I pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the steady beat there. It wasn’t an I love you; it was so much better. It was raw and real and…Roan.
The woman stared at me for a beat too long as I offered her the bills and change in my hand. My stomach twisted. I didn’t recognize her as a local and hoped like hell she wasn’t a reporter.
She licked her lips as she took her change from me. “I’m so sorry about what happened to you,” she whispered. “Know that you’re believed.”
Her eyes shone, a glimmer of tears there as her gaze connected with mine.
My throat tightened. There was an understanding in her expression. Something that told me she’d seen the effects of abuse in one way or another. “Thank you. I can’t tell you what that means.”
She nodded and shoved the change into the tip jar. “Stay safe.”
“I will.”
And then she was gone.
A weight lifted off my shoulders, something I’d carried for years. And all it took was one stranger telling me she believed me.
“You okay?” Jonesy asked from his usual table.
I cleared my throat and shot him a smile. “I’m good. Better than good, actually.”
Elsie’s lips twitched. “That got anything to do with the big, burly man in your bed?”
I snorted. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“I bet.” She grinned and turned back to her computer, getting to work on editing her newest batch of photos.
I frowned at the computer screen. “You’re still holding off on going up into the mountains, right?”
Elsie sent me a sheepish smile. “I went on some trails yesterday—but close to my cabin, I promise. There haven’t been any more incidents, so I think it’s fine.”
I pinned her with my best motherly stare. “You should at least wait another week or two. And bring a Taser and bear spray when you go.”
She grinned at me. “I promise I’ll bring both.”
“Thank you,” I said, letting out a breath.
I turned to grab my rag and cleaning spray. Tackling the bathrooms was my least favorite task at The Brew, but someone had to do it. And it was better to get it done while things were quiet.
As I stepped past the pantry, I heard the squeak of hinges. I turned, but it was too late. A hand clamped over my mouth, and someone jerked me back into a broad body.
“Listen, you little bitch. You’re going on the record and telling everyone you’re a lying sack of shit. You’re going to recant your testimony and finally give John his freedom,” Oren snarled, his breath hot in my ear.
I moved on instinct, my elbow jerking back in a hard thrust. I’d watched countless self-defense videos on YouTube and practiced the moves until I knew them by heart, but I’d never actually used them.
Oren grunted, his hand loosening around my mouth.
I twisted, my hand coming up in a palm strike. Unfortunately, he managed to dodge the worst of it, so it only pissed him off.
Oren’s fist struck out, catching me across the cheek.
I saw stars for a moment, but the adrenaline kicked in as he grabbed for my shoulders. My knee jerked up on instinct as I yelled.
Oren collapsed to the floor with a cry as Elsie and Jonesy ran into the hallway.
“What the hell happened?” Elsie asked, her eyes wide.
That was when I started to shake. “I think I broke his balls.”
42
ROAN
Lawson leaned against the counter of the sporting goods store on the outskirts of town. “Has anyone coming through seemed off at all?”
The woman behind the counter stared blandly at him. “Law, I answered all these questions the first time you came by.”
“I know, Meg,” Lawson soothed. “But we’re talking to everyone a second time, just to see if anything new shakes loose.”
She grunted. “We get plenty of oddballs. Tourists who have no business being out on those trails, kooks who think the world is going to end any day now coming in for supplies, and then just your everyday out-there folks who like hunting a little too much.”
Lawson sighed. “You know what I mean, Meg. Someone who put you on edge.”
“You got time for a list?” she asked as she brushed her salt-and-pepper hair out of her face.
“They’d need something to help them move a body. Tarps and rope, maybe. Could’ve bought a knife, too,” I said.
Meg’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “You think this is some sicko who’ll strike again?”
Lawson’s mouth pressed into a firm line. He hated when people gossiped about an investigation, and the look on Meg’s face told us she was going to do just that. He pinned her with a stare. “We don’t want to cause alarm. Right now, we think this was an isolated incident, but we still need to find out who did it.”