Page 70 of Hidden Memories

Shadow Justice.Are these guys PIs or something?

Instantly I’m uncomfortable. I’m new in Echo Valley. I don’t want to be seen as bringing trouble to this sweet small town.

“Kat…” Santi seems to read my mind and tries to put me at ease. “It’s completely up to you, but it seems like having some skilled people looking into things isn’t a bad idea. What do you think?”

What do I think?

I can’t remember the last time someone asked me what I thought.

I trace raised letters on the card. “I guess it seems a little bit weird to be watched all the time. Is that what that means? Like you’d be staked out on the street at Julia’s?”

Anton’s voice is so low it’s almost difficult to hear his words.

“Invisibility is our forte. You won’t know we’re around. We now know there weren’t prints at the farmhouse or in the outbuilding.”

I let out a long, slow breath. Have I just not yet been invited to the Echo Valley group chat or something? News rips through this town like a tornado.

Santi offers another thought. “We should also bring it up at the next town hall. But it’s not for nine days.”

“Town Hall?” This is moving too fast for me.

“Where we talk about town business. Community watch, seeing who needs help and what needs fixing. That kind of thing. We could get everyone keeping an eye out.”

Echo Valley sure has a beating heart.

But I’m out of my comfort zone.

I tap the tiny card on my palm. “I’ve spent my whole life being someone’s business,” I mutter, running my fingers over the card. “I don’t know if I want that here.”

A sly smile comes across Rio’s face, like what I’m saying is absurd and I’ll soon find out. I guess Echo Valley doesn’t let you fade into the background—it invites you to be part of its story.

I raise the card in the air. “Thanks, guys. Let me think about it.”

“Sure thing.”

Luis calls them over to the grill, asking them how they want their steaks cooked.

I watch their broad backs walk away.

“So much for privacy,” I mumble. “Or blending into the scenery…”

Santi chuckles. “Michi, I hope you didn’t just say that. Asifyou could roll up in this town unnoticed.”

Michi… The word is a ghost from another life. My heart clenches, desperate to cling to the sound of it. I can’t let it.

Santi clears his throat like the familiarity slipped out unintended, but he’s not the kind of man to ignore it. “Looks like some things don’t go away just because they should.”

My stomach explodes with butterflies. Big problem. Huge.

His voice drops, rougher now, but there’s no teasing in it. “Look, I’m not here to make this complicated. I just…” He shakes his head. “I don’t want to be some stranger to you, Kat. If we’re going to be something, even if it’s just friends, might as well be honest.”

He’s right. And as I gaze into his eyes, I realize he’s the only man who’s ever given me honesty without cruelty, without expectation. Love from others has always come with conditions, with consequences. That’s why even if Owen didn’t need him, even if the FBI wasn’t around, even if there wasn’t all this craziness… I’d still need to stay away. I need time to heal my wounds. Love has never been safe for me. And I don’t know if I can trust it anymore.

I shove my hands on my hips, and—pop. The damn cardigan button again. Like the universe itself is conspiring against me, determined to unravel me piece by piece. I throw my hands up. “What is my life?”

Santi’s playful laugh surrounds me and erases all embarrassment. I always used to feel supreme comfort around him. Like I could be whole myself. Not that smart all the time. Not that happy all the time. Whimsical. Head in the clouds, ready to be a college dropout or dealing with a wardrobe malfunction.

Whenever I meet those eyes of his, I’m more at ease, no matter how good or bad the moment. I shake my head andstick the button back through the hole, willing it to stay. “This cardigan used to fit me like a glove.”

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