27. Sarah
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
sarah
I was already halfway through my shift, but my feet didn’t ache like they normally did. Even though I didn’t like the thought of Colt spending money on me, I was incredibly thankful for the new shoes.
I carried a tray of food to a booth with two familiar faces. Katie Mays and Anna, her wife, smiled at me as I put their plates down in front of them. “How does it all look?” I asked cheerily.
“Good,” Katie said. “How’s everything going?”
“It’s going as well as it can,” I said honestly.
I’d gone to high school with Katie and while the two of us weren’t close then, I considered her a friend now. I liked Anna too. Plus, they were friends of Colt and Sammy.
“I see Sammy is watching you like a hawk,” Anna said with a smirk.
My cheeks heated and I glanced up at him, meeting his gaze across the cafe. Even this far away, the electric shock of him went all the way down to my toes.
“He is. It’s all been a little chaotic...”
“Well, if you need anything, just let us know,” Katie said. “We’re on the lookout for David too, but haven’t seen him around. It’s like he’s a damn ghost.”
My stomach tugged. Not knowing where my ex-husband was made me uneasy. Since he’d shown up on my doorstep, it was like he’d disappeared in thin air.
“He’s not that smart though,” Anna said. “He’ll turn up eventually.”
“True,” I agreed. “Just hopefully not on my doorstep again.”
Katie cracked her knuckles. “Seriously, have the Harlows call us if some shit goes down.”
Anna shook her head. “Okay, Wonder Woman. Relax. I think she’s ready for a fight.”
“Ready to save a beautiful woman from a stupid son of a bitch? Yep.”
I laughed. “Thank you both. Holler if y’all need anything.”
They nodded and started in on their food. It was a little early for the dinner rush, but the cafe was still bustling. I checked on a few more tables before darting to the back.
Alice glanced up at me from a stack of napkins and silverware she was prepping. Her curls were down today and haloed her head, her eyes glimmering gold.
She arched a brow. “I take it we’re keeping Colt and Sammy as part of the staff every day?”
I winced. “Yeah. They want someone with me with everything going on.”
Alice hummed in agreement. “Good. I like that. How are you feeling?”
“I’m doing okay, actually,” I admitted. “Hopeful? Scared? A lot of things. ”
Her lips pulled into a soft smile. “Let me know if you need anything. Also, do you want Saturday off again?”
I hesitated. “Yes, I’d appreciate it.” Did I shoot my shot? “Actually, Alice, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure,” she said. “Anything.”
“Well... It’s stupid, really. But I’m thinking about making baked goods to sell. Would that be something you’re interested in carrying here? Like grab-and-go muffins. If not, it’s fine. I don’t want to step on toes?—”
“Do it,” she said, grinning. “Why not? We don’t have anything like that. We can try it out.”
“What? Really?” I was shocked. My stomach did a slow flip. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said brightly. “So long as I get to taste them first.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll make a batch soon and drop some off for you to try. How does that sound? If you hate them, there are no hard feelings.”
“It’s hard to hate a muffin, but I promise to be honest,” she chuckled.
I smiled. “Thank you for giving me the chance. I’ll bake them on my next day off.” Which wouldn’t be until next Saturday, but that was fine.
“Perfect.”
I breathed out and fought the urge to squeal. It was just a small step, but it felt right. It felt good.
“Now, go take a quick break,” Alice said. “Take a breather and then come back in. I’m trusting that Sammy is keeping you fed.”
“He is,” I promised. I reached into my pocket for my phone, and realized I must have left it in the car. I set the tray down on a table and checked my purse hanging by the back door, but it wasn’t there. “I’m going to run out to my car real quick. ”
“Take a real break,” Alice called without looking back at me.
I opened the back door and stepped out into the cold. It was a bright blue sky today with not a single cloud in sight, a nice respite from the gray. Still, I held my arms as a brisk breeze blew straight through me.
I crossed the sidewalk to my Honda and frowned. Someone had left something on my windshield. I leaned over and flattened the paper down, every muscle freezing me in place.
Tucked beneath the wiper was a newspaper article with Thomas Connor’s face printed on it. YOU’RE NEXT was written over the headline, circled in blood red ink.
Arms circled me. I screamed, driving my elbow back into a hard stomach.
“ Angel , it’s me,” Sammy grunted quickly, releasing me. “Fuck. Christ. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I wasn’t thinking.”
“God,” I gasped, my entire body trembling. “What the hell?!”
He’d scared the fuck out of me.
“I’m so sorry,” he said again. “Come here.”
Sammy held out his arms. I immediately buried my face against his chest. I tried to breathe, holding onto him as my heart slowed.
