Page 44 of Sebastian

A single tear burned her skin as it fell down her face. “I knew he was a bad man, but I didn’t know exactly what he did for them until right before I got away. The night I ran, I saw him with a man, bound and gagged in a room I wasn’t supposed to go into in the house. He w-was cutting…” she swallowed back her fear as the sounds of the man’s screams and the blade cutting through his skin overwhelmed her. “He was cutting the man over and over and over again. I had heard other members of the family mentioning the surgeon around me, but I never realized it was him until that night.”

“We need to talk to Sheriff Porter,” Gunner said. “And Agent Wilson. I don’t remember his name being on the list of family members they’ve been watching.”

Seb nodded in agreement. “Em, you saw him inflicting wounds on a person that match what happened to the missing women here? The women who have all looked like you?”

“Yes. This is all my fault, isn’t it?” Her arms wrapped tightly around her body. “I wanted to believe it couldn’t be him, that he was all the way in Chicago and I was safe here in Bell Ridge. My mind doesn’t know what to do with seeing him earlier.”

“And you’re sure it was him?” When she nodded in confirmation, Stone apparently couldn’t hold back the exact sentiment she was thinking too. “Fuck.”

Gunner started typing on his phone. “This is the first time we know for sure he’s been in town. He’s getting bolder, more reckless. He wants to be seen.”

“I agree. He’s escalating things. I think you should take Emma away, Seb. To the safe house up in Rockwell. It might be a good idea to get her out of the state,” Nash suggested.

“Rockwell?” she asked.

“It’s in Colorado,” Sebastian smiled at her. “And I agree. I think that’s a good idea.”

“But what about the bakery?”

“It needs to stay open, Sprinkles. I think we need to make it seem like it’s business as usual to see if we can lure him out again.”

“I can’t just leave. Who will run the shop? I have Melissa but she’s in school all day. I don’t want someone being in danger because of me.”

“Maybe next time don’t keep secrets from us,” Gunner growled.

Sebastian stood, and the tension in the room between the two men became unbearable.

“Seb, sit down. Gunner is only telling the truth.”

“This isn’t your fault, Emma. I don’t like the insinuation that it is. We aren’t here to judge your story or condemn you for anything you’ve done. All I care about is keeping you safe.”

Hawk pulled his phone from his pocket and began typing.

“My sister, Mae, worked at a coffee shop in New York City for a while. I was just catching up with her yesterday, and she was thinking about booking a trip out here to come see what we’ve been up to. Maybe she can come out earlier and take over for you?” Hawk offered.

“We need to leave today. So while that might work in a couple of days, it doesn’t cover the time between now and then,” Sebastian said.

“I’m not putting Hawk’s sister in danger. There’s no way. I need to stay, and we’ll just have to deal with things as they come. I-I can be strong, now that I know he’s here.”

“Em. No. We need to get you away from here.”

“That’s all I do, Sebastian. All I’ve done is run. I ran for two years. Until I came to Bell Ridge. The past few years have been the happiest of my life. I finally feel like I found home, and I don’t want to let him take that from me.”

“We aren’t going to let that happen, Em. But you have to know that if he’s here, you are in more danger than ever. He showed you his face. He wants you to know that he’s here and that he can get to you if he wants. That screams to me that he’s coming unhinged. I won’t have you around when he does. Please say you’ll go with me to Colorado.”

She didn’t reply right away, but she could feel every man in that room holding his breath, waiting for her response.

“Fine. If we have to leave today, I’ll agree to close the shop for a few days. I can just tell people I have the flu. No one wants baked goods from a sick baker. By the time it reopens, if your sister agrees to the task, Hawk, I can walk her through the major operating points and she should be good to go. We can just offer coffee and some simple pastries for a while and people will understand if she let’s them know I’m still under the weather.”

“That just might work.”

“I’ll need to go up to my apartment and pack.” Emma stood, her head slightly swimming from the exhaustion of the afternoon.

“You’re not going anywhere. I’m going to speak with Natalie and have her get the jet lined up. She’ll take care of making sure you have everything you need at the house.”

“Seb, you can’t do that. I can bring my own things.”

“It’s not a problem, and we don’t want anyone to see you carrying luggage out of your apartment when you’re supposed to be sick. It will raise too much suspicion.”

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