Chapter 18
T he smell of warm bread and cinnamon still clung to the walls upstairs, even though the ovens downstairs had been off for hours. Outside the apartment window, October had turned crisp and cold.
Allison shut the windows that had been open that afternoon and stirred honey into two mugs of chamomile tea.
She carried them to the small table tucked beneath the window.
Lottie sat there, knees drawn up, staring out over Main Street like she expected something awful to appear around the corner at any second.
“Here,” Allison said gently, setting the mug in front of her. “Drink. You’ve got to be running on empty. ”
Lottie took it with both hands, fingers trembling around the ceramic. She didn’t sip, just held the warmth close like it might keep her together.
“I don’t know why I asked for help,” she murmured.
“Because you weren’t going to make it if you didn’t,” Allison said, sitting across from her. “You needed the strength to survive, and you found it.” Allison watched her carefully. “You want to talk about it?”
Another long pause. Then Lottie nodded. Once. Barely.
“It started so small,” she said. “Little things. He didn’t like my friends.
Said they were jealous of what we had. Toxic.
That’s what he called them. Told me I didn’t need them.
” Her eyes didn’t lift from the mug. “Then he didn’t like my job.
Said my boss flirted with me. He asked me if I encouraged my boss. I didn’t, I swear.”
The desperation in her voice almost killed her. Allison blinked. “I believe you.”
Lottie drew a shaky breath. “He made me feel disgusting for going to work so my boss could flirt. He made me stop wearing makeup. If I laughed at anyone else’s jokes, he’d say I was into them or wanted them more than I wanted him. ”
Allison’s chest tightened. She didn’t interrupt. Just let the girl speak.
“I quit. He said he’d take care of me. That’s what he always said. I’ll take care of you . And I believed him.” Lottie’s lip trembled. “God help me, I believed him.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Allison said softly.
Lottie shook her head, fast and sharp. “No. That’s the thing.
I did . Everything was my fault. If he was angry, it was because I made him that way.
I didn’t mean to do it, but I always did.
If he hit something, it was because I provoked him.
He would get mad if I flinched, but I couldn’t stop. ” Her voice broke. “He hurt me.”
Allison reached across the table and gently covered Lottie’s knee. The girl didn’t pull away.
“The last time,” Lottie whispered, “he knocked me into the kitchen counter so hard I split my eyebrow open. I remember staring at the blood on the tile, wondering if I’d get to clean it before he made me explain it.”
Allison’s gut twisted. The bastard. “He made you explain why you were bleeding?”
“Yeah. I had to explain how I messed up. What I did to make him so mad. ”
Allison sat back. “That’s insane.”
Lottie looked at her. “He said if I ever left him or if I ever embarrassed him in front of anyone, he’d kill me.
And I believe him, Allison. I really do.
If he finds me, he’ll kill me. He won’t yell.
He won’t drag me home. He’ll just end it.
He’s told me how. He will choke me. Face-to-face so he can watch me die. ”
Allison felt her heart twist. There was no exaggeration in Lottie’s voice. No drama. Just the clear, simple certainty of someone who’d lived in survival mode for too long.
“Well,” she said firmly, “he’s not going to find you. Not here. Not in my town.”
Lottie blinked, surprised by the strength in Allison’s tone.
“Hollister may be small,” Allison went on, “but it’s tight knit. People notice strangers. They care. They ask questions. The folks here? They’d move heaven and earth to protect someone in need. Especially from someone who thinks raising his fists against a woman makes him a man.”
Lottie’s lip quivered. “But I’m not from here.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Allison said. “You’re here now. And no one hurts people in Hollister and walks away without the whole damn town standing in their path. ”
Silence stretched between them, broken only by the tick of the wall clock and the faint sounds of the wind in the trees outside.
Lottie finally took a sip of tea, her hands steadying just a little. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For seeing me.”
“You don’t have to thank me, sweetheart.” Allison gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “You’re safe. We’ve got you. No one’s going to let him touch you again.”
The clothes were damp and stiff with cold.
Bundled together were crusted fleece and a thrift store windbreaker.
