Chapter 12
“Emma.” Hank’s booming voice had her turning around with her hand over her heart. Filling Seb’s team in on everything that had happened with her step-father had been tough, but they’d fallen into a nice routine over the last several days as each guy took a turn watching over her in the bakery and on whatever errand or delivery she had to run. “What the hell, Hank? You scared the…never mind. What can I get for you?”
“I need a large black coffee to go, and maybe a few of your to-share containers, too.”
“What’s going on? I hate to say it, but you look like hell.” The guy had always had a rugged handsomeness about himself, but the dark circles under his eyes and unshaven, scruffy beard were making him look rough.
“Yeah, Daisy told me the same thing. I’ve been up all night out in Lark Lake. I probably shouldn’t say anything before the news release…” Hank looked around at the empty shop, nodding at Gunner sitting in the corner booth. Emma had only opened twenty minutes before, and Hank was the first customer of the day. “We found another one of the missing women. She’s dead.”
“Oh God. How? Was it like the others?” Emma kept her voice low. The news had been reporting nearly around the clock about the women who had been found in Clarence County, their arms and legs covered in hundreds of surface-level cuts, with one deep stab wound to their abdomens. She fought to keep her mind in the bakery, and not in the damp, dark basement where she found herself a few years before.
“Looks that way. I’ve got calls in to different agencies, including the feds, to see if they’ve ever seen something like this.”
“So it’s a serial thing? Did she have cuts on her arms and legs, too?” Emma swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat. She heard Gunner’s chair scrape across the linoleum flooring.
“I can’t go into details, Em, but it wasn’t a scene I ever want to see again. The way they were sliced up,” Hank shivered. “Make sure you lock up everything as soon as you close. Don’t go out by yourself right now, and call me if anything seems suspicious. Anything, Em, okay?”
“Listen here,” she dropped the cloth she was cleaning the counter with and stood with her hands on her hips. “That might work on your wife, but last time I checked, I wasn’t married to you, too.” She couldn’t have held the sass back even if she wanted to. It was the only way she knew how to cope. The only way she could get through the fear choking her.
“I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you. I don’t want to scare you either, but with the break-in at your apartment and seeing the victims…Em, they’ve all been taller women, similar build to you with brown hair and hazel eyes. If this is some serial thing, you fit the description of who this sicko is going after.”
He’d just confirmed her fear. She’d known, of course, from watching the news that all the women who’d been taken and found were similar in looks to her.
“Sebastian installed new security on the bakery and my apartment after the break-in. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m safe.”
“What’s going on?” Gunner asked as he walked up to the counter. She swallowed thickly, unable to dislodge the fear that was constricting her throat.
“Just reminding Emma to be careful, that’s all.” Hank turned from Gunner to Emma. “Just those coffees, Em. I have to head back out to Lark Lake, but needed to see Daisy before she started on farm chores this morning.”
“Yeah, sure thing, Hank.” Emma turned back to the coffee machines and started on the bulk order. Sliced up. The woman they’d found was murdered. And sliced up. Just like the others. The others that had looked just like her. Shivers ran down her spine. There was no way. No way that he could be there in Clarence County. It had to be a coincidence. A copycat.
Her stomach rolled as she remembered the sounds his blade made as it carved into the flesh of the man he held captive. The same sound it would have made in her flesh if she hadn’t gotten away.
Her step-father was still in Michigan. Gage was certain of it. So if it wasn’t him there, why wasn’t she able to shake the feeling of constantly being watched? Something was making her feel that way. Uneasy. Unsettled. Nervous. And if it was Marco…she didn’t want to finish that thought.
Hank was right. She needed to lock up the shop as soon as she closed. Emma would just be extra cautious until whoever mutilated those women was caught. The new security Sebastian had insisted on installing now seemed like a huge blessing.
She rolled her shoulders back, grabbing the coffee Hank ordered, before turning around to hand it off to him. He reached into his pocket for his wallet, but she stopped him.
“It’s on the house, Hank. Make sure you see if that woman had a jealous ex. It sounds like some sort of revenge.” She could only hope they discovered that, instead of any part of her past catching up with her.
