Chapter 26
Raven reached across the bed for Connor. The sheets were cold.
Her eyes flicked open, a crease forming between her brows.
He wasn’t here. She shouldn’t be surprised—he’d barely slept beside her for the last week.
Slowly, she sat up.
Where was he? Working out? On the phone with his team?
He was stressed out. Stressed that a week had passed and Xander still hadn’t been located. Even with the team working overtime, no one had any leads on where he could be.
Her gaze went to the hall beyond the bedroom.
Yesterday, she’d found him doing pull-ups in his workout room.
His entire body had been covered in sweat, like he’d been at it for hours.
Of course, when she’d asked him if that was the case, he’d denied it.
He didn’t need to. She could handle his emotions.
But he was trying to protect her from what was going on in his head.
Ha. Like she wasn’t doing the exact same thing. Internally, she was freaking out that they hadn’t found Xander. So much so that sometimes she thought the stress of it would swallow her whole.
But they would find him…eventually.
The cold floorboards seeped into the base of her feet as she stood. She pulled on Connor’s oversized sweatshirt, then padded downstairs. She heard him in the kitchen before she saw him.
“He has to be somewhere.”
Raven stepped into the living room, spotting his tense, broad shoulders by the island.
He didn’t need to face her for her to know the exact expression he wore.
The same one he’d been wearing whenever he thought she wasn’t watching.
One of frustration. Anger. Maybe even a bit of helplessness.
It was the last one that looked so out of place.
He turned as she headed toward him, and there was a flash of all those emotions. But they went as fast as they came. Then he was unreadable.
“I’ll call you back.” He hung up and curved a strong arm around her waist. “Hey.”
“You don’t have to do that, you know?”
“Do what?”
“Shield me from anything. I can handle it.”
“You don’t want to see the full force of what I’m feeling right now.”
“Maybe I do. Maybe I can match it.”
“I’m sure you can.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and she leaned her cheek into his palm.
“Was that one of the guys?” Her gaze flicked to the phone, then back to him.
“Ethan. Xander’s not in any Airbnbs. They were the last places to check.” He lowered his head and kissed a spot behind her ear. “What do you want to do today?”
Her skin tingled every place he touched. “You know what I’m doing today.”
“No.”
“Connor—”
“You’re not going to work.”
She pushed him back so she could look at him. “I am. Ferris asked me to come back. I love my job and I want to go back. Plus, this morning, the book club is meeting for the first time since Lottie was killed.”
“Ferris knows about Xander. He can open the center.”
She shook her head. “It’s my job. And for all we know, Xander has hightailed it out of town. If he’s smart, he’ll be long gone.”
“I can think of a lot of words to describe that asshole, but smart isn’t one of them.”
“Connor, please. Don’t let Xander take more from me than he already has.”
A low growl slipped from his chest. “I don’t like it.”
“But you like me.”
“I don’t like you. I love you.”
Her heart swirled at those three words. “Come on. I’ll share my shower with you. Will that make you feel better?”
“It’s a start.”
She screeched when he threw her over his shoulder.
“This makes me feel better,” he said.
She laughed as he carried her up the stairs.
An hour later, they were pulling up to the community center. It didn’t take long for the place to fill. And today there were a few new members—Anika, a couple of elderly women Raven had seen around town. Even Briar from Deep River Residence.
“Darling, why don’t you join us?” Maureen asked, as the women set out snacks on a table.
Raven shook her head. “I’m not really a reader.”
“Well, that’s why you join, to become a reader, and to be introduced to some amazing authors. We’re currently reading this wonderful romantic suspense by Devney Perry.”
She chuckled. “I have enough suspense in my life, no fictional plot needed.”
Maureen’s smile turned downward. “I’m so sorry about everything you’ve been through.”
“But better things are on the horizon, right?”
Maureen hesitated. “They will be.”
Raven’s smile faltered. What did that mean? That more bad stuff was coming before the good?
She glanced over at Connor in the corner. He stood with Ryan, and they spoke in hushed voices. Both men had their arms crossed and deep, angry creases between their brows.
Maureen leaned closer and said quietly, “I sense some love in that man’s future.”
Raven’s brows rose. “Connor’s? I certainly hope so.”
“No. Not Connor’s.” She patted Raven’s arms before moving away.
Ryan’s?
Raven glanced back to the men, or more specifically, Ryan. He’d always had that grumpy, mad-at-the-world thing about him. But since Connor had told her about Emily Prior, maybe he wasn’t just grumpy. Maybe he was a little heartbroken.
“Good turnout.”
She turned back to Briar. “Yeah, book club is always popular. I’m so glad they’ve recommenced.”
Briar touched her arm. “How have you been?”
“Good. No, actually that’s a lie. Stressed.”
“I can imagine. They still haven’t found—”
“I wish.”
Briar nodded jerkily. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“You already do it, by looking after my parents.”
“Oh, I love Gene and Craig, so that’s easy.”
When book club started, Raven moved to her office.
She’d just set her bag down when she glanced at her phone.
It was weird…and stupid and ridiculous…but she’d had this urge the last few days to call Xander.
In her mind, if he picked up, she could say all the things she hadn’t said yet.
About him being a selfish asshole. About him not winning like he thought he had.
By him just running, she’d had no closure. This man, who she’d dated for most of her adult life, a man she’d thought she would marry, had framed her for heinous crimes she hadn’t committed. He’d killed people.
And there was a very real possibility that he could just disappear and never pay for those crimes.
She swallowed and set down the phone. They’d find him. That would be her closure.
