Page 73 of Hidden Memories

And maybe the worst part? Now I blame myself.

Just then, Julia’s taillights turn off in the driveway, and she walks up the path to the front door. She knows we’re parked here. I don’t give a damn. Kat’s talking. Maybe it feels good for her to get these things off her chest, so I don’t move.

I see in the rearview that Theo is still sleeping.

“So why…”

My question is interrupted by Julia shouting through the night. “Santi!”

I bow down to see Julia running toward my truck. I’m out immediately, rushing to meet her.

“The door,” Julia says, breathing heavily. “It’s been tampered with.”

An hour later, the police have come and gone. The place has been dusted for prints. There’s no evidence of anyone getting inside, but that doesn’t make it any less unsettling. Julia’s neighbor, Mr. Chen, said he heard something and turned on his porch light. He swears he saw a shadowy figure—maybe two—running away. But poor Mr. Chen has cataracts, and the best he could do was wave his cane in the air and squint at the darkness. Still, the fact that someone was here, watching, lurking, has my blood running ice-cold.

Julia and I sit in the kitchen, the sharp scent of peppermint tea steeping in the air, but the warmth in my hands does nothing to take the chill out of my bones. Kat’s tea sits untouched, the steam curling away, forgotten. My body tenses the second I hear her socked feet tiptoe down the wooden stairs.

She steps into the kitchen, wrapped in a chunky cardigan that’s cinched tightly at the waist, her hair piled into a messy bun with loose tendrils framing her face. The shadows under her eyes are more pronounced now, exhaustion settling deep into her bones. But she’s beautiful in the kind of way that’s dangerous. The kind that’s not just about the way she looks but the way she makes me feel—like I’d burn the whole world down if she asked.

She crosses her arms. “He’s finally sleeping.”

I nod, glancing toward the stairs. “That’s a relief.”

Julia sighs and pushes herself up stiffly. “Right. I’m off to bed. Y’all turn off the lights when you’re finished.” She takes two steps before Kat catches her arm.

“Julia, I just have to say?—”

Julia stops her with a hand in the air. “I won’t have it. You’re staying here.”

Kat’s brows draw together. “Julia, we can’t bring trouble to your shop. To your home.”

“I said I won’t have it.” Her tone is final. “I don’t care if I have to dust off my late husband’s shotgun and sit on the porch myself. Y’all are safer here than anywhere else.” She squeezes Kat’s shoulder and turns to me. “Take them to Monarch Hills tomorrow. Show them a good time. They could use a break.”

With that, she leaves.

Kat shakes her head. “You don’t have to do anything more for us. We’re?—”

I cut her off. “If you say you’re fine, then I know for sure your standards aren’t where they need to be.”

She exhales, shoulders slumping as she eases into the chair across from me. “Wewillbe fine.”

I lean back, watching her carefully. “That’s better, at least. Do you still ride?”

Her fingers toy with the rim of her mug. “No. Nic didn’t allow it.”

A fresh wave of rage pulses through me. I swear, I could kill that bastard all over again. But that’s the thing about ghosts. You can’t fight them. You can’t erase what they did. You just have to live with the wreckage they left behind.

I swallow down the fire burning in my throat. “Do you want to?”

The question catches her off guard. I bet she forgot she ever had choices.

“I’d be happy to take you and Theo tomorrow.”

She lifts the mug to her full lips. “I’m going to ask Julia if I can work the register tomorrow.”

I smirk, leaning forward. “You and Jules in a battle of wills? I’m buying tickets to that show.”

Her fingers tighten around the cup. “I need the money.”

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