Chapter 5
Holy heck, it had been a long day. Fires needed putting out left, right, and center, and Shelley had dumped a million jobs on Bonnie that weren’t hers to do.
Now it was eight, she was still at work, and the grant application that she was only just finishing had a deadline that closed in thirty minutes.
But the good news? She was done.
Submit. Thank God.
She leaned back in her seat and rubbed her eyes. Shelley, of course, had taken herself home hours ago. But then, Shelley was the boss and could apparently do whatever she wanted.
As the laptop shut down, she packed her things, groaning at the darkness outside through the window. Great. She’d be walking home in the dark.
She was passing the bathroom in the hall when she stopped and frowned. What was that? It sounded like someone was in there breathing so heavily she could hear it from the hall.
She pressed her ear to the door. The sound got louder.
Her gaze lifted to the hall, then back to the door. There was a counselor here somewhere. But she wasn’t sure where; they might be with one of the women.
Gently, Bonnie knocked on the wood.
The breathing quieted.
“Hello? This is Bonnie, the program coordinator. I just wanted to check that you were okay.”
Another beat of silence. It stretched so long she thought no one was going to answer. Then the door creaked open. It was the same woman from a couple of weeks ago. “Sarah?”
The other woman’s brows flickered. “Bonnie.”
“Are you okay?”
It took Sarah a moment to answer. “I-I’m fine. I’m just having a bad day with everything.”
“Is this about your ex?”
The woman’s eyes flared. “I think he tried to call me today.”
“You think?”
“I had a missed call from the prison.” Her breathing sped up.
Bonnie stepped forward. “Hey. Why don’t you breathe with me for a second?” She sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before easing it out.
Sarah copied her.
“There you go.” She repeated it, and so did Sarah. They continued to breathe in silence until Bonnie was sure the other woman was steadier. “Feel better?”
Sarah gave a small nod.
“You don’t have to answer any calls you don’t want to,” Bonnie said firmly.
“I know. But just seeing the call scared me. It made me think that he’s never going to let us go. I didn’t let Chett leave my side all day. I’m so scared for him all the time.”
“I can understand that. But you’re both safe here.”
She nodded again.
“Is there anything I can get you?” Bonnie asked gently.
“No. I’m okay. Really. I should get back to Chett. He’s asleep.”
Bonnie didn’t want to leave her. But at the same time, she couldn’t do much to help. Sarah was safe here. Her ex was in prison. It would just take time for her to trust that. “Call the counselor on shift if you need anything.”
When Sarah headed upstairs, Bonnie stepped out of the building, and as soon as she did, she groaned. It was so dark. And now she had to walk home. She really needed to buy a car. She was moved into her apartment, settled in at work, so she had no excuse not to.
Wrapping her jacket tightly around her body, she started walking, fast steps to get her home as quickly as possible.
There was no one on the street, and she wasn’t sure if that made her feel safer or not.
Every time a car passed, she sucked in a deep breath like she was preparing for them to stop and harass her.
Jesus. That’s what her life had become here. But it would get better. People would get used to her being home. She just had to have faith.
A car turned onto the street, and she shot a glance over her shoulder…only to frown. Why were they driving so slowly? Were they doing it on purpose to tail her? Scare her? Who?
She almost laughed because there were so many possibilities. Dean’s parents. The reporter. Anyone in this town who had a fight to pick with her.
The sudden ringing of her phone made her jump. She pulled it out to see Noah’s name on the screen, and as soon as she put it to her ear, the car sped past.
“Noah.”
“Hey.” There was a short pause. “Are you okay? You sound shaky.”
“I’m fine.” Not really true. But then, she hadn’t really been fine since returning to Amber Ridge. She’d been riding the highs of being close to family and the lows of the harassment. “I’m just walking home from work.”
“Now? It’s dark out.”
“I had to work late.”
“Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”
Even though her brother couldn’t see her, she was shaking her head before he finished speaking. “No. I don’t live far. I’m almost home.”
She actually would have loved for Noah to pick her up. What she wouldn’t love was to be a big fat inconvenience.
“Bonnie—”
“Did you call to tell me something?” She rounded a corner.
Noah sighed. “I called to check in and see how you’re doing.”
“I’m good. Work’s been…busy. Though I’ve been waiting for a call from Zane all week that hasn’t come.” Maybe she just needed to accept that he didn’t want to do the classes. He’d told her he didn’t want to, and she couldn’t make him.
“Why have you been waiting for a call from Zane?”
“I asked him to do some self-defense classes for the shelter out of his gym.”
“Does he offer self-defense classes?”
“Well, no, but he could.” And she was pretty certain he’d be good at it. She rounded another corner. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Actually, that’s the other reason I called. I’m heading to the bar with some of the family. Come.”
She stumbled over a bump in the sidewalk. The thought of stepping into a busy bar made fear curl in her belly. Stepping into any busy place felt hard. That probably made her weak, didn’t it?
“I’m kind of tired, Noah.”
“Come on. Jesse and Becket too.”
So basically, all the men in her family would be there to protect her. But the thing was, she didn’t want to be protected. “Maybe in a few weeks, when I’m more settled.” And a bit braver.
“Okay. Another time. Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up?”
“I’m only a street away from my building.”
“Stay safe.”
“Thanks.”
She hung up just as the door to a Chinese restaurant on her right opened. Her jaw dropped, because there in front of her was her high school best friend, Maisie, and Dean’s older brother, Damien.
“Maisie. Damien.”
Maisie’s eyes widened. “Bonnie.”
“Hi, Bonnie.” Damien slipped an arm around Maisie’s waist.
Bonnie glanced down at the arm then back up. “You two are together?”
“Married, actually.” Maisie lifted her hand to show a wedding and engagement ring.
