Page 70 of Smoldering Nights
Silence dropped like a bomb.
Mitch moved faster than he thought.He grabbed Noah’s arm and shoved him back against the counter with one firm motion, his voice low and sharp.“What’s in the box?”
“Easy, man,” Noah said, too calmly.“Just a warning.Izzy and I need to talk.Alone.If she doesn’t, well...accidents happen.”
Izzy backed away as Mitch pulled his phone, one hand still gripping Noah.“Fielding,” he snapped into the receiver.“I have Grady.He brought a suspicious package.Threatened the shop.”
Noah didn’t resist.He just smiled at Izzy, like they were having a private moment.“You know it’s always been you,” he murmured.“I’ve been patient.But this time, you’re coming with me.”
Mitch shoved him into the corner.“You’re done, Noah.”
Outside, sirens wailed in the distance, faster than Mitch had hoped.Jayson must have already been nearby.
“Back room,” Mitch said to Izzy.“Go now.”
She moved, stunned but steady, and Mitch held Noah there until Fielding and two officers burst through the front door with guns drawn.
Within seconds, Noah was cuffed and being read his rights.
Mitch stepped over to Izzy, finding her in the back, one hand pressed to her chest, the other holding the pepper spray he’d given her.
She looked up at him.“You said he wouldn’t get the chance.”
“He didn’t.”He cupped her face gently.“You held your ground.We both did.”
Chief Fielding eased over to where they stood."I have to ask you two to leave the building.We have a bomb squad coming in from Tampa to take care of the package.We don't want anyone close by in case he has a timer on it."
"Does he have a remote?"Mitch asked.
"We checked his pockets; he didn't have anything except his phone.We're analyzing that right now for a timer or anything that could set off whatever he has inside that box."
Mitch looked into Izzy's eyes."It's okay.We trust them.We have to."
Her eyes welled with tears, but they didn't fall.Then she took in a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out in a whoosh."Okay.It's the first step to getting all of this behind us."
Inside Petal Pushers, Izzy Payton was standing tall in her own shop, even as the sirens removing Noah from the premises faded.
Mitch finally believed this might be the beginning of the end.
Chapter36
The Shack, as Mitch called it, was comfortable enough.A few flowers wouldn't hurt the place at all.She could likely help with that, but she hoped she wouldn't be here long.The furnishings were sparse but nice, the lighting soft but impersonal, and the silence left too much room for her thoughts.
Izzy sat cross-legged on the worn leather sofa, her palms cupped around a mug of peppermint tea she hadn’t touched in so long that it was cool now.She couldn’t shake the image of Noah’s eyes, the way he’d looked at her when he brought in that box.So sure of himself.Like she was part of some shared delusion he’d been living in for years.Even the smile he had was off, like something you see in a horror movie before the killer sets off on his spree.The broken mental capacity of a person who had spent his entire life ruminating on hate and revenge.
She shivered, despite the warmth in the room.
Mitch entered quietly, a slight crease between his brows as he pulled the door shut behind him.He had that focused look again, calm on the surface, but his shoulders were tight, his hands in fists.
“Any news?”she asked, sitting up straighter.
He nodded once and crossed to her, settling on the arm of the sofa.“Fielding just finished his initial interrogation.Noah cracked faster than I expected.He said Noah almost seemed relieved.”
Izzy’s pulse quickened.“He confessed?”
“Yeah,” Mitch said.“Enough to start building an airtight case.The box he brought in?Harmless.Just filled with wires and a kitchen timer.No real explosive components.”
She sagged against the cushions.“So it was a bluff.”
