Page 73 of Swept for Forever
“Can’t say much. Incident up north. Blodgett Pass.”
“Oh, that’s not good.” She studied the poster, then let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, I hope I’m in the clear.” She lifted the sketch beside her face with a smirk.
“She looked nothing like you, Erin,” he said.
A cold weight landed in my gut.
The drawing wasn’t perfect, having a sharper nose and a slightly off chin, but the resemblance was clear.
Someone had tried to recreate me.
Son of a bitch.
A creeping awareness crawled up my spine as the deputy and Erin kept chatting.
My first instinct not to report anything to the authorities had been right. Stiff-Neck was not your average criminal. He had power, connections. That sketch wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t bad luck or an eerie lookalike at the wrong place, wrong time.
And that stranger Lulu had barked at?
I gripped the edge of the table, my fingers numb. The pieces snapped into place.
Stiff-Neck had made his move. He was here.
And he was framing me. This wasn’t just about getting me arrested. He wanted the public to find me for him.
I tugged my hair tie loose, letting my bangs fall forward, shielding most of my face. The pizzeria felt too open, the lights beating down so hard that even tucked into a booth, I might as well have been on a stage.
The deputy thanked Erin, who promised she’d put up the poster soon.
Then he left.
I didn’t think he saw me.
This was my cue. I had to go.
Leave this town.
Leave Dom.
Before someone recognized me.
I braced my hands on the table, ready to stand. But Dom had come back.
“Everything okay?”
My head snapped up. He stood next to me, his eyes warm and oblivious.
Be cool.
“You okay?” he pressed, scanning my face. “The pizza was really too much, huh?”
“Ah, yeah.” My voice wobbled, but I covered it with a laugh. “Tiny stomach.”
He smiled at my half-baked joke, but his gaze flicked to my loose hair.
“You should loosen your jeans, not your hair tie,” he teased.
I forced a chuckle. “You’re right. I just have a bit of a headache.”