“It’s certainly something I’m looking into. Thanks for the coffee, Em. Make sure you’re careful, okay?”
“Yes, dad.” She rolled her eyes, but offered him a genuine smile of thanks. Even if they could be overbearing, it was nice to have friends who cared so deeply about her.
“Oh, before I forget, this package was outside your front door. Probably those new piping tips you were telling Daisy about.”
Hank slid the plain cardboard box across the counter and Emma picked it up, quickly noticing that there was nothing other than her name and the bakery’s address on it.
“Thanks, Hank.” She continued to inspect the box as Hank walked out the door.
“Don’t even think about opening that.” Gunner snatched the box from her hands.
“Excuse me? It’s probably just a delivery from one of my suppliers.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, your suppliers are in the habit of just dropping off your order outside your shop, without ever coming in to talk to you?”
When he put it like that, her stomach dropped. “No, I guess they aren’t.”
“Good. So I’ll call Stone over here to watch you and open it up across the street.”
“Gunner, don’t be ridiculous. We’ll just go back to my office for a minute. You can open it up there, and when it’s the new piping tips I ordered last week, we can just laugh and move on with our day.”
“This isn’t a laughing matter, Emma.”
She rolled her eyes. “I doubt there’s anything in the world that you would laugh at, Mr. Serious. But let’s go before the morning rush pops in here and I’m stuck waiting until this afternoon to find out what’s inside.”
“Fine.”
Emma led Gunner into her office, and the space felt even smaller than usual. The grumpy guy’s attitude filled up the whole space, suffocating her with nervous energy.
“Stand in the doorway with your back turned to me,” he ordered.
“Yeah, no.”
“If you want me to open this box here, then you’ll do as I say.”
“Fine,” she grumbled as she turned her back to her office. “Happy now?”
“No.”
She heard the sound of a knife cutting into the cardboard and couldn’t help but hold her breath as her heart pounded in her ears.
“Okay, you can come look.” She turned and slowly walked to her desk, peeking over the edge of the box. Her breath caught in her throat. “I’m assuming this is something you ordered.”
Emma pulled the deck of tarot cards out of the box. They were moon-themed, and her heart felt like it had forgotten how to beat. She opened the deck, and flipped over the top card.
Death.
The next card.
Death.
Every. Single. Card.
Death.
“Hey, did you not order these?” Gunner asked, now standing so close she could feel the anger radiating off of him.
“Of course I did,” she answered, shoving the cards back into the cardboard box and placing it on top of her filing cabinet. “How anticlimactic.” Emma turned to leave the office, but Gunner’s hand landed on her arm, stopping her from moving.
“Emma, stop. If you ordered those, why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
She sighed. “I was worked up thinking something bad could be in there, that’s all. You had me all freaked out. Now that we know it’s nothing, can I get back to work?”
He nodded, holding her arm for another second before letting her go.
Once she returned to the front of the bakery, the morning quickly got away from her as half the town seemed to want to gossip about the murder in sleepy Lark Lake. It felt like everyone and their mother found their way to Emma’s.
Around noon, Gunner left and Stone took over babysitting duties. To be honest, it was a bit of a relief. Gunner was the only guy from Seb’s team that she couldn’t crack, and spending time with him was tough. He just seemed to always put her on edge. She had been a bit of a people-pleaser growing up, so it felt uncomfortable for him to always remain so cold towards her.
Now, her feet ached from the extra rush of customers over the past few hours and her head swam a bit as she walked up to Stone’s table, where Gage was sitting with him. Both men were talking low, as if they didn’t want anyone around them to hear what was going on.
“Hey, guys. Can I get you a refill on anything?”
“Emma, you don’t have to worry about us. We can come find you if we need anything.” Gage said.
“I know, but I don’t mind.”
“We’re good. Actually, I’m about to head out. Something’s come up and Cap needs me this afternoon. So, as much as I hate to say it, you’re stuck with Tracker until closing.”
