Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
B ecket hit the bag hard and watched it tremble under the force. Air hissed between his teeth and his blood pumped fast.
He hit the bag again, ignoring the exhaustion that pulled at his limbs.
How long had he been at this? Thirty minutes? Forty? It didn’t matter. He wanted to exhaust his body. Dull the fury inside him. The frustration that was the last few days without Sky.
She’d ended things between them. Broken up with him, for him, to keep him safe, and nothing he’d said had changed her mind.
He hit the bag harder.
He’d tried calling her. He needed to hear her voice and talk some damn sense into her. But she wouldn’t answer. And she hadn’t responded to a single text. When he’d gone over to her place before work today, her car was gone.
She was scared. He got that. He understood her fear. Charlie had died because of an accident she’d been involved in, and now she was convinced he was at risk too. But pushing him away wasn’t the answer.
A throat cleared behind him, and he turned his head to see Teddy standing in the doorway.
Becket looked back at the bag and hit it again. “What is it, Teddy?”
“Just checking in. You didn’t seem yourself at training this morning.”
His back teeth ground together. The team had done some sprint training this morning, and yeah, he’d been short with the entire crew. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You almost bit Irene’s head off when she told you to ease up.”
Three more punches.
“Is it Sky?” Teddy asked. “Did something happen?”
Another punch, and this time the bag swung back violently. “We broke up.”
Teddy cursed. “I’m sorry, man.”
Several more hits, each harder than the last.
Teddy cleared his throat again. “Okay, well…call if you need anything.”
He left the room, and Becket dropped his hands and used his teeth to undo one glove. He pulled it off and tapped his phone.
Nothing. No missed calls from Sky. No texts.
He was losing his goddamn mind.
He pulled the glove back on and continued to punch the bag. Another ten minutes passed before someone entered the room again.
“Teddy, I told you, I’m—” He stopped at the sight of Jesse. “What the hell took you so long?” Yeah, he was being an ass. He didn’t care.
Jesse lifted a brow. “We were busy at the station. Moose said you’ve been in here hitting the bag for over an hour, after you already trained with the crew this morning.”
“Sounds about right.” And he’d have thought that would be enough to exhaust his mind and body. It wasn’t.
“You were hit by a car a couple days ago. You should be resting.”
“I’m fine. I keep telling everyone I’m fine . It would be great if someone listened.” His mother and his sister had brought food over yesterday. On a normal day, he’d be lapping up the attention. But nothing about these last few days felt normal.
“What’s going on, Beck?”
Two more jabs. “Sky broke up with me.”
There was a small pause before Jesse spoke. “Stop hitting the bag.”
“No.”
“You want me to fucking tackle you to the floor? Because I will.”
He hit the bag again. A fight with his former special ops brother didn’t sound so bad. Maybe that would take the edge off.
“Last chance, Beck—stop or I’ll stop you.”
Becket growled and turned. “I’m angry .”
“I can see that.”
“Sky was almost hit by a fucking car this week!”
“I know.”
“And before that, her car went over a bridge with her inside, and she almost drowned.”
“I know that too.”
“And before that ,” Becket hissed, “someone broke into her house, and she fell down the fucking stairs. This isn’t just a string of unfortunate events.”
“I agree.”
Becket frowned. “You agree?”
“One person can’t have that much bad luck.”
“You didn’t say anything at the hospital.”
“Neither did you. I assumed it was because Sky wasn’t doing too good, and we didn’t have any solid evidence yet.”
Jesus, he should have known his brother was on the same page.
“Shower, change and we’ll go get a coffee at The Tea House,” Jesse said.
“I can’t. I—”
“I spoke to Irene. Told her about your injury, and she agreed you were an idiot for pushing your body so hard today. Apparently, you didn’t tell anyone what happened. She’ll cover for you.”
No, he hadn’t told anyone. Instead, all he’d been doing was barking instructions at people.
And now that he’d stopped exerting himself, the wound on his stomach burned.
“Fine.”
He pulled off his gloves, picked up his phone and headed for the showers, grabbing a clean set of clothes on the way. When he was done, he found his brother waiting for him by the exit.