They smelled of old wood, earth, and weeks without washing.
Seth stood there for a beat, crouched in the shadows beneath the slats, the late afternoon wind dragging dust across gravel behind him.
That’s when he saw it, buried inside a pocket.
A dead Apple Watch.
Black band, cracked face, silent.
He swore under his breath and shoved it in his coat pocket before striding back up the embankment toward the bakery.
He found Lottie sitting on the floor in the living room, legs folded under her, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She looked up when he came in. Her eyes were puffy and red but clear.
“Hey,” she said quietly.
Seth didn’t answer right away. He crossed to the table and set the bundle of clothes down gently. Then he pulled the watch from his pocket and held it up. “This was in your jacket.”
Her brow furrowed, then she smiled faintly. “My watch. I forgot it was even in there.”
“It’s dead,” he said. “But it could have been broadcasting your location when it was charged.”
The words landed like stones.
Lottie stared at the device, her face going pale. “No …”
“He could have followed it. Not directly to here, but close. Close enough to find you if he were looking.”
Her whole body recoiled. The blanket slipped from her shoulders as she stood too fast, stumbling back toward the wall like she’d been struck.
“Oh, God.”
“He’s not here,” Seth said calmly. “But this? I bet my next paycheck that this was his beacon, Lottie. One you didn’t even know you were carrying. ”
She looked at the watch, then at Seth, and her voice broke. “I thought I was free.”
“You are,” he said, stepping forward, his voice gentler now. “I’m not plugging it in. No one is. It’s done.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle and sank onto the edge of the couch. “I’m so stupid. How could I not know? I was carrying it the whole time.”
“You weren’t stupid,” Seth said firmly. “You were surviving. And he counted on that. It’s what predators like him do. Bank on you not knowing, not asking. That’s how men like him keep control. But it’s over now.”
She shook her head, tears spilling silently. “He’ll come. If he thinks I’m alive. If he thinks I’m out here … He’ll find me. He said he’d kill me if I ever made him look weak. If I embarrassed him.”
Seth knelt in front of her, resting one steady hand on the couch cushion near hers.
“We’ve already got the sheriff looped in. With your permission, we’ll let the rest of the town know. Quietly. Folks around here don’t take kindly to men who hurt women. They’ll keep their eyes open. He won’t get far.”
Lottie hesitated, her voice barely audible. “What will they think of me? ”
“They won’t even wonder. This is Hollister. People watch out for each other. You’re one of us now.”
She nodded slowly, then again, more sure. “Okay. Tell them. Please.”
Seth reached for his phone but paused. “Lottie … I need his name. And a description.”
She swallowed hard. “Eric Danvers. He’s twenty-eight. Six-foot-one. Stocky. Blond buzz cut. Has a scar on his chin and a burn mark on his left hand. He got it when he threw a pan at me, and the grease spilled on his hand.”
Seth didn’t react, but his gut twisted.
“He drives a navy-blue Chevy Silverado. Extended cab. Big dent on the passenger side from when he got drunk and ran into a mailbox. He keeps saying he’ll fix it, but he never does.”
“Plates?”
She shook her head. “I don’t remember. It’s a South Dakota plate, but I only saw it once. He always parked in the garage. I wasn’t allowed in there.”
Seth nodded, already committing every word to memory.
She gripped the edge of the cushion, knuckles white. “Seth … if he comes, don’t try to talk to him. He’ll twist everything I said around. He’ll make you be lieve him.” Tears brimmed over her bottom lashes.
“I won’t.”
She was shaking, “Promise me.”
“I promise.” His voice was low, hard. “If Eric Danvers sets one foot in Hollister, I’ll make sure he wishes he hadn’t.”
She exhaled shakily, her shoulders trembling, then leaned forward until her forehead pressed against her knees.
Seth stood and stepped into the hallway, and wrapped his arm around Allison, who had tears in her eyes, too. His jaw clenched, phone already dialing.
This was no longer just protection.
It was war.
Ken answered on the first ring.
“You’ve got something?”
Seth stood in the hallway and spoke so both women could hear him.
“I found out how he was tracking her.”
