Page 67 of Smoldering Nights
Jayson added, "And then Delilah entered the picture."
"Right.Maybe he became friendly with Delilah to help her get the shop from Izzy, thinking that would be just desserts.But instead, he ended up helping Delilah deliver drugs.Likely for payment."
Mitch nodded.The heaviness lifted from his shoulders, and things were beginning to clear up as to the whys.He always wanted to know the motive behind bad behavior so he could gauge just how determined a criminal was.“Good call.Anything else?”
“One thing.I pulled Noah's driver’s license info.The address listed?It’s fake.Doesn’t exist.”
“So he’s flying under the radar.”
“Yep.But unofficially?He’s got a storage unit under an alias in Oak Hollow.I’ve already alerted Fielding.We’re getting a warrant.”
Mitch ran a hand down his face.“Nice work.Let me know as soon as you get inside that unit.”
“You got it.Oh, and Mitch?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.Guys like Noah don’t just snap.They spiral.Fast.”
"Roger that."
Mitch ended the call and stared blankly at the laptop screen for a few seconds.
The obsession wasn’t new.It was inherited.Twisted.And it had been building for years.
Izzy padded into the room moments later, hair still damp from the shower, wrapped in a loose hoodie and leggings.She looked stronger than she had the night before, still tired, but steady.
“Everything okay?”she asked, crossing to him.
He stood, meeting her eyes.“I just talked to Jayson.He found something about Noah.”
Her brows drew together.“What?”
Mitch explained, step by step.Clarence Grady.The old shop’s ownership.The bitterness.The job application.The fake address.
Izzy didn’t interrupt.But when he reached the end, her hands slowly pressed to the table behind her.
“He thought the shop should be his?”she asked, voice hollow.“He thought I took something from him?”
Mitch stepped closer.“Maybe at first.But it’s more than that now.He seesyouas the prize.Not the building.”
Izzy didn’t respond right away.Then her gaze met his, clear and hard.“Then let’s make sure he understands just how wrong he is.”
Mitch nodded.“We will.Jayson’s working with Fielding on the storage unit now.If Noah’s been operating out of there, we’ll find something useful.And once we do…”
“We stop him,” Izzy finished.
Mitch slid a hand over her back, grounding them both.“Exactly.”
Outside, birds chirped again.Normalcy returned to the woods.But inside the Shack, the hunt was on, and this time, they weren’t just on defense.
They were ready to end this.
Chapter34
The wind rustled through the trees outside, but Izzy barely noticed it.She stood at the window, arms wrapped tightly around herself, staring at the patch of woods beyond the clearing.It should’ve felt peaceful here.Safe.
Instead, it felt like a pause.A breath held between moments.
