24. Val
TWENTY-FOUR
VAL
I couldn’t believe Evan was actually doing it.
Gemma had that man wrapped around her little finger, and he didn’t even realize it.
The Tipp, Montana, Axe of Kindness was, in fact, for charity.
The money collected, along with the wood they split, went to local families who’d fallen on hard times.
Men of all ages, sizes, and strength lined up to show off their skills in a relay race–style wood-splitting competition.
Spectators could also bet on their favorite competitor, all of the money going to the families in need.
Scrawled on a large dry-erase board were nearly twenty names with dollar amounts next to them.
I proudly put fifty dollars on Evan and watched on the outskirts as he stood behind a large stump.
He dragged his hands down his thighs, and I squeezed my own together.
Fuck me, that man is sexy.
The announcer of the competition spent a few minutes talking with the competitors, ensuring they knew the rules and expectations. She then turned to the crowd. “Let’s hear it for them! ”
The crowd roared in appreciation of the men.
She introduced each person in the competition, and the donation totals continued to steadily rise.
Evan was a clear favorite, the dollar amount next to his name going higher and higher.
Other men had fans as they laughed and flexed, getting into the fun of it all.
When she got to Evan, he introduced himself and was rewarded with whoops and hollers as he lifted a hand to wave. I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Take some of it off!”
Gemma burst out laughing, and Evan hammered me with a death stare.
A ripple of laughter pinched my sides. With some added encouragement from the announcer, Evan finally smirked and shook his head.
The crowd went crazy as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it off.
Hard, rippling muscles flexed, and I had to press my tongue to the roof of my mouth to keep it from wagging.
His tattoos snaked up his arms and molded onto his back.
Even the way he stood oozed sex appeal. He adjusted his belt and jeans, and I thought I was going to combust.
Donations for Evan shot through the roof.
I clapped and bounced on my toes, shouting him words of encouragement.
He lifted his chin to me, and Gemma grabbed my arm.
A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd as the men readied themselves.
The announcer raised an air horn as Evan’s long fingers flexed at his sides.
The strong muscles in his back tensed as he watched and waited.
With a blast of the air horn, they were off.
“Here’s your goat yoga.” Evan tossed the envelope over his shoulder to Gemma, who sat in the back seat of his truck. “Are you happy?”
He tried to sound annoyed, but his voice was tinged with laughter. Gemma danced her feet in the back seat as she held the certificate to her chest.
“Yes! This is so amazing. You killed it out there.”
A smug smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. I slid my hand across the bench seat and settled it on top of his. With a squeeze, I said, “You were very impressive.”
He turned his head and winked. “Glad you enjoyed it.”
“Enjoyed it? Val dropped fifty bucks on you!” Gemma leaned back against the seat in pure satisfaction.
Evan had more than killed it. He’d crushed the competition.
Once the air horn sounded, he’d torn off like a wild man toward the first stump and the pile of logs.
In single swings, he split the wood, sending large chunks flying, before moving onto the next pile. It hadn’t even been close.
He looked at me and my breath hitched.
“What? It was for charity.”
I settled into my seat. A warm, melty feeling spread through me. Gemma’s laughter, Evan smiling with his hand on mine in the truck—I couldn’t imagine a more perfect night.
I watched the flats of Montana speed past me as the fading summer sun sank lower behind the mountains.
Evan’s warm palm pressed into mine, and he rubbed small circles with his thumb.
The drive was quiet, peaceful. I couldn’t remember a time where my mind felt so quiet.
Every so often I’d catch Evan looking at me instead of the country road, and I wondered if he felt the same surprising comfort I did.
A warm Montana breeze pushed my hair from my face as I sipped my iced coffee and waited for Gemma to meet me at Brewed Awakening.
We’d made plans to work out again today.
Behind her perky facade, I could tell her anxiety still simmered just below the surface, but every day she was getting stronger and more confident.
The self-defense lessons I was teaching her seemed to help her shed some of the guardedness that settled between her shoulders.
Sitting at one of the outdoor tables, I flipped a page of another novel Gemma had convinced me to check out.
Holy hotness.
I’d started off with what Gemma called a spicy romance but quickly found myself eyeballs deep in everything from blue aliens to minotaurs to rodeo cowboys with an attitude. There was truly something for everyone, and I was, Here. For. It.
Glancing up, I saw Gemma approaching with Johnny in tow. I slid my bookmark between the pages.
I’ll show Evan that little trick later.
I smiled at them as they approached. “You working out with us today?”
Johnny looked at me over his lowered eyebrows. “Ew. No. I just had a little something for Gemma.”
She lifted a small brown bag, and a tentative smile pressed her lips together as she glanced away.
“I’m off. Bye, gals!”
We said goodbye, and my eyes shifted to whatever it was Johnny had given her.
Gemma tucked it into her gym bag. She caught me looking at it and zipped her bag closed.
“He ordered some specialty scar-treatment cream. Thought I might want to try it.” Her voice was thick as she fought against her emotions .
I stood, pulling her into me. “There are good, kind people here, aren’t there?”
She only nodded. I released her and tucked my book into my bag, then walked my empty cup to the garbage.
I bumped my hip into her playfully as we walked. The gym was only a few blocks away, and my muscles enjoyed the warm-up.
