine jumps in as a security guard at the mall around the holidays. With so many stores closed down there, they don’t need him as much and the stretch after New Year’s dies down.
If you two are interested, I think he’d be willing to cut you a deal, keep an eye on both shops. ”
If it had just been me, I probably would have refused the offer. With Eden shivering against me in the cold, dark night, I couldn’t deny that I’d feel a whole hell of a lot better with someone else looking out for her.
“I’ll take his info, if you don’t mind,” I replied.
Rose came back over to our little huddle and passed my phone over. “Number is local, monthly no-contract type situation. I got what I need to keep digging, but let me know if you get any more calls.”
“This will all be cleaned up by morning,” Roberts said, pressing a card into my hand. “That’s Leonard’s number. Tell him I sent you. Sorry to bring you out here like this.”
“Thanks, Chief. Rose.”
I tipped my head to them each in turn, then hustled Eden back to the warmth of my car. Even once the engine was running and the heat kicked in, I could hear Eden’s teeth chattering beside me.
“Eden, baby, come here,” I murmured.
She didn’t hesitate, just scooted as close as she could get and let me hold her until the trembling stopped.
“You with me?” I asked.
“Yes.”
The word was barely more than a puff of breath against my throat, so I squeezed her tight. “We’re going to get through this, Eden. Together. Yes?”
This time, she tipped her head to look at me and managed a tiny smile. “Yes, Milo. Together.”
I couldn’t hold back the rush of relief at her confirmation. “That’s my girl.”