Page 128 of When the Smoke Clears

“Alan.”

His eyes dart around, and I blink.

“No, he’s gone. He was here.” I extend one arm and he takes the hot chocolate absently.

“Did he come at you?”

“Sort of.” I sip my drink in an attempt to warm myself from the inside out. “Yes.”

“I’m going to fucking kill him.” Sutton’s words almost hiss out of his mouth and jar me from my thoughts. “He’s going to be the first animal we go after on our new guided hunts. Archery, not rifle. And then, I’m going to hang him by his fucking feet and let him bleed out like any other animal, before I gut him and feed him to the fucking pigs.”

“No, you’re not.” I can’t decide how serious I think he is, but like an idiot I smile softly anyway. With my free hand, I reach inside his jacket, wrapping my arm around his middle and pulling us tightly together. “We’re going to get through this the right way. I cannot have you in jail.”

His stormy blue eyes take me in, a new kind of intensity brewing within them, as I set my chin on his chest and look up at him. His lips are warm on my forehead.

“Maci, I need you to understand how serious I am. I made a promise, and I keep them.”

“I know how serious you are, and I love you for it. But he’s gone. I’ll call Detective Porter and let him know what happened.” I don’t give voice to my inner question: how long is he gone? Are webothgoing to be facing murder charges soon?

Chapter 47

Maci

Suttonhasjustfinishedshowing me all of my photography equipment in his shop when my phone rings from Hank’s call.

“Hi, Hank.” My greeting is lackluster—not rude, but nothing like my usual chipper tone with him. “You’re on speaker.”

In comparison, his enthusiastic greeting is even more lively than usual. “Hey, Maci. Hey, Sutton. How are you?”

“Truthfully?” I don’t give Hank a chance to respond before I continue. “My anxiety is through the roof. Alan is following me. I can’t live like this, Hank. You have to get him to drop this suit.”

“What do you mean, following you?” Hank asks, unamused.

“He attempted to follow us after the funeral,” Sutton tells him. “And he showed up at the Jingle Bell Bash.”

“Did he approach you?”

“Yes.” I bring the phone closer to me, like I’m about to share a secret, but my volume doesn’t decrease. “And I don’t respond the same as I used to. My gut reaction is self-defense.Offenseeven. I pulled a knife on him.”

Part of me is wishing we had this conversation face to face. Is Hank rethinking helping me? Thinking he needs to increase his fees?Oh my God, I didn’t even ask what he charges.

“He didn’t call the police?” Hank’s skeptical question interrupts my thoughts.

“He left. I called Detective Porter and let him know, but he’s not as invested as he needs to be. I’m sure Alan will try to use the situation to his advantage, even though he started it.”

“And no one saw these events? Surely there were witnesses at the bash.”

“No. It was dark and there were hardly any people in my area because it was time for ice sculpting.”

Sutton speaks up. “The cameras at the shopping center heading out of town may have caught something. But only our argument, not the following. I’ll look like the aggressor on that one.”

Hank hums in thought. “Ok, well let’s hope we don’t have to get into all that. I got a hit based on the info you gave me.”

Adrenaline surges through my veins. I don’t dare interrupt.

“It turns out Alan has active marriage licenses in three states.”

“Three?” The word slips out in surprise. “Sorry, continue.”

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