Chapter 12
Suzy’s mind struggled to keep up with the explosion of information hurled her way. But amid the constant chatter and beeping from the machines, one truth rang loud and clear in her brain.
No one really knew who was terrorizing her and her friends. Duke had his suspicions, although it now seemed far-fetched. And the person they thought was responsible was miles away, hungover in Texas.
For the first time since Duke grabbed her hand, the chill from before came back.
Goosebumps erupted up her arms and the shivers she fought so hard to get under control shook her teeth.
She kept her focus locked on Heather, willing her to wake up.
Then maybe they could figure out this whole mess and get on with their lives.
“She drives a red sedan,” Duke said, his gravelly voice breaking through her spiraling thoughts. “She supposedly left town this morning, but I’d be on the lookout for her.”
Spencer scribbled in a notepad. “I’ll check if anyone’s seen her around town and put the word out to the state troopers.”
“But why would Chrissy hurt Heather?” Suzy asked. “I thought the two of them always got along.”
Lane stood with his arms anchored across his chest. “What if she wasn’t trying to hurt Heather?”
Okay, so now her fuseboard was completely fried because what Lane said made zero sense.
“But Heather was hurt. And she was at Duke’s house when the fire was started and she was with me when the threat was scratched into my car.
At this point, it’s clear someone is after her and not Duke.
I mean, she’s the one laying in the hospital bed. ”
“Shit,” Duke muttered and scrubbed a palm over his face. “Suzy, who else was present for all of those things?”
“Well, I was, but there’s no reason for anyone to want to hurt me.”
“Except a woman who’s pissed off at a man who won’t give her what she wants,” Lane said, his voice hard as steel. “We all thought it was strange she found you at the bakery this morning.”
Suzy shook her head from side to side, unable to believe something so absurd. “So she what? Stalked me? Watched me in my apartment until she could come up on me and pretend it was an accident?”
Three sets of eyes stared back at her.
“Oh God,” she said, the truth becoming impossible to ignore. “She did those things. She wanted to hurt me, not Heather. I’m the one who should be in that bed.”
Duke shifted so his knees touched hers and they sat face-to-face. “No, neither of you should be in that bed. Chrissy’s always been a hothead. Always been unpredictable. But she’s escalated every time I’ve seen her, and now she’s gone way too far.”
A different kind of fear settled in her gut. She was too close to this kind of danger once when Celine was in the center of some madman’s vendetta. She never imagined she’d find herself in another nightmare, this time with a target on her own back.
“What do I do now? Just sit around and wait for her to find me?”
“No,” Duke said. “She won’t get to you. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
The frantic beat of her heart echoed in her ears.
“What do you mean by that?” Lane barked out the question.
Duke squeezed her hand and leveled her with his baby blues. “I’ll protect you. I won’t leave your side until this is over. I won’t fail you. I promise.”
Her breath caught at the base of her throat. Excitement made her nerve endings dance. This was crazy. She was looking at the barrel end of a woman who was capable of God only knew what and all she could think about was how lucky she was to get to spend time with Duke.
She should be committed.
“There’s no reason for her to stick with you,” Lane said. “She can stay at the house with me and Celine.”
Bristling, she straightened her spine. “And bring trouble back to your house? With Parker there? No way.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you or Parker,” Lane said.
“No,” she said, with a little shake of her head. “You have your family to look after—” Lane opened his mouth to interrupt, but she held up a hand and kept going. “And even though I’m a part of that family, I’m not your responsibility.”
Lane snorted. “But you’re his?”
Duke stood and faced off with her brother. “I’m the reason trouble came knocking at her door, and I’m the one who wants to make things right. But it’s up to Suzy what she wants to do. I’ll respect her decision, but I hope like hell she picks me.”
Heat engulfed her face, and if she wasn’t sitting in a hospital room with her brother, a sheriff’s deputy, and an unconscious woman she’d throw herself at Duke right now.
