Page 45 of Second Chance Savior

“What will he say?”

“The truth. A part of it. That I took off, and he doesn’t know exactly what I was doing or where I went. I left it vague on purpose. Deniability. I didn’t want to pull my friends in until I was ready.”

“But you said the Protectors have been investigating Stillwater for months with the help of Genevieve Blake.”

“We have. We’ve already won a significant battle against them. The other guys have partners, though. Families. And we have our mission at Last Refuge. People to take care of. I can’t forget that.”

“But you came for me.”

“Of course I did. The moment I heard you were in danger, there was no other option.”

I remembered what he’d said this morning, when we’d been at Brynn’s house. Felt like a week ago instead of a matter of hours.

You matter to me. You have always mattered to me.

I shifted on the uncomfortable bench seat. My arm brushed against his. “So the other Protectors have families. What about you? Do you have someone special in Hartley that you have to look out for?”

He kept his eyes on the screen. “A girlfriend or a wife? Nah, nobody’s ever stuck. Domesticity isn’t for me. I preferbeing the uncle who teaches my friends’ kids the stuff they shouldn’t know. What about you?”

“Someone special? No. I’ve made some bad choices when it comes to relationships. I’m taking a break.”

“Bad choices, like Jud Hale?”

“Shut up.” I elbowed him. “You must’ve made some poor decisions when it comes to women.”

He hummed. “I can think of one or two. Yeah.”

This felt like the moment to mention my ill-fated relationship with River’s brother. I had no idea where things stood with them now. Ross and I were friendly, though we hadn’t spoken in a long time. He was happily married. My engagement to him felt like a lifetime ago.

As Brynn had pointed out, all my unresolved feelings concerned my ex’s older brother.

Instead I said, “Tell me what else you know about Stillwater.”

He closed the lid of his laptop. “That’ll take a while.”

“Do I have to repeat myself?”

His mouth quirked. “Right. You want to knoweverything. But to get the full story, I need to start with Aiden and Jessi. This was last year. Before I arrived in Hartley.”

We talked for hours in the near-darkness. About how Aiden had helped Jessi when she’d been in trouble, and how Jessi’s brother Trace had done the same for Scarlett. The creation of the Protectors. River’s own arrival in town.

And all the while, Stillwater’s machinations in the background, unbeknownst to any of them until Genevieve came to Hartley to investigate Sheriff Owen.

“You read Genevieve’s article. She revealed how Stillwater provides logistical support and consulting to smaller bad actors. As a result, Stillwater has its hands in illicit drug routes, human trafficking, other kinds of organized crime. Including those incidents involving my friends in Hartley.”

“So this is personal for Aiden and Trace and their partners,” I said.

“It is. And for Owen too. Until Genevieve, none of us had ever heard of Stillwater. But she provided evidence that a public official tied to Hart County was accepting bribes from Stillwater. Cerberus and his hacking group had come across offshore bank accounts showing the transactions. They couldn’t discover the person’s identity. We’ve been trying to uncover that official ever since.”

Suddenly starving, I got up and checked the cabinets for food. “You mentioned the corrupt official before.” I returned to the table and passed over a packet of beef jerky and a water bottle. I tore into a chocolate-chip protein bar. “But that wasn’t in the article Genevieve published.”

“No, we kept that info back. Gen and Owen have been working with me on a list of suspects.” River paused. “About a week ago, Genevieve addedyouto that list of suspects.”

I nearly choked on the protein bar. “Me? Why?”

“Several reasons, but mainly because you dated Jud Hale. And he’s been on our watch list as a potential Stillwater mole for months.”

I took a swig of water, then set the bottle on the table with a thump. “You think Jud’s been taking bribes?”

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