Page 95 of The Two Last Moments

“Be careful,” Matteo says, frowning.

I grab my keys, making no promises.

33

This drive into Solvang is nothing like the one I took with Lark.

That day, I remember how hopeful Lark seemed as we arrived in town. She thought she was doing something to help my grandmother. We had no idea that Lark’s own history was tied up here.

Was Z following us then? Lark said he’s been close enough to watch us. That was the day some asshole keyed my car and left that note for Lark. I assumed it was her stepbrother, and I’m sure I was right.

If he’s been close this whole time, then where the hell has he been hiding? Lark doesn’t know what he looks like, so he could’ve been in plain sight.

I thought I was satisfied with my life before her, but I had no idea what happiness really felt like. It’s wholeness when you know the sting of being alone. Pledging your heart to someone, fully aware of the risks. There’s no true happiness without feeling the possibility of loss. I didn’t let myself take those risks before because I didn’t want to get hurt.

What I feel for Lark, theloveI feel, is worth it.

But losing her is not an option.

I park and head toward Sugar & Yeast Café. The answers are here somewhere, the clues to Lark’s past, and I’ll do whatever it takes to find them. Even if it means tearing apart every inch of this town.

Even if it means tracking down my uncle, someone I had no desire to ever see again.

But there’s one person who definitely knows more than he’s been saying. If I have to tearhimapart to learn what he’s hiding, that’s what I’ll do.

I barge into the café. Denise is behind the register again, and her eyes widen when she sees me. My fists are clenched as I storm over to the counter.

“Where’s Cam?”

I’m usually an easygoing guy, but I’ve got a scowl that can get some shit done. I honed it back when I was Doc to a bunch of wily soldiers. They could’ve told you that when I’m on a warpath, you might want to clear the way.

Denise steps aside, and there he is. The target of my ire. Lark’s ex-boyfriend who justhappenedto call her offering up new info just before Z attacked her.

“Danny?” Cam says, glancing around. “What’s up? Is Lark here too?”

“No, she’s not.” I vault the counter and collide with Cam, backing him up until he hits the opposite wall. Stacks of paper coffee cups topple over. Cam yelps, and there are shouts of indignation and surprise from others in the café. I bar my arm across his neck. Cam looks ready to piss himself. “She’s back in West Oaks, terrified because her stepbrother attacked her today.”

“What?”

“He had his fucking hands around her throat. Right after you called her up like you were trying to distract her. Were you working together? Do you know where her brother is? If you do and you don’t start talking, I swear to you—”

“I’m calling the cops,” Denise yells behind me.

Cam holds up his hands. “No. It’s fine. It’s all…fine. Danny and I are going to talk out back. If you’ll let go of me long enough for that?” he asks me.

Slowly, I step back from him. But then I grab his bicep and drag him toward the café’s back door, hauling him out. Cam stumbles, catching himself against the brick wall of the next building over.

“Is Lark all right?” he asks. “Did Z hurt her?”

“Not yet. She got away in time. But you’d better tell me what you’ve been holding back.Everything. Right now.”

“Okay. Okay.” He wipes at the sweat beading on his forehead. “I have a box of things that belong to Lark in my trunk. It’s parked right around the corner. That’s why I called her earlier. I’ll just give it to you. I had no idea about her brother being there.”

“And why didn’t you tell Lark about her stuff before? Because you wanted to have something else to hold over her?”

He flinches, looking down at the concrete. “It’s stuff she left behind on purpose, mostly. Things I gave to her and she didn’t want anymore when she left me. Okay? And yeah, maybe I was trying to find a way to see her again, or I was trying to hold on to some small piece of her. Do you really have no idea how that feels?”

My fists clench and unclench.

---