Holy crap, they were married? Damien had always been so serious and driven and competitive…the complete opposite of Maisie.
Was it because he came from money?
No. Maisie didn’t care about money, did she? Well, Bonnie didn’t really know much about her. Not now. And as it turned out…not in high school, either.
“Congratulations,” Bonnie finally said.
“Thanks.” Maisie swallowed. “I heard you were back. How have you been?”
She lifted a shoulder, because honestly, she didn’t feel like baring her soul to the person who once upon a time was supposed to be her best friend.
“Come on, Maisie.” Damien tugged her toward the street. “It was good to see you, Bonnie.”
Bonnie nodded and continued walking, only to stop at the rustle of footsteps behind her.
“Bonnie.”
She turned to see Maisie heading her way, while Damien waited by a car, looking impatient.
Maisie stopped, and when she spoke, her voice was low. “I’ve always wondered…why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I think the bigger question is, why didn’t you?” She glanced around Maisie. “At least, it was the question. I guess now I know the answer.”
Maisie’s eyes widened, and when she didn’t respond, Bonnie turned and continued walking.
Maisie didn’t call her back a second time.
When she reached her apartment building, she was frazzled and, in her head, that night at the party played over and over again. There was a good reason Bonnie had left Dean at the party that night. And it had everything to do with what she’d seen Dean and Maisie doing in a bedroom.
After unlocking the door, she stepped inside her building. Her head was still down as she jogged up the stairs and stepped onto her floor. And that’s when she collided with a big, broad chest.
Her eyes widened as a what-the-hell-is-going-on kind of shock wiped through her system. “Zane? What are you doing here?”
He frowned. “I live here.”
Zane’s fingers wrapped tightly around his beer, the music loud in the bar.
Bonnie lived in his apartment building. Fuck, she didn’t just live in it, she lived on the same damn floor, across the hall, two doors away.
He tipped back the beer and downed a third of the bottle. At first, he’d thought she’d somehow figured out where he lived and had come to get an answer to her request in person.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure if that would have been better or worse.
But then she’d revealed she’d leased the apartment down the hall, and it had taken everything in him not to lose his damn mind.
Because there was something about her. About the sweet scent that followed her.
The lyrical notes of her voice…all of it toyed with him.
And now he could run into her every day.
He checked his watch. Nine. Where the hell was Ethan? He was never late.
He checked his phone to see if his friend had made contact. He hadn’t.
The door to the bar opened, but it wasn’t Ethan who stepped in. It was Bonnie’s brother, Noah. With a couple guys behind him, one being the town sheriff.
Great.
Noah saw him looking, and Zane dipped his head and glanced away, draining the rest of his beer. What Ethan was doing for him wasn’t exactly illegal. But it also wasn’t something Zane needed the sheriff’s office knowing about. Thankfully, they headed toward the back of the bar.
Another few minutes passed and he checked his watch again. It really wasn’t like Ethan to be late. He lifted his phone and sent a text.
Zane: Everything okay?
He’d just hit send when someone stepped up beside him. It wasn’t Ethan.
“Hey.”
Zane looked up. “Noah, right?”
The man nodded. “Yeah. How are you doing?”
“All right.”
When the bartender stopped in front of Noah, he ordered three beers before looking back at Zane. “I heard my sister’s asked you to run some self-defense classes for the shelter.”
“She has.”
“Are you gonna do it?”
“I’m still thinking about it.” A damn lie. The less time he spent with Bonnie, the better.
“You should. She’s been through a lot. And you saw what Carlos did to her in The Tea House the other day. She needs some good in her life.”
Zane could have laughed. “I don’t know if I’m the good she needs.”
Noah lifted a shoulder. “You don’t seem like a bad guy. And this is important to her.” He clapped Zane on the back. “Have a good night.”
Shit. Now he felt guilty. The few interactions he’d seen of Bonnie with locals, they had been awful to her.
He shouldn’t do it. He knew he shouldn’t.
He lifted his cell and sent a text.
Zane: I’ll do it.
The three dots immediately popped up.
Bonnie: Zane?
Zane: Yeah. I’ll run sessions for the women in your shelter. Five sessions, and the women need to come to The Pit.
Bonnie: Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. I’ll call to organize tomorrow.
He was going to regret this. He already lived in the same building as the woman, he didn’t need more of her. Not when he wasn’t in a place to date and the woman was so fucking dateable.
But right now, he didn’t care.
“Texting someone important?”
He looked up. Ethan was just as tall and built as him, with light brown hair and a permanently serious expression on his face. “Where the hell have you been?”
“You know how long the drive is from Deep River?”
“Two hours.”
“Yeah, so cut me some slack.”
Zane shook his head. They’d been friends for so long, they knew each other well. “How are things at home?”
“Not the same town we grew up in.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
Ethan laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “One name—Sheriff Ward. Lazy asshole. And under his leadership, or lack thereof, crime rates are up. Someone went missing in the mountains last week and he did damn near nothing.”
“What about your search and rescue team?”
Ethan scoffed. “It’s full of elderly volunteers. They don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”
“Shit. What are you gonna do?”
“There’s not a lot I can do as one person with no support.” He pushed a folder across the bar. “Your first quarterly update.”
For a moment, Zane just stared at the manila folder. They were doing this in person because Zane didn’t want a trail.
“It’s all in there,” Ethan said. “His daily activities. Meetings with his lawyer.”
“Anything I should be concerned about?”
“Not in the folder.”
Zane looked up, frowning at his friend. “What does that mean?”
“There’s a rumor that he’s planning something.”
“Planning what?”
“I don’t know yet. My source is looking into it though.”
“But I should be worried?”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Officially, no. Unofficially…you should be worried.”