“He’s not that bad. Real easy on the eyes.” She winked at Gage and heard Stone grumble. “Don’t worry, Stone. You’re all handsome as sin. It’s honestly unfair to all of us mere mortals. We’re just stuck swooning over you.” That earned her a smile and a small kiss on her cheek before Stone turned and walked out of the bakery.
“Alright, Gage. I have to head into the kitchen for a bit, but just come on back if you need me for something.”
“I’ll be fine, Em. Try to come out and check in with me every twenty or so minutes, okay?”
“I’ll try.” Emma waved over her shoulder as she made her way into the kitchen. Her happy place now had a rain cloud hanging over it as a storm of worry brewed in her belly.
There were so many things that lined up with Marco being the killer. But the Santoro family was in Chicago. There was no way he’d be all the way in Texas dealing with things for the family. Unless, it was personal. Unless he was targeting those women in surrounding towns to make Emma squirm. If he’d found her, that sounded exactly like something he would do.
Her nose picked up on a weird scent and her already on-edge stomach turned. The garbage was nearly overflowing, and Emma scoffed, wondering how it had gotten away from her.
Tying the bag and hauling it over her shoulder, she made her way into the alley. Once the bag was in the dumpster, she realized her mistake. The new security Sebastian had put in place made it so the back door automatically locked when someone came out from the kitchen, and there was no way to open it once the door closed.
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath as she turned to the opening of the alley. Her skin pebbled and the hair on the back of her neck raised. Someone was watching her. But where?
The back door flew open and a ruffled Gage met her eyes.
“Gage, Jesus, you scared the hell out of me.”
“Why are you even back here, Emma? You know you’re not supposed to go out this door unless I’m with you. And even then, you’re only supposed to do it at the end of the day.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled as she looked over her shoulder. The creepy feeling of being watched still washed over her skin. “I just wanted to clean the trash out of the kitchen. It was overflowing, even though I took it out last night.”
Gage looked into the alley.
“Thank goodness you came or I would have been locked out.”
He grabbed her arm and placed her behind his back, still holding on to the door with his other hand. “Why are you shivering?”
“I thought….my mind just got away from me. It’s nothing.”
“No, not nothing Emma. Why do you look upset?”
She sighed. “After I threw the trash in the dumpster, I just had this feeling that someone was near by. Watching me. But when I turned around and looked, there wasn’t anyone there.”
“Let’s get you back inside.” Gage pulled out his cell as he moved his hand behind Emma, guiding her back inside.
“It’s really okay, Gage. You don’t need to call Sebastian.”
“I’m not calling him. Everyone gets a notification if the door is opened before the code is punched in, which is how I knew you were out here. I’m letting them know you’re okay. But I’m also letting Hawk and Gunner know that they need to go look around town for your step-father.”
Emma felt the color draining from her face. “Do you think it was him?”
“Do you?”
She thought for a minute, wishing she could confidently say no. But she couldn’t. “I’m not sure.”
“Then it’s important they go out and look while he could still be around. I’m watching all his bank statements to see if he’s traveling or doing anything suspicious, but the guy is completely off grid. There hasn’t been any activity on his accounts in over a year.”
“I hate this, Gage.”
“I know, Em. Every single one of us is going to work to keep you safe. No way this low life gets around us to hurt you. No way.”
“You want a coffee?” she asked as they walked back into the kitchen.
“This late in the day? I’d never get to sleep.”
Emma stared at Gage.
“How did you survive on long missions?”
“You think we were able to take an espresso machine with us out into the field?”
“Fair enough, but they didn’t even provide you with an instant option?”
“Yeah, sometimes. But honestly, I never needed it. I never wanted my mind to be in an altered state.”
Emma laughed. “I’m pretty sure I’m eighty-five percent coffee. The addiction is real.”
“You know, maybe a cup or two less a day would help with your nerves.”
Oh, of course. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. “What are you, my big brother?”
“You do remind me an awful lot of my sisters.”
Sisters? Interesting. He hadn’t mentioned them before. She couldn’t help the happy little shiver that ran up her spine. Her mind peaked with interest.
“Younger or older than you?”
