He sounded so certain, so sure, that Grace felt the shock knock her back against him. The gunshots seemed to echo all around them.
The invitation. The dress.
Tommy was serious about this wedding.
Dead serious.
He had his arm wrapped around her chest, his hold so tight that it was like a steel band trapping her against his side. She didn’t bother fighting him as he dragged her further away from the gulley. What was the use? He won. He always won.
And she’d lost. She’d lost so damn much.
Rick. God, no. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it.
The sob burst out of her and she tried to hold it back, not because Tommy told her to, but because she didn’t want him to hear it. In the face of his perceived victory, he’d only enjoy her pain.
Tommy started to lead her toward the running car, stopping when a loud chiming sound echoed around them. It was so shrill, it even got through the angry pulse thudding in her ears, the endless refrain of he’s dead that had her head spinning.
The radio.
Someone was buzzing Tommy’s radio.
He heard it, too. Like he did earlier, Tommy switched his hold, swinging Grace up in a bridal carry. The passenger side door was left open and he plopped her in the empty seat with a scowl when he saw that she was still crying. With a rough swipe, he tried to dry her tears with the edge of his sleeve.
The radio continued to chime.
He bent low, gripping the doorframe. “Stay here,” he told her. “And stop that. I won’t have you wasting any grief on Hart.”
Her voice thick from tears, Grace said, “You should’ve let me jump.”
Tommy’s eyes flashed angrily and he reached for her again, yanking her close until only a few inches separated them. He started to say something, then stopped as the shrill ring seemed to grow louder.
Tommy stalked over to the radio, swooping it up. He glanced over at the car, assuring himself that Grace stayed where he put her. When he had, Tommy lifted the radio up to his mouth, engaging the receiver button. “You finished him, Boone?”
Grace lifted her head. She held her breath, the smallest bit of hope thudding in her chest. So she heard something that sounded terrifyingly like gunshots from not too far away. And maybe she accepted deep down that there was no way Tommy would let Rick go after discovering her in his bed, but he was desperate enough to keep her. Sparing Rick was her only condition.
Except Tommy hadn’t had the chance to radio his goon before the shots rang out.
Rick… Rick might’ve made it. He was tough. Strong. She knew from experience how well he could fight. He might’ve—
“Yeah,” came the rough reply.
—might’ve been killed by Tommy’s bodyguard.
And it was all her fault.
23
The instant he parked his truck in the drive and killed the engine, Rick knew something was wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on what. It was a gut instinct. Considering how often his gut saved his skin before, he knew better than to ignore it.
The people in Hamlet might think he was paranoid. Apart from the Walsh kid going bad, and a couple of outsiders who paid the price, there was hardly ever any crime in town. No one locked their doors at night; there was never a passing thought to what dangers could be lurking outside in the dark. Even after the abduction of Liam Johnson last Christmas by a drunk in a Santa suit, the locals assumed they were still safe.
Rick learned long ago that safety was an illusion. In these past few weeks, he realized it was a dream.
Gripping his steering wheel, he thought of Grace and how adamant she was that she double- and triple-check all entryways and windows before she went to bed. He thought of her nightmares, of her whimpers when that faceless man followed her into her restless sleep. And he thought about the worries she shared with him, the lengths she’d seen her stalker go to terrorize her.
Rick promised that she would be safe in Hamlet with him. He might not be able to do anything more than pull her close and hold her while she dreamed, but here? Now? He would do anything he could to protect her.
First? Clear the perimeter of the house, then check to make sure she was safe and sound inside.