Page 122 of Lethal Danger

“Now you know.”

Good. She trusted him enough not to hide that she was in danger. But the confirmation of what he’d suspected affected him more than he had anticipated. Someone wanted to hurt Jazz. Maybe kill her.

A rush of something he couldn’t identify rolled through him in a hot wave, seeping into his muscles and limbs. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped. I could have…” His voice trailed off as the thought finished in his mind. He could have protected her.

Is that what the strange feeling was? Protectiveness?

He’d never felt it like that for anyone before. Maybe a hint of wanting to give Rebekah some brotherly advice recently. But not this powerful, almost angry emotion that made him want to shield Jazz from danger and take down anyone who’d even think about hurting her.

Man. He needed to leave. Maybe sooner than he’d planned. He was starting to care about her way too much.

And she was starting to look at him like she knew. As if she saw how much he cared.

He had to fix this. Had to make it clearer he wasn’t in the market for a relationship. But in a way that didn’t hurt her.

Because the hope he’d accidentally given her was written all over her lovely face.

He looked away and cleared his throat. “I wondered because I’ve been getting some of the same treatment.”

“You have?” Surprise lifted her tone.

“Threatening note, and then my brakes were cut last night.”

She sucked in an audible breath. “Were you hurt?”

He couldn’t help but look at her again when she asked the question with concern squeezing her voice. “No. I’m fine. But—” He stopped just short of saying he was concerned about her. He’d made enough of that kind of mistake for one day. “But I’m thinking whoever is going after me could be the same person after you.”

“Oh.” Something passed in her eyes. Doubt? Or maybe she was simply processing the idea.

“It seems likely to be someone who doesn’t want us to get any closer to finding the truth.”

“But about the sabotage or Sam?”

“I don’t know.” He kept his gaze from meeting hers. Easier to feel less and show less if he didn’t look at her so much. “Whoever it is could know you’re helping me investigate Sam’s death.”

“You mean someone from the cult.” She paused, but he didn’t give in to the temptation to glance her way. “Maybe Randall? Or someone who found out I’d asked him about Sam? He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to keep his mouth shut.”

“If it’s about Sam, the person is right to be worried about what we’ll find. I just talked to the friend Sam was with at the fair.”

“You’re kidding.”

The excitement of having more of a trail to follow thrummed through Hawthorne’s bloodstream. “I have a last known location on the fairgrounds now. And more reason to believe Sam wouldn’t have gone to the Logboat Adventure ride alone. Even drunk, he’d only gone on the ride earlier because of peer pressure. And he hadn’t expressed any plans to go back.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“I’m going to visit the smoking area where Sam was last seen. From what his friend told me, Sam had planned to return to his pals. But he never made it.” Hawthorne finally allowed himself a glance in her direction. “I hope you and Flash can help me search the area. Hopefully find something. It’s a longshot for evidence to still be there. But getting the lay of the land and playing out possible scenarios could lead to a breakthrough.” He smiled. “I might finally be able to solve this case.”

“That would be…great.”

He caught the wistfulness in her voice that he now realized had been there in her previous comment, too.

Sirens sounded in the distance, likely from the ambulance or police headed their way.

But it was too late for the kind of rescue Hawthorne probably needed most. Someone to extract him from the situation he’d gotten himself into.

A hint of sadness settled around Jazz’s mouth, but the hope he’d read on her face before was still there.

Guilt swelled in his throat. He’d better solve Sam’s murder fast.

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