Ken didn’t speak, just waited.
“She had a smart watch in her jacket. It was dead when I found it, but he could've followed her here if he’d been using an app or paired account. It wouldn’t be exact like a military grade GPS, but it would have kept him close, at least. Maybe that’s why he drove past and then circled back.”
“Damn it. That makes sense,” Ken muttered. “She know?”
“Now she does.” Seth’s jaw tightened. “She freaked out when I told her he could’ve been tracking her with the watch. She thought she was being careful.”
“She was,” Ken said flatly. “He was just being a snake.”
“That’s what I told her, too.” There was silence again, both men chewing on what that meant.
“She gave permission for the town to be notified. Quietly. I’ve got a name and a vehicle.”
“Go,” Ken said.
“Eric Danvers. Twenty-eight. From Spearfish. Six-foot-one, stocky, blond buzz cut, scar on his chin, burn scar on his left hand. Drives a navy-blue Chevy Silverado, extended cab. The passenger side’s dented bad from a drunk driving incident she witnessed.”
“Plates?”
“South Dakota. No number. Always parked backed in. Hiding it.”
“Figures. I can find out with this information. ”
“I told her we’d protect her,” Seth said, voice low. “And I meant it.”
“So do I,” Ken said. “Listen, I’ll call in my deputy. He can start spreading the word to folks we trust. Old guard, ranch hands, business owners. People who’ll keep their mouths shut and their eyes open.”
“Start with Edna,” Seth said. “She sees everything, and nobody questions her when she talks.”
Ken snorted. “You think I wasn’t already headed there?”
Seth didn’t smile.
“He shows his face here, we shut it down fast,” Ken said, voice hardening. “This town doesn’t have a lot of rules, but we don’t take kindly to men like that thinking they can pick up where they left off.”
“He threatened to kill her, and she has no doubt he’ll do it.”
Ken exhaled slowly, tightly. “Then he doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt.”
“She's terrified he'll go after her aunt in North Dakota. If he knows she's not with her, that might be the only thing keeping her aunt safe.”
“I contacted North Dakota law enforcement. They’ve got eyes up there. Discreet.”
“Good. ”
“I want that watch,” Ken added. “Just in case we can pull anything from it.”
“I’ll bring it to you. I have to get Dad anyway.”
“Hey, Seth?”
“Yeah?”
“Be ready. Make sure Allison knows what to do,” Ken said. “He might already be close.”
Seth ended the call without another word. Gomer stood near the back step, muscles tight, ears perked, watching the shadows at the far end of the alley.
Seth looked out the picture window in Allison’s apartment. There was nothing but a few parked trucks, closed shop windows, and the slow flicker of a porchlight turning on in the distance. The fucker might be close, which would put Allison in danger. He held onto Allison as he made another call.
“Hello?”
“Sarah, I need your help.”
“What do you need? Is Dad okay?”
“He’s the same. We have a situation here, and I need to be free to handle it.”
“Talk to me,” Sarah said, and Seth laid it out for her.
“Okay. I’ll make some calls. Gramma and Grandpa Miles should be okay with watching the girls for a week or two if you need me to stay longer. I have to put things in order. I’ll be there tomorrow night.”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was important.”
“Don’t you dare apologize. He is a cranky old fart, but I love him, and I told you we’d share the responsibility of taking care of him.” Sarah huffed. “I’ll see you late afternoon or early evening tomorrow. Do I need to bring anything?”
“A pillow and some linens, and blankets for your bed.” He hadn’t gotten around to ordering anything for the other rooms. He and Chester were set, though.
Sarah chuckled. “I can do that. I haven’t slept in a twin bed in years. I’ll see you soon.” The line went dead.
Seth glanced down at Allison. “Sarah’s coming so I can focus on you and Lottie.”
“I’d feel better if you were here with us at night.”
“Starting tomorrow night, I will be.” He wanted that fucker.
It was the most basic feeling. If anything happened to Allison, he’d fucking go insane.
What they had was new, but it was something he’d kill to protect.
Feral didn’t come close to the primal sensations that flowed through him.
He would protect Allison. He wouldn’t fail.