Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Poppy
I woke up the next morning in the shower with a headache that wouldn’t go away. The events of last night plagued me, making me nauseous as I struggled not to cry anymore. Knowing that Officer Kearton gave her life to try to save mine had been eating away at me all morning.
I had no idea whether Patrick got any sleep last night, but he had dark circles under his eyes as he talked with the police, who had come at some point while I was sleeping.
I knew the winter storm was supposed to be bad, but apparently, it hadn’t been enough to keep Officer Kearton from coming to warn me.
Travis sat curled up beside me on the couch as I watched the officers out the living room window as they stood there talking to Patrick.
He nodded, then looked inside, his eyes meeting mine as he softly smiled.
A few minutes later, he came inside, closing the door behind him, but not before I caught a glimpse of the body covered under a black body bag.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep from crying.
“She’s still out there?” I asked as he sat beside me and gently squeezed my knee.
He nodded, his eyes bloodshot as the exhaustion showed on his face.
“The storm was too bad last night for them to get out here. They had to wait until this morning and just got here about half an hour ago.”
“So she just laid out there in the freezing cold—” I stopped and covered my mouth with my hands as I shook my head. “She’s dead because of me.”
“She’s dead because some fucking asshole killed her, Poppy.”
“Yeah, because she found out about Dale’s business partner and tried to warn me. If she hadn’t come out here, they wouldn’t have killed her.”
My heart dropped when I realized that they had every opportunity to kill me last night, but didn’t. They killed her the second she tried to tell me the name of his business partner, almost as if they could hear what she was saying.
“What?” Patrick asked, studying my face. “What’s wrong?”
“They didn’t try to hurt me last night,” I said, looking at him. “They had an opportunity to, but they didn’t. They could have aimed past her and shot me instead. They could have barged in and taken me and—”
“The fuck they could have,” he growled, nostrils flaring in response.
“You know what I mean, Pat. They could have tried to come for me last night if they wanted to. Instead, they—”
I stopped talking and looked around the room.
While we knew someone had broken into the cabin and left the photos and note for me, it never crossed my mind that they could have left stuff behind.
What if they planted hidden cameras or microphones so they knew exactly where we were and what we were saying?
Patrick’s face changed from confusion to realization as he sighed and looked around.
“I’ll make a call,” he said before standing up and heading outside.
Twenty minutes later, Patrick came inside, his features rigid and his body tense.
“Let’s go pack your stuff,” he said loudly, almost as if he wanted someone to hear him.
“What? Why?” I pulled the blanket off my lap and stood up, following him as he went upstairs.
I didn’t know who he had called or what they said, but his change in attitude when he returned left me feeling a bit uneasy. Had he finally decided I was more trouble than I was worth?
Once we entered the bedroom, he wrapped me in a hug and pulled me tight against him, nestling his head in the crook of my neck as he spoke softly in my ear.
“You’re going to go stay at the inn for a few days, but we’re going to say that you’re checking into a hotel in town. I’m pretty sure whoever was here bugged the place, so we don’t have much time.”
He pulled away and gave my arms a gentle squeeze before reaching under the bed and pausing.
My heart skipped a beat as I watched his face, the way he worked his jaw back and forth before reaching further and ripping something off.
He grunted a few times, then pulled his arm back, holding a small black thing in his hand.
I didn’t have to ask to know it was a listening device.
He put it on the ground, stepped on it with his boot, smashed it to pieces, then tossed it in the toilet and flushed.
“That might clog your—” I started, but stopped when he shook his head.
I pressed my lips together and watched as he grabbed the suitcase he had originally been reaching for under the bed and pulled it out. He unzipped it as I gathered my stuff from the closet and started filling it.
While I knew we were just pretending that I was going to stay at a hotel, I couldn’t help the feeling that ate away at me as if I were leaving him for real.
I expected he would come to the inn with me, but I wasn’t sure if he wanted to.
I had already uprooted his life as it was; I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to be done with me.
“The hotel isn’t too far from here,” he said as he pulled the zipper shut and then set the suitcase on the floor beside the bed. “If you need anything, just call, and I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you for getting me a room. I appreciate it.”
“My pleasure. This way, we know that you’re safe and no one will know where you are.”
I nodded, realizing that maybe I needed to speak instead. I had no idea what was still in the room, but if we were going to put on a show, we might as well go all out.
“Thank you, I appreciate that. I know my safety is the top priority for both of us right now.”
He forced a smile and led the way back down the stairs as he carried the suitcase for me. We stepped outside, and I was relieved that her body had been moved. The blood still stained the ground, reminding me of what happened. But at least her body was no longer there.
Patrick checked in with one of the officers, letting them know which hotel I would be at. We got in his truck, and I hated the feeling of thinking it might be the last time I felt his hands on my body as he helped me inside. Maybe he’d had enough and was leaving me with Gage to deal with instead.
I fastened my seatbelt, mainly for show, as Patrick climbed in and did the same. He started the truck and slowly pulled out onto the snow-covered ground, the sound of snow and leaves crunching beneath us.
I let out a heavy breath and stared at the window, trying to remind myself that whatever happened now was for the best.