Roan pulled me against him again. I could feel his heart beating against my cheek.
Lawson looked at Jonesy and Elsie. “Did you guys see anyone suspicious around the time the flowers were delivered?”
Jonesy shook his head. “No, but I wasn’t paying real close attention.”
As Lawson turned to Elsie, her gaze dipped, and her cheeks heated. “It was just us in the café. I didn’t see anyone outside,” she mumbled.
Lawson, oblivious to Elsie’s reaction, shifted his focus back to me. “You notice anyone who shouldn’t have been here?”
I frowned. “You think it could be someone here?”
Roan’s hold on me tightened as if he could shield me from the entire world.
“We need to look into every possibility. You’ve gotten a lot of media coverage over the past couple of weeks,” Lawson said.
“Oren was waiting outside this morning,” Roan growled. “And those two damn podcasters are still here.”
Nash’s eyes flared. “Is Oren also dead at this point?”
“Not yet,” Roan gritted out.
“Not helping, Nash,” I chastised.
He sent me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but that dude is just asking to end up in a shallow grave somewhere.”
I turned in Roan’s arms so I could face him and framed his face in my hands. “Look at me.”
He didn’t at first.
I pressed more firmly against his cheeks, feeling the stubble biting into my palms. “Roan.”
His head dipped, his eyes meeting mine. But he was somewhere else. I stretched up onto my tiptoes and kissed him. I put everything into the kiss, trying to reassure. To comfort.
When I pulled away, my Roan was there again.
He pressed his forehead to mine. “Tender Heart.”
“Don’t do that,” I whispered.
“Do what?”
“Disappear on me.”
Roan pulled back, searching my eyes. “I’m with you. Always.”
“This is making me all sorts of uncomfortable because I feel like you’re about to go find a closet to bang it out,” Nash muttered.
Lawson smacked him upside the head.
“Hey!” Nash rubbed the back of his head. “That hurt.”
Lawson’s phone rang, and he glanced down. Tapping the screen, he put it to his ear. “Hey, Nan. You remember something?”
Lawson’s expression went stony. “Thank you. Just leave it on a table. Don’t touch it again. Clint’s coming over to your place now.”
He disconnected and shoved his phone into his pocket.
“What?” Roan demanded.
Lawson looked at us. “She found the envelope the order came in. There was no return address, but there was a postmark. Jackson.”
“John,” I whispered. I hadn’t been sure about the handwriting this time, but now we knew.
And just like always, even when he was locked up, he found a way to reach me. To hurt me. But this time, he wouldn’t settle for torment. He wanted blood.
40
ROAN
I eased the porch swing back and forth as I stared at the dark fields and forests. The quiet shadows had always been a comfort. A blanket of nothingness that soothed.
But not tonight.
Everything in me was still churned up. It was all I could do to hide it from Cady. But Aspen saw it all. She always did.
Lawson had put a call into the prison to see about locking down John’s privileges and talked to Evan at the Jackson PD. The problem was, we didn’t have hard proof it was Carrington. Just that it was someone in Jackson. The best the warden could give us was that he’d have guards keep a closer eye on John.
I knew that wouldn’t actually happen. They were already stretched thin. And keeping eyes on prisoners twenty-four-seven was impossible.
The hinges on the door squeaked as Aspen stepped out. She pulled her long coat tighter as she made her way to the swing. “Aren’t you freezing?”
I shrugged. “I don’t really feel it.” It was a miracle I felt anything at all.
Aspen lowered herself to the seat next to me and nestled close. It was one of the things I loved about her—how she always burrowed deep. It didn’t matter if I was in a piss-poor mood or not. Nothing kept her away.
She looped her arm through mine and dropped her head to my shoulder. “I’m worried about you.”
That was her, too. Honest. Straight to the point. Always caring about others.
“Tweaked me,” I admitted, gazing at the starry sky.
“Me, too,” she said quietly.