Page 199 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
Kane, Otto, and Cash swung off their bikes, shadowy beasts that stalked through the night, each heading in different directions like they understood whatever job was theirs to tackle.
The door of the car opened, and Raven climbed out.
Dread and compassion billowed from her spirit.
She paused for a moment where she stood in the opening.
I wondered if she could feel me staring at her because her attention traveled to me.
Her pretty face was set in both softness and determination.
Unafraid and unashamed.
Bared and open.
Inviting me into this sordid world that I couldn’t fathom.
Or maybe part of me could fathom it.
The part of me that wanted to lean into Theo and beg him to stand for me, too.
A sympathetic smile teetered at Raven’s mouth before she pulled away, closed her car door, and strode up the walk and into Alicia’s cabin.
No question, she had been summoned to comfort her.
To support her.
Uncertainty rocketed through me. Torn between the fear and wanting to give into something so hazardous and horrible, while another part of me recognized the sacrifice they made.
This lifestyle.
The danger they had to constantly be in.
Up against the people like Theo had left dead this evening.
Up against the law.
It felt like that danger was coming to fruition when headlights blinked through the foliage, and an SUV slowly rounded the corner and came to a stop behind Raven’s car.
I could make out the long row of lights on the top.
A sheriff.
“Theo.” Panic gushed out with his name.
Fear for him manifesting in a beat.
Theo grabbed my trembling arms to steady me. It sent a bolt of lightning streaking below the surface of my flesh.
His words were low as he rushed, “That’s Colt Astersen. Town Sheriff. He knows who we are and what we do. We normally leave him out of our dealings, but this one might be messy.”
The sheriff climbed out of his SUV and ambled for River who loitered at the end of the patio.
Theo warred, his gaze sliding between me and the hurried, secreted frenzy that emanated from across the way.
Everyone working to quickly cover what had happened.
Theo sighed, and both his hands lightly curled around my forearms, intensity rolling off him as he gazed into the distance. “Need you to go inside, Piper. I need to help clean this up.”
