Page 41 of Ghost Note

“Fighting? Why would I be fight—oh…” his voice dropped. The penny, too. “The rock ‘n’ roll guy. Danny.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to use you to hurt him, but he saw us together yesterday, and I just really wanted him to suffer, so I said some stuff. Some really,reallystupid stuff. I acted like a child, Ben. I don’t know what was wrong with me. Danny didn’t take it well, but I’m going to make this right. I’ll find him, and I’ll make sure he knows not to say or do anything to you.”

“Yeah?”

“I promise.”

“Well, all right then,” Ben said, sounding somewhat appeased. “But, Dais?”

“Yeah?”

“You may want to try and call him or something within the next minute or so. Because unless you have legs that can make you move like lightning, I don’t think you’re going to get to him before he gets to me.”

“What?” I scowled, spinning in the direction of the beach.

“There’s a Danny-shaped figure getting closer, and he doesn’t look very happy, I’ve got to tell you.”

Thirteen

It turned out that my legs could move like lightning when forced to.

I ran, and I ran without thought, heading straight towards Danny and Ben.

No matter the dainty size of Hope Cove, I was still out of breath when I made it to the small beach lined with boats to find Ben standing inside the one he was working on, looking down on Danny, who had his arms folded across his chest.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted at Danny as I came to a panting stop in front of him, and I tugged on his arm, jerking his body. But he was unmoveable as he glared at Ben like he was about to destroy him. It was a side of Danny I wasn’t familiar with.

Another side.

“Everything’s fine, Dais,” Ben assured me. I glanced up at him to see him rubbing his hands with a dirty rag, his eyes on Danny. “Everything’s fine.”

“Danny?” I asked, breathless, turning back to him.

“Like the guy said… everything’s fine.”

“Why are you here?”

Danny’s eyes drifted to mine, narrowed, with a coldness pouring free. “Just introducing myself to my tenants. Checking them out.”

“Tenants? What are you talking about?” I scowled.

“Didn’t my gran tell you? She owned half the rentals around here. Now she’s gone, I guess I do.”

I glanced up at Ben, who was looking at me, giving nothing away as he ran that rag over his torn-up hands slowly. “You rented your home off Florence?”

“I rented it from Cove Lettings.” He pointed to Danny. “And Cove Lettings happens to be a limited company. Turns out his gran owns…ownedthat agency and some of the houses within it.”

I gasped, turning back to Danny. “Is that true?”

He answered with a subtle nod, letting me figure out the rest.

Cove Lettings was who Gina and I rented the shop from. It was who I rented my home from, too. In all the time I’d been a part of Florence’s life, even after Danny had gone, she’d never once told me. I guess it made sense why I was the one to get the properties. Even with a shoddy business plan and no guarantees of being able to draw in the income, Cove Lettings had approved mine and Gina’s application almost too quickly, letting us beat older, more experienced applicants who wanted to turn the shop into all kinds of things, including a fishing supply store.

Then there was my home. My home had been a blessing my parents told me had come from God. It was their only explanation—not just for my house, but for everything—given the fact that I had little savings and a new business we weren’t even sure would make it.

Florence had made everything happen, and I wasn’t sure how the hell to feel about any of that.

I blinked up at Danny. “How long have you known? How long have you known that my life is in your hands again?”

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