A raspy cough from the bed caught everyone’s attention. Heather’s eyes lifted and she cringed. “He’s a big baby when he doesn’t get his way. You better stay with Duke.”
Suzy gasped, but she resisted the urge to fly to Heather’s side. Instead, she stepped to the side to let Duke get to his sister.
Duke sniffed, holding back the tears rimming his eyes, and a grin split his handsome face.
He rested a hand on her arm, gripping the bed rail with his other hand.
“You always have to make an entrance, don’t you?
You’ve probably been laying there, waiting for the best time to speak and let us know you’re awake. ”
Heather’s attempt at a smile came out more like a wince. “Someone has to keep you in your place. Might as well be me.” Shifting she tried to sit up.
“Don’t move around too much,” Suzy said.
“I’ll go get the doctor,” Spencer said. “Glad you’re awake.”
Heather waited until the deputy left before she asked, “What in the world happened?”
“You fell off a horse.” Duke smoothed back a piece of wayward hair. “Hit your head real good. You have a concussion but no other injuries. You’ll feel like shit for a few days.”
“Lucky me.”
“You are lucky,” Lane said. “Someone set off a homemade bomb. You and Suzy both could have been killed.”
Heather squeezed her eyes shut and a tear fell down her cheek. “I’m so sorry. I put everyone in danger.”
“It wasn’t Mason,” Duke said. “He’s been back in Texas this whole time.”
“Then who?”
“It’s Chrissy.” Duke glanced behind him and locked his gaze with Suzy. “And I’m pretty sure you aren’t the target. Haven’t been this whole time.”
Terror settled on Suzy’s shoulders as her new reality took root. Someone wanted her dead and there was no telling how far they’d go to hurt her.
But one thing was true. Duke would do anything to keep her safe, and she didn’t plan to leave his side.
Disconnecting the call, Duke leaned against the doorframe in the waiting room and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He’d hoped to leave the rest of his family out of the shitstorm that had descended on him and his sister, but with Heather admitted into the hospital for the night, that wasn’t possible.
His mother had taken the conversation better than expected and had assured him that she’d pass the news along to the rest of the family. She’d begged him to return home, bringing Heather with him, but he wouldn’t be run out of town. He had too much here to fight for.
He had Suzy.
A bit of tension melted away at the thought of her. She’d agreed to stick close to him until the danger had passed, and he planned to use the time wisely. To really get to know her and let her see the kind of man he was.
The kind of man he wanted to be for her.
“How’d the call go?”
Lane’s abrupt presence set him on edge. He shoved his phone back in his pocket then crossed the room to plop into a chair. “As good as can be expected, I guess.”
“You tell her you think your ex is responsible?”
Anchoring his elbow on the hard arm of the chair, Duke rested his head in his hand. “Yeah. She always had a soft spot for Chrissy. I think that’s over now.”
Lane claimed the seat across the from him, angling away from the television blaring in the corner of the otherwise empty room. “Bet so. From what I’ve learned about this woman, it’s hard to imagine anyone would have anything but contempt for her.”
Duke snorted. “True, but she wasn’t always such a loose cannon. My mom still sees her as the cold and scared little girl who’d come by our house when her parents fought.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed, not really wanting to get into it but feeling like he owed it to his friend to explain the situation more than he had.
Especially now with Suzy caught in the crossfire.
“I’m from a town about half the size of Hillmore.
Chrissy grew up down the road, and our moms had known each other in school.
My mom wasn’t a big fan of Chrissy’s mom—she was a hard woman who was always a bit erratic—and her father was a bully.
Lots of screaming, lots of fights over there.
Chrissy would come to our house when things were really bad. ”
“And your mom would take care of her?”
“Yeah. Feed her, stitch up holes in the knees of her pants, help with homework. Anything she could do to lend a hand and not get Chrissy in trouble.”
