Page 74 of The Harborer
“Go,” Amy hissed. “By the time you’re done, I’ll be done too, and we’ll meet up behind your apartment.”
The victory he’d won had been small but hard-won, and he decided not to push his luck. “If you get there before I do, wait for me in your car. And keep your doors locked.”
She walked away without a word.
Reluctance lay like an anchor in his gut, but he watched her go anyway.
Amy’s insides twisted likea springtime tornado tearing across the plains. Why hadn’t Shane talked to her before jumping to conclusions? How could he think she would take part in anything illicit? Dealing drugs was morally reprehensible. Did he really believe—even for a second—that she could be involved in something that heinous? The thought made her sick. And wasn’t she the victim here? Someone was usinghershop, yet Shane was treatingherlike the criminal. Didn’t he know her at all? Maybe that was at the heart of it. Hedidknow her, and because shealwaysgave everyone the benefit of the doubt, he’d used it to his advantage.
The betrayal cut bone-deep. They hadn’t even been together for two nights, yet it hurt so much worse than anything Micky had done because it wasShane—a man she had always trusted, always looked up to, always believed in.
Well, she would let him say what he wanted to say—maybe he could make her understand his side, even a sliver of it—but after that, she was done. He could move on to his fancy law enforcement job in some other county, and she wouldn’t even flinch when he walked out the door.
Good riddance.
Except she wouldn’t get to see him stroll into her shop every day, his broad smile lighting up his handsome face.
Her heart literally ached, as though someone had taken an ax to it and split it like a piece of firewood.
As she pulled into the parking lot behind her store, these frenzied thoughts streaked through her brain, like atoms in a supercharger. She couldn’t even remember climbing into her Explorer and driving here.
The dark, quiet lot jolted her back to reality. Someone, or possibly lots of someones, had been coming and going inherstore. What if they were here now? But there were no vehicles in the lot, and none on the nearby street. The area was deserted.
She nosed her Explorer close to the back door and switched on the high beams, the static electricity in her veins making her jumpy. The headlights washed over the door and wall, revealing the box she expected. It was placed against the door where her vendor told her it would be, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank Gaia for small mercies.
Leaving her engine running, she hopped out to retrieve the box. She was mid-stoop, gathering it up, when the back door flew open. Startled, she jumped back, and the box flew from her grasp.
“Oh my God, you scared me! What are you doing here?” It occurred to her that Micky was comingoutof her store. “Wait. What are you doing inside my store?” Alarms blared in her head, but it took a second for her brain to communicate the warning to her feet. Skirting the Explorer’s hood, she bolted for the driver’s door at the same instant she whipped her phone from her back pocket.
She was too late.
Chapter 25
The Hunt
Shane sat in hisSierra behind the general store, listening to the radio while he tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel with his thumb. Amy should have been here ten minutes ago, even allowing for a delay.
He pulled out his phone and checked for messages, though he’d looked only seconds before. He’d texted her when he had first arrived in the parking lot to let her know he was there and waiting. Five minutes went by, ten, twelve, with no return texts.
She’d probably changed her mind. She’d decided he was an irredeemable asshole, she was still pissed, and she wanted nothing to do with his ass.
“IknewI shouldn’t have let her walk away,” he grumbled aloud. “That gave her time to think, and now she’s going to ignore me until she figures out how to let me down.” No, that wasn’t like Amy. She would give him the benefit of the doubt and hear him out while he tried to explain.
Wouldn’t she?
“Sure she will.Thenshe’ll shut me down.”
He dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail. He left a message. “Hey, Barista Amy, where are you? Thought you’d be here by now. Call or text me and let me know when you’re on your way.”
Two, three, five more long minutes stretched.
“Fuck this shit,” he muttered as he threw the truck into gear and nosed it out of the parking lot. Mountain Coffee was only a few blocks away, and it took three minutes to pull into the parking lot. His headlights swept the lot, but it was empty. Her Explorer wasn’t there, and neither was anything that could be considered a delivery. He threw the truck into park, leaped from it, and tried the door. It was locked.
Figuring they’d passed each other, he climbed back into his pickup and returned to his place. She still wasn’t there. Had they gotten their wires crossed? He checked his phone again. Nothing. Panic bloomed in his gut. He gunned the engine and drove to the Vogue Vault. The parking lot behind that store was also empty. So were the slots out front.
Next, he sped toward Micky’s garage. Nothing stirred. When he cruised past Micky’s house, the place was dark, and Micky’s truck was nowhere in sight.
