Chapter 32
Eric
Three days passed in a strange pocket of almost normal.
Not normal the way life used to be. But normal in the way people create when danger is circling and pretending everything’s fine and feels easier than acknowledging the truth.
Harmony slipped back into her routines with a slow and quiet determination that made me both proud and ready to break something in anyone who even looked at her wrong.
She’d insisted she wasn’t going to hide in my room or in the house all day, so Dad loaned her one of the old Maple Valley pickups.
It was a beat-up navy Ford with reinforced locks, upgraded tires, and a tracker Becket installed before she even got behind the wheel.
“There,” Dad had said, handing her the keys like he was issuing a weapon instead of a vehicle. “You’re safe, and you’re mobile. But you check in every time you leave somewhere. No exceptions.”
Harmony had nodded with that mixture of gratitude and reluctance that lived under her skin now.
She didn’t want to be managed. But she didn’t want to be reckless either.
So every morning, she drove the truck to Petals and Pines and worked alongside Sandy, trimming bouquets and organizing supply orders while pretending she wasn’t looking over her shoulder at every jingling bell above the shop door.
Across the street, I kept watch from the bakery window, just enough to know she was okay.
And each time I saw her smile at a customer, or bend to tie ribbon around a bouquet, something settled in my chest. A reminder she was here.
Alive. Fighting. Choosing to live despite everything shadowing her.
By late morning, dough rose in metal bins behind me, the scent of maple twists filling the bakery as I packed the counter with fresh trays.
Becket sat at one of the bistro tables with his laptop open in front of him, typing fast, eyes sharp.
“You sleep at all?” I asked.
“Two hours,” he muttered, not looking up. “My contact was sending me updates through the night. Harmony’s old channels forked through five relays she didn’t recognize. That means someone’s either rewriting her signature or piggybacking off an old session she forgot to purge.”
I paused mid-reach for another tray. “Is that bad?”
“A little.”
Translation: extremely.
He continued, “She’s running scans on every outgoing node, but whoever this is knows how to hide.”
My jaw flexed. “So what do we do?”
“Track it,” Becket said calmly. “And wait.”
Becket only said “wait” when he was certain waiting was the least reckless option, but even then it never felt good.
“Should we discuss who this crime analyst is who’s messaging you in the middle of the night?” I cocked my brow and gave him a mischievous grin. Maybe it was because my heart was beating differently with Harmony in my life, and I wanted to see my brother feeling the warmth of a woman in his life.
“You’re getting mushy on me. First Phoenix, now you,” he complained.
“Come on, that isn’t a bad thing,” I feigned.
“Look, I appreciate that you love Harmony,” he said, even if I hadn’t made that admission yet. “But a serious relationship isn’t in the cards for me. Accept it and move on.”
Yup, I wasn’t getting through to him right now. “I just want what’s best for you, bro,” I said to him.
“Dad reopening Mom’s missing person’s case is what’s best,” he replied. We were back to this again.
I exhaled and he closed his computer. “I’m going to make rounds around town.”
“Okay,” I said. “Here, take a maple twist to go.”
I passed him one in a paper bag.
“Thanks.” He looked at the bag. “You don’t need to be doing this forever. My guess is, Harmony would love to run the bakeries.”
He remembered how she was into baking. How she used to talk about her mother’s recipes and left them behind when she ran away from town.
“Not there yet, but thanks for the idea.” I winked like what he had suggested was no big deal. He left and I got back to work.
By evening, Main Street looked peaceful in that small-town way that fooled outsiders.
Families pushed strollers along the sidewalks, elderly couples lingered with coffees outside the café, and a group of teens cut across toward the park behind the community center.
But Dad hadn’t let any of that fool him.
He’d added two additional patrols on the north end of the street.
And he upgraded the cameras facing Main Street earlier in the week.
He also told every officer on duty to keep an eye out for a navy sedan or anything resembling Harmony’s previous sightings.
He didn’t talk about it around her, but I saw the way his eyes sharpened every time a car slowed near the shop.
He was tightening the perimeter. Quietly. Efficiently. The same way he had during major investigations before the public ever realized something was wrong. Harmony didn’t know it, but the whole town was bending around her safety.
At night she slept in my arms and by day we worked across the street from each other. It was convenient how close we were because it gave me peace during the day, knowing I was close if she needed me.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Harmony: We’re running low on white peonies. Can you bring a box from the back storage? Sandy needs it for the bridal order.
I smiled despite everything.
Me: On my way.
Becket walked in just as I was heading across the street.
Knowing him, it was an unofficial check-in.
Val-Du- Lys wasn’t known as a high crime area, except for the dealings of the Bellerose family, so it made sense that Harmony was the major case in town.
“Tell her I said no hacking until I get a full trace. And I mean it.”
“Maybe you should tell her yourself.” I smirked because if there was one thing I learned, it was Harmony was stubborn.
He snorted. “She respects you more.”
That was debatable.
I crossed the street and walked into the florist’s shop.
I saw Sandy first. “Thanks for helping.”
“Anytime,” I replied and I headed to the back where Harmony was waiting.
She said hello and kissed me, not a quick hello kiss but the kind that lingered. The kind that got my body worked up and made me think all kinds of dirty thoughts. Like taking her here in the back room.
“That’s a nice hello,” I said once she broke the kiss.
“I missed you,” she said. Knowing how hard it was for her to share feelings made it mean more.
“I missed you too.” I wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her into me. This time I slipped her tongue and was greeted with a sweet moan. That’s when she stopped the kiss.
“I’m working. I can’t do this now.” She grinned.
“I understand. Was there actually a box of flowers you needed help with?”
“Yes, right over there.” She pointed and I lifted the large box and took it out front to Sandy, who grinned at me like she knew what we were up to.
That’s when I noticed Asher across the street.
He leaned against Dad’s SUV, talking to a couple of older teenage boys, who I recognized as kids from the community center.
One of them practiced a jab-cross combination as Asher corrected the angle of his elbow.
He caught me watching and lifted his chin in acknowledgment.
I said bye to Sandy and Harmony and walked over to him.
“You starting early today?” I asked across the street.
Asher shrugged. “Open gym was packed yesterday. Figured I’d help them work off some steam before school.”
“Since when are you their coach?”
“Since they listened.” He smirked. “Don’t worry. I’m keeping an eye on the trucks and the shop entrances too.”
I nodded, appreciating him more than he’d ever let me say out loud.
Harmony pushed open the floral shop door then, soft bell chiming.
When she spotted me, something warm lit her face and she gave me a shy smile, and that was all I needed.
Normal things. Watching Harmony smile and have it touch her eyes.
But things weren’t truly normal because my brother was outside standing guard.
I was on constant alert and Dad and Becket were checking in way too often.
Things had been quiet for days, but history taught us that the quiet didn’t last long.