“I am so sorry. I won’t sneak up like that again.” Sammy pressed his face against the top of my head, squeezing me tight. “Are you okay? I saw you out the window and decided to come outside.”
“There’s an article on my car,” I said.
He didn’t let go of me as he leaned forward, muttering a curse. I looked over my shoulder as he picked up the newspaper, his brows drawing together in a glare.
“Go back inside. I’ll…”
“Do what?” My voice shook as I spoke. “We can’t do anything. Whoever left that is long gone.”
“This is a threat.” He shook his head, staring down at the red circle.
The other word circled on the page was my name.
My stomach twisted as nausea crept up. Fear stiffened every muscle in my body, my heart still racing. Whoever had left this here clearly wanted to scare me, and they had succeeded.
I heard the back door slam and looked up to see Alice rushing to us with a frown. “What happened?” she asked. Sammy handed her the newspaper and her eyes widened. “What the fuck? We should probably call someone.”
“I don’t think they can do anything with that,” I said. “It’s not like Bud is going to be able to find David with a newspaper.”
“Do you think it was David?” Alice asked with a frown. She looked over the paper once more and then handed it back to Sammy. “We would have spotted him… right? I mean all of us are on high alert. I look out the window every five minutes. It would be really ballsy of him to show up in broad daylight.”
She had a point. “I can’t think of who else it might be,” I said.
The entire situation exasperated me. Where was David? Was he lurking around every corner, waiting for me to be alone? Or was it someone else? The woman who stopped us at the theater?
“I’m so tired,” I whispered. “I just want things to be normal. Is that too much to ask?”
“Until we catch him, it might be,” Alice said. “But it’s going to be okay. Could it have been that lady? ”
“Maybe?” I looked at the paper again, scouring for any other clues.
“This is an old paper,” Sammy said. “Printed last year. Whoever put this here has kept this article for a while.”
“It could have been someone random too,” I said. “Some people still blame me for what happened.”
Sammy and Alice shook their heads. “It pisses me off,” Alice muttered. “You didn’t know.”
“I didn’t. But not everyone believes me.”
In fact, a lot of people still blamed me. Even though I was a victim in that situation, many felt like I was some sort of harlot who had tempted Thomas into being a serial killer. Because of course that’s how serial killing worked.
It was insane and made no sense, but that was part of why everything had been so hard for us. It wasn’t just David who hated me—there were people I’d known my whole life who now thought twice before talking to me. It was the strain of knowing that my boys had been impacted so deeply by all of this, to the point that I worried about them going to school and being bullied.
Alice pressed her lips into a line, looking over my car. She crossed her arms, her gaze darting to me.
“I don’t know what you’re about to say, but I already don’t like it,” I muttered.
She snorted. “We’re getting to know each other too well. Take the day off. Go home, reset.”
I immediately shook my head. “I can’t. We’re about to have the dinner rush.”
“I’ll pay you. I rather you be safe, Sarah.”
“I can’t take advantage of you like that. You already do so much for me.”
Her gaze softened. “Sarah, I care about you. And I know how hard of a worker you are, and I appreciate that, but beyond you working for me—I want you to be safe. This is scary.”
“I just want to work,” I said. “I want to forget about it. I need to stay busy. If I go home right now, I’ll fall apart. I can’t do it. Please.”
Sammy gently rubbed my shoulders, not interfering. Alice gave him a pleading look, but he shook his head. “Whatever you decide. I go where she goes.”
“Okay.” Alice rubbed her temples. “Okay, fine. Stay for the rest of the shift. Not a single minute over. And if anything else happens or anything feels off, you’d better tell me. Okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
She grimaced and glanced back at the newspaper. “This is some scary shit. I wasn’t here last year when everything happened to your sister, but I just… I hate the idea of someone coming around like this. It’s dangerous.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry–”
She held up her hand. “Don’t do that.”
I made a face. Alice offered me a patient smile as I tried to find words that weren’t completely apologetic. “I need the normalcy of working. This could have been nothing. Maybe just an angry local.”
“It’s too much of a coincidence,” Sammy said. “I’m starting to wonder if that woman is related to the Thomas Connor situation.”
“Maybe he had a secret family,” Alice said.
“Maybe?” I echoed.
I hadn’t thought about that. But at this point, anything was a possibility.
There were a lot of unknowns when it came to Thomas.
Sammy gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I still have to tell everyone about this.”
I sighed. “Can it wait until I finish working?”
“No,” he said. “Colt would kill me. Your sister would kill me. Everyone would kill me.”
Alice stepped toward the door. “If you don’t tell them, I will.”
I fought a groan. “Fine. I’m going back inside.”
Sammy chuckled. “Right behind you, angel.”