Chapter 14
Grant
The Message
“Don’t say it,” I muttered as I settled into my seat, prepping for my first client of the day, Vinny—a guy a few years younger than me who was referred to me by Leo, the manager over at Carver’s facility, Oak Heart Farms.
“Wasn’t going to. She is hot, though.”
That brought a smile to my face. “Sure is.”
“How exactly did you get her to like you? Magic? Voodoo? Do you secretly hold the world record for penis size?” Farrah grimaced at the word “penis,” making me laugh.
“She’s Lyra’s friend.”
“Ah.” Farrah had tattooed a matching butterfly on Lyra a few weeks back.
I would have done it, but Carver’s face twisted too much for my liking when she said she wanted it on her lower pelvic area.
I gladly offered up Farrah instead, though she liked women and was just as capable of hitting on her, if not more.
Maybe Carver didn’t quite know that. “She wouldn’t happen to be that blonde new girl I heard about, would she? ”
I stilled. “What?”
“Someone came into the shop earlier asking if anyone had seen a blonde woman with blue eyes. Can’t remember the name he said but it could have been Sophia now that I think about it.
” Farrah tied up her hair, then started working on a sketch.
“When I told them that physical description fit about a hundred or so people in this town and gave them my “fuck off” eyes, they left.”
“What did they look like? Was it the Dodds?”
“Fuck no. You know we don’t allow Dodds in here.” Farrah sighed. “It was probably just a coincidence. Maybe he found her at the cafe, which is where he went to next.”
I shifted my gaze from Farrah to the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the front of the shop.
The cafe across the street had a line of windows in the front as well, giving me a view of Sophia as she approached the counter.
I squinted as I watched her turn to face a man standing behind her, her lips moving like he’d said something first and she was answering.
She turned to face the barista to order, and the guy touched her arm, causing her to do a half spin.
I wasn’t sure what was being said, but her expression faltered, and then her eyes met mine for a split second before flashing back to the guy.
“Where are you going?” Farrah asked as I fit my Stetson on my head.
“Across the street. Have Vinny wait when he gets here.” I crossed the street and entered the cafe, having kept my focus on Sophia the entire time. Her eyes widened as I got closer, and if I didn’t know any better, the crossing of her arms made her look rather afraid.
“Hey darlin’.” I maneuvered to her side and kissed her forehead. “Need help carryin’ our breakfast?”
“N-no. I got it.”
I straightened and held my hand out to the man she’d been talking to. He was tall and broad, his back stiff like a stick was rammed up his ass. Looking down a few inches at him, I said, “I see you were bothering my girlfriend.”
“Grant,” Sophia whispered, nudging her leg into mine.
“Your girlfriend?” the guy asked.
I nodded and said, “Yeah,” right as Sophia said, “He meant ‘friend.’”
“A friend that’s mine.” I cocked my head. “Are you the guy asking around my shop?” The guy’s brows rose behind his aviators, which I took as a “yes, and?” I ran my hand down my stubble. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Grant!” Sophia whisper-shouted. “This is one of my family’s assistants, checking to see if I needed help getting home.”
I ground my teeth together as the guy removed his aviators and settled them over his collar. “Look, Ms. Pierson. It’s not my business”—he gestured between Sophia and I—“whatever this is. Mr. Buchanon is rather occupied himself, it seems.”
My fist clenched. “What the hell does that mean?”
The guy glanced at me, then directed his attention back to Sophia.
“I’m merely here to assure your father that the wedding will be going forward, as planned.
He grew concerned that history was repeating itself when you weren’t answering his calls.
” My brows dipped, wondering if that history was when she moved to Georgia.
“Your uncle also requests that you call him.” Sophia’s body tensed beside me.
“I will notify your family that all is well and you are with your…friend.” The assistant looked me up and down, keeping a blank expression.
“However, it is in your best interest that they hear it from you. Your step mother seems most concerned for your safety and wellbeing.”
“I’m sure she is.” Sophia scoffed and turned to collect the two coffees and bags of food she ordered. “Why don’t you go ahead and tell my step mother that if she sends anyone else out here to get me, then it’s off. Got it?”
