Page 35 of Smoldering Nights
“Yes.And the break-in.The sabotage.It feels personal.Too personal.”
Sadie gave a small, nervous laugh.“You think someone has it out for you?”
“I don’t know.But it sure seems like it.And I’m just trying to protect myself and the shop.”
Sadie folded her arms.“You think it’s someone we know?”
“I think it might be someone close enough to know when I’m vulnerable.”
Sadie frowned, her eyes narrowing.“Wow.That’s...unsettling.”
Izzy nodded slowly.“It is.”
There was an uncomfortable silence between them.
“Well,” Sadie said, shifting her weight, “I hope you figure it out.I can’t imagine who’d do something so messed up.”
“I hope so too,” Izzy murmured, her chest tight.She hated feeling like she couldn't tell Sadie what was going on.But to accuse Travis if it was nothing, was not a good thing for her to do.It would ruin their friendship completely.
Sadie stared at her for a moment, then her lips pressed together.“I’ve gotta go.Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.Thanks for stopping by.”
Izzy watched the door swing shut, Sadie’s reaction lingering like static in the air.They hadn’t fought, not really, but something between them had cracked.Izzy didn’t like keeping secrets, especially from someone who’d been so loyal, but she couldn’t tell Sadie everything.Not yet.Not without evidence.
Not without hurting her.
The shop fell quiet again.Izzy glanced at the clock.A little after two.Still hours before closing, but with no customers and her nerves fraying, she decided to clear her head.She finished tidying up the workbench, spritzed the roses in the cooler, and took out the trash bags she’d tied off earlier.
The alley between Petal Pushers and her greenhouse was narrow and mostly empty.She'd always planned to connect them, which would be a space for supplies such as watering cans, nippers, and other tools she used in the shop.Right now, she had the garbage cans near there to fill the space.
The summer sun had shifted behind a cloud bank, casting a gray pall over the brick walls and dumpsters.She hauled two bags to the bins and flipped the lids open.
The soft scrape of a shoe behind her made her pause.
She turned.
A figure stood near the far corner of the building, near the front.Hooded.Dressed in black.Not moving.
Her heart kicked into overdrive.“Can I help you?”she asked, her voice thin but steady.
The figure took one slow step forward, which further shrouded him in darkness.
Izzy backed up a pace, her fingers tightening around the trash bags she still held.
“Stay away from me,” she warned.
The voice came low and sharp.“Stop digging.”
“What?”
“You keep poking around, you’re going to get burned worse than your damn flowers.”
Izzy’s blood turned to ice.
“I...I don’t know who you are, but you need to leave.Right now.”
A chuckle, dry and humorless.“No one’s coming to save you if you push too far.”
