Page 83 of Fate's Unseen Shadow

“Are you nervous?” He took his next shot, sinking another ball. Knowing Xavier, Damon wouldn’t get another shot before the game was over.

“About what? About Ella moving in? No. But I’m nervous that we’ve identified the killer, but we haven’t found him yet. When I thought of finding a woman who even made me halfway consider settling down, that isn’t what I imagined my key concern would be. I always pictured it as a fight over bathroom counter space. Not worrying about her being murdered.” He’d said it as a joke, but it wasn’t. The threat was there. Always there. Even now, watching her bartend at Cager on a typical Friday night, relatively safe, that tension remained under his skin.

“Ryker and his computer friend are trying to locate Davies’s email and cell phone to see if it crosses with Matteo’s or Julia’s. Ella finally accepted that they’re involved in this and probably together.” But the idea disturbed her. He’d caught her in deep thought, twirling her necklace, staring blankly at nothing. Sometimes, he left her to it. Other times, he created a business question to occupy her mind.

“You’re watching her like you’re ready to steal her away.”

Damon smiled. “I’m close.”

“Well, it might be time for you to hit the road with her. The guys and I are discussing it.” Xavier took his next shot. “It’s getting too dangerous.”

Damon slapped the pool cue down over Xavier’s. “What does that mean?” Last he’d heard, Ryker hadn’t found Davies or a solid connection.

Xavier straightened, putting him equal to Damon’s height. He squared off his shoulders and Damon was ready. Whatever his friend had to say, he expected a fight. “It means we’ve left you off the text messages the last few days.”

They’d done what?

Xavier held up his hands. “Let me finish.”

“Don’t keep things from me.”

“I’ve only kept something from you for the past twenty-seven minutes.” He set his hands on Damon’s shoulders. “In the last two days, Ryker found Davies and then lost him four times. Spotted him on cameras. Mostly gas station surveillance. Figured out he likes to use a certain station, like he gets rewards points or something. He’s moving up and down the East Coast of South Carolina.”

“Has he been in Charleston?”

“Yes. Once.”

“When?”

“He spotted him at a gas station near the interstate this morning.”

Damon paced away, wishing Davies and Matteo were around to serve as punching bags for his anger. Since that wasn’t an option, he took a deep breath, controlling his reaction.

“The rest of us can handle this. You told us from the beginning that she’s your responsibility. She is. We’re here to help you and her, but ultimately, it falls to you.”

Damon spun around, voice rising. “Which is why it’s bullshit that you didn’t keep me in the loop.”

“Don’t kill the messenger. Ryker and Slater put me up to be the one to tell you.”

“I’m not going to kill you. I’m mad, though. I don’t like that you and the others are working so hard, and I’m doing what? Playing house with Ella?” He paced away, eyes on Ella behind the bar. “Where did Ryker track him before?”

“Myrtle Beach yesterday. Two days ago, he found him in Hilton Head.”

“Why is he staying around here? Why not move toward Florida or up to New York?”

“I don’t know, unless Ella wasn’t as inconspicuous as she thought she was with using her cell phone or driving her car.I don’t think Ryker has slept for the past three days. He’s here tonight, attempting to stay awake in the booth, but he’ll head back home soon. That computer girlfriend we keep joking about locked down his computers. Told him to take a break, sleep, do something but he’d kill himself at this pace. Said he’s officially in computer time-out for an hour.”

Carrying a tray of drinks, Ella moved from behind the bar. Damon tracked her movement the same way he’d done all night. How long after they cleared her name and caught Davies before he’d relax? He’d never reached that point with his niece, Hayley, before her new stepdad told him to back off. His lips twitched. Ella had already told him that. But three weeks later, he still watched her every move. Partly to keep her safe.

The other half was because he enjoyed watching her.

And if he figured out how to make their two worlds merge, he’d have the privilege of watching over her for the rest of his life.

She set the tray down and served it to women near the window before crossing to a man wearing a black baseball hat alone at a high table. Her back straightened. The smile fell from her face. She shook her head.

“Uh-oh. You going over there?” Xavier asked. “Been a few weeks since our last brawl.”

“No. She warned me again last night to let her handle the job as Lacy does. I didn’t know how to explain that she doesn’t have the same energy as Lacy.”

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