Gemma was quiet on the walk, still lost in her thoughts. “He’s a good guy.”
“Johnny? Definitely.”
“You know he said something today. It’s probably nothing, but something about it feels weird.”
An acute prickle tugged between my shoulder blades. “What was it?”
Nervous energy radiated off Gemma. “Johnny joked about having the hots for someone new.”
“New?” My eyes whipped to her, and my hands clenched the strap of my bag as we walked.
“Someone he said he’s noticed around town. I think he was only half joking about how cute the guy was. But I guess this man showed up around town a few times, asking some weird questions. He told me to keep a heads-up. Do you think it’s weird no one knows who this guy is?”
I steadied my breath, alarm bells shrieking between my ears. Gemma didn’t need me freaking out.
“People pass through Tipp a lot. It’s small, but not that small, you know?”
She nodded, unconvinced. “Yeah.”
“Hey. No worries. We’re probably safer here than anywhere on the planet.” Her eyes met mine, and I tried to give her an encouraging smile, but it felt a little more like a grimace. I pulled open the door to the gym. “Let’s go kick some ass.”
Gemma and I worked out for over an hour—some cardio, light weights, and a little sparring and more self-defense training to finish off. The entire time I couldn’t stop thinking about what Johnny had reported to Gemma.
It was probably nothing. Just some guy who was passing through and had caught his eye.
Some guy who was asking some weird questions .
That bit stuck with me as I pulled the Silverado across the bridge just outside of the ranch. I couldn’t let it go, and the niggling feeling stayed with me. Something wasn’t right about it. Johnny wasn’t a gossip and wouldn’t have mentioned it had it not alarmed him too.
It had been over a week since Agent Walsh had informed me that I’d passed my psych review, and there still hadn’t been any word on when I was cleared to go back to Chicago.
Though he said it could take some time, I had no idea if that meant a few days, a week, longer?
May was creeping closer to June and I was still left waiting.
What if he calls and tells me it’s time—that I need to pack up and leave? I’d have no time to say goodbye.
No. That couldn’t happen—definitely not if something odd was happening in town and there was even the tiniest chance that Evan and Gemma could be in danger.
Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe I was just looking for any excuse to have a little more time. It didn’t matter. My gut was telling me something major was off. I pulled into a space outside of the lodge and marched toward Ma’s office. I raised a hand to knock.
Her head lifted, and a friendly smile greeted me. “Val, how are you, dear?”
Energy bounced on my insides, and I tried to stay calm. “ I’m fine. Good. I was wondering if I could use your phone? My cell still doesn’t get any service out here.”
She immediately stood. “Of course. I’m surprised you haven’t switched carriers yet, but you’re always welcome to use the office phone.”
I lifted a noncommittal shoulder. Switching cell carriers would certainly make my life easier. As it was, I got good reception only when I was in town. Out on the ranch, it was nearly a dead zone. But that felt big. A step toward permanent.
Ma shuffled a few papers before rounding her desk. She stopped in front of me and smiled. “Evan came to see me this morning. He mentioned that his relationship with you has somewhat changed.”
Panic laced through me. Things had certainly shifted from sneaking around to public displays of affection at the barn party yesterday, but we hadn’t talked about it yet.
Evan and I still needed to discuss whether that was a mistake, a fluke, or our new normal.
I understood exactly why we should probably keep things quiet.
An integral part of your protection was that there were no ties to your old life.
None. I was a direct link to the night Gemma was taken and Evan was shot.
If someone outside of Tipp were to find out their real identities, they’d be able to directly link us to each other.
That information in the wrong hands could mean serious trouble for Evan and Gemma.
“Yes, ma’am.” I lifted my chin and steadied my breathing.
She nodded and paused. “He is building life here. Are you?”
I could only blink.
“Just know this,” she continued. “If you hurt that boy, you won’t be dealing with Agent Brown—you’ll be dealing with Ma.”
Stunned, my mouth dropped open.
Me? Hurt Evan?
Dismissed, I moved toward the door but cleared the burn in my throat when she reached the doorway. “If either of us are coming out unscathed,” I said, “it’s him.”
Ma didn’t look back. Tears pricked at my eyes as I watched her walk away. I couldn’t let anything happen to the people I cared about. Being linked together was a risk we were willingly putting ourselves in, but I also couldn’t force myself to walk away from him.
My gut was screaming at me that something was brewing in Tipp, Montana, and I had to do something about it.
If I called Agent Walsh and requested my return to Chicago be expedited, I would sever the link between Evan Walker and me forever.
That also meant that if there was someone asking questions around town, I wouldn’t be here to protect them.
Evan would have laughed his ass off at the thought of anyone protecting him , but the truth of it was I had the training.
I was an officer and a damn good one. Until we knew for sure who the mysterious stranger was and whether he was a threat, Evan was no longer safe here.
Neither was Gemma. I steeled myself against the fear that slammed against my ribs.
If I stayed, I would have more time with Evan, but anyone looking to cause trouble would find all three of us in one convenient location. Nausea bubbled up and threatened at the back of my throat.
It should have been an impossible choice.
I dug through my purse and pulled up his contact information. My fingers flew over the numbers, and I tapped them on my thigh as I listened to it ring.
“Neil Walsh.”
“Agent Walsh, this is Val Rivera. I have a proposition for you.”