The Tea House was just around the corner. They’d barely started walking when Jesse asked the question Becket was waiting for.
“Tell me everything you know.”
Becket ran his fingers through his hair. “This started before the break-in.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Things happened in Cheyenne. Sky’s dog got sick, so she called in someone else to take her shift at work.”
“How does that—”
“There was a fire. The coworker who was called in got stuck in the back room and died.”
Jesse cursed.
“After that, these incidents started occurring,” Becket continued. “The brakes on her car failed. Then her car engine exploded. And a few weeks after that, there was a fire at her house. Her dog inhaled too much smoke and passed away not long after.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“She believes it’s the universe trying to deliver the fate she avoided at the café, but—”
“Someone close to the woman who died is targeting her.”
Becket nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking. Her name was Eloise and the café was called Canine and Coffee. I don’t know her last name, but if you look up the fire at the café from a year ago, I’m sure you’ll find her.”
“I will find her.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate it.”
When they reached The Tea House, Becket’s attention immediately went to two women sitting at a table in the center of the room. Esther Williams…and Sky. Sky looked up, and her eyes locked with his.
* * *
“Darling, I just don’t know if you’re going to have enough volunteers.”
Sky frowned at the list of names on the laptop screen that was angled so both she and her mother could see it. “What are you talking about? We have rotating shifts of people. A few from your church. A few from the doggy daycare. And Clara, Indie, Jesse and Aspen.” Or at least, she hoped she still had them, even though she wasn’t with Becket anymore.
Had he told his family? What had they said?
She shook her head. It didn’t matter. They’d barely been dating anyway.
The Tea House was quiet today, which worked for her. She hadn’t felt like staying at home but she needed to finish organizing this fundraiser. She’d actually moved this fundraiser forward because she needed something to keep her busy.
Home just felt too close to Becket at the moment. Even when he was out, she found her attention going to the windows far too often, waiting for him to get home.
She still wasn’t sure if she’d made the right decision breaking up with him, but every time she started to question herself, the image of Becket being hit by that car played in her mind. Of him at the hospital, that huge scrape across his stomach.
No, this was safer…even if it did break her heart.
Her mother frowned. “Wait…Becket’s not on the list.”
She’d been waiting for her mother to notice that. “No, he’s…busy.” Yeah, busy being separated from her. Would she actually need to tell him that his help was no longer required? Or would he just know that, since they weren’t dating, he shouldn’t come?
She’d have to tell him. Dammit.
Her mother straightened. “What on earth could be more important than supporting his partner during a fundraiser she’s organized?”
“It doesn’t matter. Can we get back to this? Do you think these time slots work for your church friends?”
“I’ll ask them, but I’m sure they’re fine. The council has approved you using the park and public water?”
She nodded. “It’s all taken care of.”
She’d originally planned to run the fundraiser at her doggy daycare, where she already had all the dog-washing equipment, but the fundraiser had grown to include food carts and coffee stalls, so they’d needed an outdoor space.
“Good.” Her mother frowned and angled her head, her gaze moving over Sky.
Oh, God. Her Mom only did that when she was trying to figure something out. And the only thing she could be trying to work out right now was—
“Something’s off with you today.”
“No, it isn’t.” She lifted her mug and took a big, burn-her-tongue sip.
“It is.” Her mother leaned closer. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“It involves Becket, doesn’t it?”
“Mom—”
“Don’t Mom me. I gave you life. The least you can do is tell me when something’s wrong.”
Jesus . She hadn’t told her mother about Becket because she didn’t want to hear the “I told you so” that would inevitably follow.
Suddenly, her mother gasped. “You broke up, didn’t you?”
Shit .
“He’s not on the list to help,” her mother continued, putting the pieces together. “You haven’t mentioned him since you got here, and you’ve been in a terrible mood.”
“Yes, we broke up.”
Her mother’s jaw dropped.
“And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to hear you say that it was always going to end this way, and I should have listened to you and Dad.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Sky tilted her head. “Really? You’re not biting your tongue right now to stop yourself from telling me that if I’d chosen someone from your church, like Tony, I would be happy?”
