Page 24 of Love Me Dangerous

“I know.” I lean back against the wall and stretch out my legs on the bench. It’s so good to hear his voice.

“Where are you?”

“Finn River, Idaho.” Even though I’m alone in the square and there’s a solid wall behind me, I keep my voice low.

“Never heard of it.” Though Sawyer and I use dummy email accounts to stay connected, we save details for our sporadic phone calls.

“I hadn’t, either. It’s nice, though. Pretty.”

“Safe?”

I draw in a slow breath to keep the memories of Sofie stuffed away.Just because you’re elusive means I’m nosy?“For now.”

“How in the world did you end up under the sheriff’s thumb?”

My most recent email was cryptic, but Sawyer’s good at reading between the lines. A survival skill we have in common.

“It was Henry’s idea.” I scrub my face with my free hand. My shoulder gives a tired throb. Working like that all day felt good, but it wiped me out. As if to underline this, my barren stomach tenses. I should have grabbed something from the grocery store.

“And you trust him?”

There’s plenty I don’t yet know about Henry and Barb, but their actions speak louder than words. “They haven’t given me a reason not to.”

“What about Sheriff Olson?”

“He’s kept his promise, and unless I want to spend the winter getting frostbite and surviving on ketchup packages, I don’t have much of a choice.”

“Right.”

“There’s a new… complication,” I say. “I found out today his kid is the same asshole from the show.”

Sawyer curses. “How’d you learn that?”

“From his ex-girlfriend.”

“Um, what?”

I grit my teeth in frustration. “The girl from the show, Sofie. She followed me today and jumped onto the chairlift.”

“Bold.”

I remember the determined gleam in her blue eyes. “She hasn’t told anyone it was me at the accident.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.” I think about her invitation to the live music on Saturdays. No way should I go. What would be the point?

“You don’t sound worried.” His tone has an edge to it, like a warning.

“I’ll worry if I need to.”

“Good. Because this sounds messy. The sheriff’s son likely knows you’re in town, and thanks to your little pact with his daddy, he could make life hard for you. Throw in that his ex and you are getting cozy?—”

“We’re not cozy,” I interrupt. “We’ve hadoneconversation.”

“Where she promised to keep your secrets safe for reasons she’s keeping to herself. For now.”

I pick at a dry sliver of the wood and flick it into the courtyard. He’s right, but I don’t like the implications. Because what if Sofie Whittaker has an agenda?

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