Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Duke
I don’t yell when I see the tires.
That’s the scary part, because the second I step outside and see Annie’s car sagging crooked against the gravel, I go dead still.
Both front tires shredded clean through.
Cold rage settles into my bloodstream so smoothly it almost feels calm.
Beside me, Annie hovers near the porch steps with her cardigan wrapped tight around herself, camera hanging against her chest.
She’s trying to look calm. Trying not to look scared.
The effort alone nearly kills me.
I crouch beside the nearest tire, running my fingers lightly along one of the cuts.
Knife work.
Deep enough to destroy the rubber completely. Behind me, the screen door bangs open hard enough to rattle the frame.
Silas.
He takes one look at the car and his entire face changes. I guess he got my text then.
Cody appears right behind him already holding his phone, glasses low on his nose, expression carved from ice. “When did this happen?”
“Must’ve been overnight,” Annie says.
Silas’s eyes snap toward her. “When did you find it?”
Annie folds her arms tighter. “This morning.”
“She saw someone by the barn,” I say.
That gets their attention fast.
Silas turns slowly toward me. “What?”
“I got footage,” Annie says before I can answer for her. Her fingers tighten around the camera strap instinctively. “They disappeared before I could get closer.”
“Good,” I say.
Three heads swivel toward me.
I shrug once. “I’m serious. Chasing mystery psychos before sunrise feels like a bad hobby.”
Annie’s mouth twitches faintly.
Thank goodness. Because she still looks shaken underneath everything else. Pale around the edges. Adrenaline wearing off hard now that she’s not alone anymore.
Silas steps closer to her carefully. He’s afraid too much force might fracture everything. “Let me see the footage.”
She nods once.
While they head back inside toward the office, I stay crouched beside the car another few seconds longer. Breathing. Trying to keep my hands still. Because this crossed a line.
The notes were intimidation. The SD card was surveillance. The threats were pressure.
But this feels different. Closer. Personal. Whoever’s doing this finally stopped pretending Annie isn’t central to the whole damn situation now.
And if somebody decides she’s the obstacle standing between them and Ironwood…
No.
Absolutely not.
This ends today.