“Sky, I know your father and I pushed Tony on you a bit—”
“A bit?”
“But…then we saw you with Becket. And I know your father’s had a hard time with it, and I did at the start, but now…”
Sky frowned. “Now what?”
“Well, after I saw how happy you were together, he grew on me. Your happiness is all I’ve ever wanted, darling. Of course, as your parents, we sometimes think we know best.”
“ Sometimes? ”
“But you showed us that we don’t.”
Sky swallowed, the pit in her belly deepening.
Her mother leaned forward, asking quietly, “What happened?”
Man, she really didn’t want to get into it. Her mother knew everything that had happened in Cheyenne, and she would just try to convince Sky that she was wrong about the whole “the world’s out to get me” thing.
She hadn’t told her mother about the incident outside her doggy daycare either. All her parents would do was worry.
She opened her mouth, not sure what words were about to slip out, when the door to The Tea House opened and Becket and Jesse walked inside. Becket’s gaze found her like a laser, his eyes dark and intense.
Her breath stopped, her stomach doing a funny roll.
For a moment, he didn’t move. He just stood there, watching her.
Then Jesse grabbed his arm and guided him toward a booth. The second his gaze wasn’t on her anymore, air whooshed into her chest.
Somehow she wanted to cry and scream and rage all at the same time. And mostly at herself for breaking up with him.
She didn’t. She turned back to the laptop, almost unseeing. “We’ve got enough volunteers.”
There was a heavy pause that stretched until she finally looked up to see her mother watching her so closely that Sky felt like she was being dissected.
“What?” she asked.
“You should talk to him.”
Her heart thumped. There was a reason she hadn’t answered a single one of his calls these last few days—because she knew she’d crumble.
“About what?”
“About whatever misunderstanding broke you up.”
“You know, I think everything’s ready for the dog wash. I’m going to head home now.”
Her mother straightened. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Can you go to the counter and order your father a double-shot latte and a piece of rhubarb pie? He gets so disappointed when I return home with nothing for him.”
“There’s table service.”
“I know. But Mrs. Gerald is right there at the coffee machine, and my knee’s not great so…”
Sky was tempted to tell her mother that her knee was perfectly capable of the three steps to the counter, but that would just end in more arguing.
With a sigh, she rose and crossed to the counter, careful not to look Becket’s way. To not even glance in the vicinity of his booth.
Mrs. Gerald looked up from the coffee machine. “Hi, Sky. Something else?”
“Would I be able to grab a double-shot latte and a piece of your rhubarb pie to go?”
“Of course. Won’t be long.”
“Thanks.”
Someone stepped up beside her, and she knew—not just from his pine scent, but his familiar warmth—exactly who it was.
“Hey, Peaches.”
She tried to get her suddenly uneven breathing steady before finally looking up. Mistake. Big mistake. His eyes were too dark and too beautiful. “Hey.”
“How’s your day been?”
Really? He was asking about her day? “Fine.”
“Mine hasn’t been great either.”
Because of her? Were those his unspoken words?
Her heart started to beat faster, the hair on her arms standing on end. “I can wait at the—”
“You don’t have to do this.” He stepped closer, his fingers curling around her waist.
“I do,” she whispered.
“No, you don’t. I can take care of myself.”
“You can’t outrun a car, Becket. You’re not superhuman.”
His jaw clenched. “I miss you.”
“It’s only been a couple of days.”
“It feels longer.”
It really did. Who knew a couple of days could be so torturous?
That thumb on her waist caressed her, making a cascade of butterflies take off in her belly.
The words “I miss you too” were on the tip of her tongue. And other words…like “I made a mistake” and “I need you back.” But she swallowed them, keeping them buried deep inside her. Because she couldn’t be selfish and take him back, only to lose him like she’d lost Charlie.
“Here you go, Sky.”
Thank God. She swung around and paid for the drink and pie. “Thank you.” She forced her attention back to Becket. “I have to go.”
“Don’t run from this, Sky.”
Without another word, she went back to the table. She wasn’t running. She was sprinting, barely feeling the ground beneath her feet.