“They’re both younger. Alicia is twenty-eight. Really smart. Like, light years beyond me, and she knows it too. She’s always been destined for big things. I was thrilled when she went to school to become a lawyer.”
“Why do I sense a but?”
“But…she fell in love with creative writing. She’s a novelist now. Doesn’t pay quite the same as a career in corporate law would, but her writing is brilliant. Really creative and immersive. I’m super proud of her.”
“And your other sister?”
“Elizabeth. She’s the baby and the one who you remind me the most of.”
“Oh, it’s not the super smart sister who you’re abundantly proud of?” she asked, rolling her eyes as she placed both hands on her hips.
He laughed. “You remind me of her, too. But Elizabeth has always had such a special place in my heart. She’s twenty-three. I was ten when she was born and basically understood what it meant to be a big brother once she came around. I’ve protected her from a lot of things over the years, including herself.”
“Gage.” Her heart squeezed, the understanding of what he was saying overwhelming her.
“Emma, you have to be smart here, okay? You cannot go walking outside by yourself. Those two minutes between you going outside and me getting the alarm and making it back there to you could have been the last two minutes of your life.”
“I know. I know it was stupid. I’m sorry.” Tears pricked at the back of her eyes.
“Shit, Em, don’t cry. Tears are my kryptonite.” He stood and she gave him a watery laugh as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I know, you big jerk. That’s clearly why I’m crying. To manipulate you.”
“Ah, more like Alicia than I gave you credit for.” She backed up and punched him in the chest, but his reflexes were too fast and before she knew it, she was being hauled back against him.
How quickly these men became her friends. They felt more like the brothers she never had, yet had always wanted. Something so scary had brought her something so precious, and it was weird to feel thankful for it.
The front bell chimed, and she stepped away from Gage. Sebastian walked into the back and clearly caught Emma trying to sweep the tears away from her eyes.
“What the fuck happened? Are you okay?” he asked, walking towards her with a fierce flame in his eye.
“I’m fine. Nothing happened.”
“Why were you crying?” He placed his hands on her face and she melted into the warmth.
“Gage scolded me.” When Seb sent Gage a murderous glare, Emma added, “and rightfully so. I went into the alley by myself.”
“Sprinkles. You know you’re only supposed to go back there at the end of the day and only if one of the guys is going with you.” He planted a kiss on her forehead before taking a step back from her.
“Yes. Let me re-iterate for the one millionth time that I do know that. It was stupid of me. I was distracted and on some level thought I could make it back, no problem…”
“But?”
“But….I don’t know. I felt like someone was watching me, and then I forgot that the door would lock behind me and got myself stuck out there. I was a second away from panicking and running out front when Gage opened the door.”
“What were you doing that she was able to slip out the door without you noticing?”
“It isn’t his fault.”
“I want to hear what was more important than doing his job and making sure you were protected.”
“It’s a fair question, Em. I dropped the ball, Cap. It wasn’t anything to do with Emma or her step-father. There was a detail I picked up on for that case we’re working with the FBI. I don’t think it will end up being anything groundbreaking, but I was about three bank accounts deep when the text alert came through about the back door and I took off trying to get to her.”
“Don’t let it happen again, Tracker. I was clear, the top priority, and honestly the only priority I care about, is Emma’s safety. That’s why your butt is parked in her bakery all day.”
“Yeah, I understand. I’m sorry, Cap. Emma. I’ll make sure I’m not distracted again.”
“You’re being unfair,” Emma said, looking Sebastian directly in his stormy gray eyes. “Gage was doing his job, I was the one who went against the rules. If anyone needs to be scolded, it’s me.”
“Well, I’m here now to keep an eye on you myself. Gage, you can head back over to the office and finish whatever you need to until you head back to the hotel.”
“Yeah, got it, Cap. See you both later.” Gage left the kitchen and Emma placed one hand on her hip while the other pointed a finger at Sebastian.
“That was uncalled for, Suits. He’s been the nicest out of all the guys to me and we just had a really nice bonding moment before you barged in here.”
“He’s not here to be your friend, Sprinkles. He’s here to make sure no one hurts you again.”