Chapter 6
Claire
My hands were still shaking when I pulled onto the road.
I told myself it was adrenaline. Anger. Leftover frustration from the argument.
But the truth sat heavier than that. You don’t understand who you’re dealing with.
Asher’s voice replayed in my head, calm but unyielding.
Not a threat. A warning. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and forced myself to breathe as the town lights came into view.
I hated that part of me wanted to prove him wrong.
Hated even more that another part of me suspected he wasn’t.
The Frosted Mug glowed ahead, familiar and deceptively unassuming.
I parked farther away, choosing the edge of the lot instead of the front.
When I shut off the engine, I sat there for a moment, grounding myself.
Confrontation wouldn’t get me answers. Asher was right about that much. Patience would.
I pushed inside and scanned the room before choosing a small corner table.
Just out of the way. Somewhere I could watch without being obvious.
I slid my laptop from my bag and opened it, the familiar glow settling my nerves.
The bar hummed with low conversation. Pool balls cracked in the back.
A few men clustered near the counter, nursing beers like they’d been doing it together for years.
I started with what I knew. Searches on border crossings and missing persons tied to Val-du-Lys and nearby towns.
I cross-referenced dates, names and patterns. A shadow fell across the table.
“You look like you could use something warm.” I glanced up to find a woman with kind eyes and a no-nonsense posture, holding a coffee pot. “On the house,” she added.
“Thank you,” I said, surprised.
“I’m Kammy,” she said. “I own the place. You’re new.” It wasn’t a question.
“Claire,” I replied. “Is it that obvious?”
Kammy smiled gently. “Small town. Everyone knows everyone around here.”
I hesitated, then gestured to the empty chair. “Do you mind?”
She sat, pouring coffee into my mug.
“So,” she said lightly, “what brings you to Val-du-Lys?”
There it was again. I didn’t answer right away. “I’m working at the orchard,” I said finally. “For the season.”
Her brows lifted slightly. “Ah, that explains why I saw Asher Thorne in here with you the other day.”
I blushed, wondering if she caught on to our interaction.
“I don’t know. Does he normally follow his employees around town?” I asked, trying to hide my irritation.
She giggled. “Only the pretty ones.”
“That isn’t reassuring,” I countered.
“I’m only joking. I’ve never seen Asher do that before. He’s always busy.”
That made me feel a little better.
“So why the orchard?” she asked. “A girl like you with a head on her shoulders. Why work the orchard?”
She seemed like a woman who had seen a lot in her life. Mid-forties, alert, beautiful. I bet she knew half the town’s secrets. She watched me carefully. “You’re looking for answers,” she said.
I swallowed. Was I that obvious? “How can you tell?” I asked.
“Because people who come in here just to drink don’t open laptops,” she said. “And they don’t sit like that.”
“Like what?” I asked curiously.
“Like they’re bracing for impact.” She raised her brows.
Something inside me shifted. “My best friend disappeared,” I said quietly. “Years ago. She was supposed to cross the border.”
Kammy’s expression softened. “I’m sorry.”
“She never made it,” I continued. “And no one really looked for her.”
“That happens,” Kammy said. “More than it should.”
I took a breath. “Do you know of others? People who came through town with the same plan?”
Kammy didn’t answer right away. She glanced around the room, then leaned closer.
“People come through here all the time,” she said carefully. “Most pass quietly. Some don’t.”
“Do they disappear?” I whispered.
“Sometimes,” she admitted. “And sometimes it’s easier for everyone to say they just moved on.”
My stomach tightened. “Does anyone ever talk about it?”
“Only after enough time,” she said. “And usually not to strangers.”
I nodded, absorbing that.
“There are places people go when they want to feel invisible,” Kammy added. “Places where questions get drowned out by noise.”
“Like here?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. This place is for pretending nothing’s wrong.”
She hesitated, then said, “There’s a pool hall a few streets over. Snooker tables. Nico and his friends spend a lot of time there.”
The name sent a chill down my spine. “Thank you,” I said.
Kammy’s gaze sharpened. “Be careful. Asking questions to the wrong people can cause them to come after you.”
“I will,” I assured.
“I mean it,” she said gently. “You seem… kind. That doesn’t always play well with people who don’t have much to lose.”
“I know,” I said. “But I can’t stop.”
She nodded like she understood exactly what I meant.
“If you need a place to think,” Kammy said, standing, “this table’s yours.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
She squeezed my shoulder once before walking away.
I sat there for a long moment, coffee warming my hands, watching the room.
The way people leaned in to talk. The way laughter sounded just a little too forced in certain corners.
The way no one met my gaze for too long.
Asher’s words echoed again. You don’t understand who you’re dealing with.
Maybe not. But I was learning how this town worked.
I wasn’t prepared to check out the place Kammy recommended, but I’d search it up and get more information, then head over there another night.
For now, I finished my coffee, packed up my laptop, and headed back to my car.
The ride to Maple Valley was short. I left my windows open, taking in the warm fresh air.
This place felt so wholesome, but beneath the layers were buried secrets that I needed to reveal one step at a time.
When I pulled into Maple Valley, it didn’t take long for me to see Asher in the same place I had left him.
He was on the ground doing push-ups with no shirt on.
Holy hell, my whole body reacted. He was ripped.
In the dark I couldn’t see what his tattoos were, only that he had them on his arms. Arms that were pure muscle.
I parked my car and got out.
“Glad to see you’re in one piece,” he muttered.
“I met Kammy,” I countered.
“She’s good people,” he replied, but I didn’t need his opinion to know that.
“Have a good night,” I waved and walked to my cabin.
I didn’t know why my skin felt so hot or why my heart picked up pace.
Asher was an asshole, so I had no idea why my traitorous body was reacting.
I closed the cabin door, locked it, then leaned on the other side of it.
My mind went to the way he was doing those push-ups while carrying on a conversation with me, and my mouth watered before I could stop it.
I was not going to let my boss invade my thoughts like that.
Only my body clearly didn’t get the memo, because when I glanced down at my chest through the white tank top I was wearing, my nipples were so sharp they could slice glass.