Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
I could decide to leave this in West’s hands, I knew. But that felt like giving up. He couldn’t possibly care as much about this as I did, care about Ford as much as I did.
So, what the fuck did I do?
What I did was pull some beers for a few tourists who trickled in. I gave them my best version of the cheerful bartender smile and made my way down to the other end of the bar, where it was quiet and I didn’t have to talk to people. Dave wasn’t coming in for a few hours. Until he got here, I’d have to deal with customers, whether I liked it or not.
My phone chimed with a text. Sterling.
Did you call him yet?
I’d been shocked to discover that my baby sister was firmly on West’s side. She’d looked a little green when I told her about Anna Novak. Her face had drained of blood, and she’d shaken her head.
“We’re in too deep,” she’d said. “I need to think about this. Make some calls.” I’d left her in her room, her phone to her ear. The next time I saw her, she’d given me a heavy look. “I talked to some people who looked into what happened, and they said to keep our heads down and stay far away.”
“So, it’s over?” I’d asked, feeling off balance. “We’re just going to let it go?”
Sterling had tossed her hair back over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, duh. I don’t want to get stabbed forty times.”
“Don’t we want to find out who—”
Sterling was shaking her head before I could finish. “Not that much, Avery. Seriously, not that much. I have a lot to live for, you know.” Her face shifted, the levity draining away. She’d reached out to pull me into a hug—awkward because I was so much taller—but I wrapped my arms around her and we rocked side to side for a minute, my cheek resting on her soft hair.
“Ave,” she’d said into my shoulder, “I know you want to solve this. I know you want this to be over.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, tears pricking behind my lids. God, did I want this to be over.
“But now’s not the time,” she’d continued. “At the least, we need to step back and take a break. As a friend told me, it’s too hot right now. Let things cool down, and then we can reassess.”
When did my sister start sounding so much like Hawk?
“Yeah,” I’d said, giving her a squeeze. Sterling had guts. She and Forrest had embarked on a wild scavenger hunt to solve a riddle left behind by his father. They’d made some questionable decisions, put themselves in real danger, and Sterling had been unapologetic about every bit of it. So, if she was saying things were too hot and we needed to back off, maybe my sense of danger was completely out of whack.
I’d been in a holding pattern—too stubborn and mad to talk to West, heartsick at the divide between us, and angry that this was an issue at all.
The door opened, and I pasted a fake smile across my face, letting it fall as I saw Ford walk in. A shadow of shame swept over me as I realized I was disappointed. Somewhere deep inside, I’d secretly been hoping to see West.
Why? My snotty inner voice asked. So he can apologize for not being wrong?
Fuck. I shook off the thought and went to greet Ford as he slid onto a barstool.
“Hey, what brings you in here? Need to get out of the house?”
“This is one of the few places it’s recommended I go, given the level of security.” His eyes flicked up to a camera discreetly installed above the bar, new since the break-in and courtesy of Hawk’s team. You’d have to know it was there to spot it, but it had a wide-angle view of the whole taproom.
“What can I get you?” I asked.
“Bartender’s choice,” Ford said.
I pulled him our stout. A hint of coffee, a hint of chocolate. Perfect for early on Sunday afternoon. He raised an eyebrow as he watched me build his pint, and I smiled, this one genuine.
“Mocha stout,” I said. “It’s almost a breakfast beer.”
“Sounds perfect.” Ford nodded, the faintest hint of a smile curving the side of his mouth. “Quiet this morning.”
“Yeah. It could be leaf season starting to taper off. And it’s still early.”
“Any more trouble from Matthew?” he asked, following my train of thought.
I shrugged. “Not that I know of.” I slid the stout across the bar to him.
“You work things out with West?”
Grabbing a damp rag, I wiped the already clean bar in front of me, not meeting Ford’s eyes. I jerked a shoulder up in a shrug. I hated this sticky, dark hole in my chest. Guilt. I didn’t want to admit I was wrong because I didn’t want to be wrong. But I couldn’t change what I couldn’t change.