Page 113 of The Wicked

Garrett’s arm tightened around me. “I can hire any additional help you need. I don’t care how much it costs or how long it takes—we need to make Mandell and Harless pay.”

And I’d be nicer to the security team. Jack Morrow and his men were only doing their jobs, and I’d been rude because I was annoyed at Garrett. Tomorrow, I’d be the one to take them coffee and cookies.

“What if there was another way?” Aaron asked quietly.

Aaron, Luca, Colt, and Blue all looked at each other, and a silent communication passed between them. What did they know that we didn’t?

“I’m in,” Blue said.

Luca nodded. “Me too.”

Colt was more hesitant. “I’d need to review every scrap of evidence we have. It isn’t a decision to take lightly.”

I couldn’t stand it any longer. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you trust that guy?” Luca asked me, meaning Garrett.

We’d both learned from our mistakes. I thought of everything we’d been through together, from the crazy first dates to the magic in the bedroom to the way he’d risked his own life at the pool house, and I nodded. Our path had been rocky, but he was still here. Still fighting for me.

“Yes, I trust him.”

Luca came to a decision. “Okay, who wants to do this?”

Aaron took over. “Sara’s familiar with some of it already, but over the past year, an alternative justice system has emerged here in Baldwin’s Shore. It started when a stranger rescued Brooke from a stalker who’d drugged and abducted her. We nicknamed him the Bad Samaritan, and we thought it was a one-off, but the same person saved Colt in the forest one day when a man turned a gun on him. Took the guy out with a shot to the head from…how far was it?”

“Eight hundred yards,” Luca supplied.

Garrett gave a low whistle, so I assumed that meant it was an impressive feat.

“He also located a number of missing cats, although that was small potatoes for him,” Aaron continued. “Plus there was one more matter he was involved in at the end of last year.”

At the end of last year? That was when…oh! I gasped.

“Do you mean Marianna?”

“We’re not exactly certain of what he said or did, but we believe there was some coercion.”

“And you think he’d help with the Mandell situation?” Garrett asked. “Why would he do that? Money? You pay him?”

“No, there’s no money involved. It’s hard to explain. He likes to show off, and he seems almost…playful. When he led us to the cats, it was like a treasure hunt. He drew a map with clues. Plus he’s fond of breaking in here and leaving us notes.”

“Notes?”

“The last one came in February. The girls went salsa dancing in Coos Bay, and I headed out for beers with Luca. When we arrived home, there was a note on my kitchen counter congratulating us on passing our latest security audit.” Aaron shrugged. “Seems nobody can sneak in but him.”

“Doesn’t that worry you?”

“It did at first, but he made valid points the first several times. And I don’t think he means any harm, not to us anyway.”

“But what about me?” I asked. “Why would he help me or Gracie when he doesn’t even know us?”

“He does know you.”

Icy claws needled at my spine. “What?”

“He mentioned you in a note one time.”

Garrett didn’t look happy about that in the slightest. “Should I beef up security again?”

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