Connor had been too damn tense since the second they’d walked into the community center.
There were too many entry points. Yes, Xander was probably across the country by now.
It was where anyone with half a brain would be, but Xander was also likely angry.
And that anger could have him going after Raven.
“You know, I can hear you thinking over there.”
He shifted his attention from the door to Raven as she looked up from her laptop. “Are you finished?”
“Do you know how many times you’ve asked me that?”
“Not enough, because we’re still here.”
His phone vibrated. It was his text thread with the guys.
Joel: So get this. As we’ve been busting our asses looking for Stevens, Ward had a two-hour lunch break at Bloom today with Gerome.
Connor scowled.
Ryan: Bet Polly had something to say about that.
Joel: She told him to take his time because the investigation wasn’t going anywhere. She also asked him if he wanted another croissant now or after the case goes cold.
That should have lifted Connor’s mood. It didn’t.
Zac: Gerome say anything?
Joel: Of course he did. Polly didn’t listen. She sure as hell wasn’t wrong. Ward should be working overtime on this.
Ethan: I don’t think he knows what overtime is.
Joel: Unless it involves a second lunch.
Raven closed her laptop and rose to her feet. “Done.”
Thank fuck. He shoved his cell into his pocket.
“You’re not going to celebrate?” She lifted a brow. “Maybe throw your arms up and shout, ‘Thank the heavens above’ or something?”
“Not my style. I’m internally celebrating.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, there’s a whole damn party raving in my head right now.”
She chuckled. “You’re such a comedian.”
“Only so I can hear that laugh.” He kissed her before grabbing her bag.
The second they stepped outside though, that heaviness returned to his chest. He scanned the streets, making sure no one was watching who shouldn’t be.
His gaze caught on Zac in his car. Another level of security he’d employed.
He dipped his chin. A silent thank you to his friend for watching the exterior of the building.
With one hand on Raven’s back, Connor led her to his truck. He barely took his eyes off the rearview mirror as he drove them home.
At least Nathaniel had admitted that it was him and Xander who’d put the camera up and stalked the firehouse. One less thing to try to figure out. They’d done it when Raven had started getting close to Connor. Another method of spying on her and those she was close to.
She set a hand on his thigh. “I wish you weren’t so tense.”
“I wish Xander was behind prison bars.”
“Sometimes I wonder…”
He frowned at her. “What?”
“How I didn’t see this side to him. We were together for so long. And I know that somewhere along the way, he changed. But I stayed. Even after he changed. When I wasn’t happy any longer, I still stayed.”
Was she blaming herself? Fuck that. “Nothing that asshole did was, or ever will be, your fault.”
He pulled onto his street. One vehicle sat on the road. An old Chevy C10. It was red and there appeared to be someone sitting in the driver’s seat.
He made a mental note to check it out once Raven was safely inside.
He pulled into his drive, and when the engine switched off, he turned to look at her. “You stayed because you’re loyal.”
“I stayed because it was easy. Because it was what I knew. Because it was too hard in the moment to admit I’d made a mistake and wanted to run home. But look where that got me.”
“He wouldn’t have let you leave at that stage anyway. You were his fall person. He needed you.”
“You’re right. He only let me leave when he had me on a leash. My name on his business. My prints on a murder weapon. And scared—no, terrified—that he’d hurt my parents.”
“But he didn’t win.”
“He’s still out there.”
It was hard to keep the absolute fury off his face. Gently, he lifted her hand and kissed her palm, letting the warmth and softness of her skin ease just a bit of the anger. “Come on, it’s been a long day.”
Not technically true. After the book club, Raven had mostly done computer work until the afternoon clay workshop.
But it felt long.
They stepped into the house and Connor moved to the kitchen. “What do you feel like for dinner?”
“I could make—”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “I’m cooking.”
“You always cook. You don’t need to do everything.”
“I don’t need to. I want to.” He slipped an arm around her waist and let his mouth hover over hers. “And while I cook, you can have a bath. A glass of wine. Maybe put on one of your shows.” One soft kiss to her lips.
She hummed. “You better be careful, Blackwood. I could get used to this treatment.”
“I’m counting on it.”
She laughed and fuck, he loved the sound.
It was only when she disappeared up the stairs that the smile faded.
His phone rang, Ryan’s name on the screen. “Hey.”
“There was a sighting of Xander.”
Connor stiffened. “Where?”
“On a traffic camera about an hour ago. He was driving a stolen vehicle. It was definitely him behind the wheel.”
So he was still in town. Fuck. “What kind of vehicle?”
“A Chevy C10.”
Connor flinched, his gaze flying to the window even though the pickup truck wasn’t in view. “Was it red?”
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
Connor pulled a Glock from his holster. “I think he’s here, on the street.”
“I’ll alert the team. We’ll be there in ten.”
Connor hung up and moved quickly to the door. He pulled it closed behind him before starting toward the Chevy.
As he drew closer, he lifted the Glock and shouted, “Put your hands up!”
There was no answer.
He kept moving, keeping low.
“Hands up, now.”
No sound and no movement from inside the truck. But Connor could see the back of him. His broad shoulders and dark hair.
Quickly, he closed the last bit of distance. “I said—”
He stopped. The man on the other side of the glass wasn’t Xander. He also wasn’t alive. There was a bullet wound in the side of his head, and his open eyes were lifeless.
Connor’s stomach dropped. He’d seen this guy before. He was the teen decoy used at the firehouse.
His gaze flew back to the house.
Raven.