The assistant nodded. “Yes, Ms. Pierson. We will see you back home soon.” Just as he slipped his glasses back on and turned to leave, a round of bangs echoed around us.
Coffee spilled around Sophia as she dropped to the floor and curled in on herself, a thick river of blood making its way to her feet as she cowered.
I ducked to cover her until the noise stopped and the sounds of tires skidding on cement took over.
“I’ve got you, Peach.” I scanned Sophia for any wounds, my heart racing until I realized she didn’t have a scratch on her.
I couldn’t say the same for the rest of the place.
Shards of glass from the broken windows littered the floor behind me, coating the assistant’s still body.
There was no point in checking if he was alive.
All the blood touching my boots had come from a rather large hole on the side of his head.
“W-what—”
Sophia wrapped her arms tightly around my neck as her face buried into my chest. “We have to go.”
“I-is that g-g-guy—” the cafe worker whimpered from behind the counter as I stood with Sophia in my arms.
“Dead?” I glanced back at the family assistant. “Yep. But we weren’t here to know that,” I told the frail teen. “Call the sheriff in five minutes.” He nodded weakly, wide eyes set to the body behind me through the pastry glass.
Farrah was standing with her palm to her chest outside Devil’s Den. I worked my way through the glass and wreckage and made a beeline for my truck. As I got Sophia into the passenger seat, Farrah came up from behind me.
“What the fuck was—”
“Did you see who was in the car?”
“Car? No.” Farrah shook her head, her eyes glued to the cafe. “I was in the bathroom. By the time I ran outside, the glass was broken and you were holdin’ your girl. What the hell happened?”
“Drive-by. At least a dozen rounds.”
“Fuck me. Who do you think it was?”
I’d assume the Dodds but this was rather bold, even for them. “Don’t know, but at this rate, it isn’t safe for her here.”
“At this rate?” Farrah’s brows pinched together. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s better you don’t. Take care of my clients.
We’re goin’ away for a few days.” I finished buckling Sophia’s rigid body in, then shut the door.
“You remember where I keep the spare key to my house, right?” Farrah nodded.
“I need you to check on June once a day until I get back.” The distant wailing of sirens grew louder as I swung up into my truck.
“Close up the shop if anyone else comes by looking for her.”
Something I liked about Farrah when I hired her was her ability to just accept whatever I told her and move on. She didn’t linger on shit, and she didn’t ask a shit ton of questions. Then again, I’d never put her in a situation quite like this one.
“What do I tell the sheriff?” Farrah asked as I rolled the window down, listening closely to the sirens.
I shrugged. “Tell him you didn’t see a thing, and I left early for a family emergency.”
Sophia slipped in and out of sleep for the first few hours since we’d left Alliston.
I was starting to notice a pattern—loud sounds were triggering for her, and when she became too stricken with fear, her body shut down.
At least, when she wasn’t prepared to hear them.
I’d seen her shoot and not lose control, so maybe it was the fear of someone else making loud sounds that did her in.
I had too many questions flitting through my mind, I was starting to lose track as the minutes went by, turning into hours. I knew if we stayed in Alliston any longer, we’d just be fighting off everything comin’ our way, and right now, Sophia needed peace.
We both did.
Her arms stretched wide, snapping me from my thoughts. “Where are we?” she asked sleepily.
“Georgia.”
She sat right up, her eyes boring into me. “Why?”
“I have a cabin up in the Blue Ridge mountains. Haven’t been up there in awhile, so figured now’s a good time.”
“You just figured it was a good time? What even happened at the cafe?” She searched around the truck, glancing through the back window to see into the bed. “And where is Keeno?”
“Keeno…the assistant?”
She nodded, biting down on her lip as her eyes fell to her feet. “He…oh god.” She frantically worked her blood-stained sandals off while rolling the window down, then chucked them to the wind.
“Yeah. I don’t think he’s going to be delivering that message back home for you.”
Her voice pitched. “You think this is funny?”
“No, darlin’. I think this is all the opposite of funny.”