“Your mom sounds like a hell of a woman. Wish I’d had someone like that when I was young.”
Duke had heard rumblings about the kind of man Lane’s father had been, but he’d never opened up about his upbringing.
Not like he blamed Lane. The two of them hadn’t exactly been close before Duke showed up in town and refused to leave.
He’d like to think they were more than business partners now…
had created a real friendship…but for all he knew that was one-sided.
And something that could be gone in the snap of the fingers if he made a move on Suzy. But that was a risk he had to take.
“She’s the best,” Duke said, after a beat of silence.
“But sometimes she has a hard time seeing beyond the tragic story to the truth. Or hell, who knows, maybe Chrissy has always been her true self with my mom in a way she can’t be with anyone else.
Regardless, I’ve shielded Mom from a lot of the crap Chrissy’s pulled over the years, but this… this time she’s gone way too far.”
“She sure has,” Lane said. “I won’t sit by and watch my sister get hurt.”
He straightened, not appreciating the hint of a threat tinging Lane’s words. “I won’t let anyone near her. I promised her, and I promise you. I’ll guard her with my own damn life.”
“You’re the one I’m afraid will hurt her.”
Duke worked his jaw back and forth as if Lane had just landed a sucker punch. Sure, he had his own concerns about starting something with Suzy. But to know his friend thought the worst of him—that Lane assumed he wasn’t good enough for his sister—tore open a wound he didn’t even know existed.
“Do you really think so little of me?”
Lane kept his expression emotionless, his lips pressed in a tight line.
He lifted one shoulder and kept his gaze locked on Duke.
“I’ve known you for years. Seen a string of women come and go.
Hell, you drove your ex-girlfriend to seek revenge on a woman you haven’t even dated yet.
Why would I think you’d be good for my sister? ”
Anger swam through his veins and shoved him to his feet.
“Maybe because you know me. You’ve spent months with me, side by side while we built this business.
Made our homes and our lives in this town.
You of all people should know I’d never take things to the next level with Suzy if I wasn’t completely sure I was ready.
That we could have something great together. ”
Lane stood and took a small step forward so their boots were toe to toe. “It takes more than a few months to erase years of impressions. And for years, you ran from town to town—woman to woman. I won’t let my sister by your latest fling before you find something shinier.”
The anger left, replaced by a bone deep sadness. After all this time, his so-called friend didn’t understand him at all. “You don’t know shit.”
“No?” Lane asked. “Give me one example of a successful relationship you’ve had. Of a woman you haven’t crushed.”
“What about you?” Duke shot back, pressing into Lane’s personal space. “We ran in the same circles. Drank at the same bars. Had the same track record with the ladies we met on the circuit. You came back home and found your family. Your purpose. How’s that any different?”
“Because I came back to the place I was never supposed to leave. You were never meant to be here in the first place.”
Duke staggered backward as if Lane had landed the knockout punch. He balled his fists at his side instead of slamming them into Lane’s face. “Screw you, man.”
Tense silence weaved between them as time ticked on. There was so much he wanted to say, wanted to do, but he kept himself in check. Too much had already passed that couldn’t be undone. No need to take things even farther.
At least not yet.
Suzy appeared in the doorway. She’d pulled her long hair into a low ponytail and fatigue hung heavy under her eyes. “Heather’s asleep and there’s a guard posted at her door. Might be a good time for me to grab some things from my place.”
They both turned to face her.
“Wow,” Suzy said, drawing out the word. “What did I step into?”
Duke stormed away from Lane and caught Suzy’s hand as he walked out of the room. “Nothing. Let’s go get your stuff.”
He put distance between him and Lane, but the damage was done. Seeds of doubt sprang to life in his mind, but he kept his thoughts to himself as he opened the passenger door to his truck and waited for Suzy to climb inside before slamming it shut and rounding the hood to the driver’s side.
Maybe Lane was right. He wasn’t good enough for Suzy and never would be.