The puzzle pieces clicked together in Griff’s mind. Laurel was on the run from a terrible situation…person. He was unclear as to who was after her. Was it the cop who’d harassed her? The anger simmering in Griff’s chest that came with the knowledge a cop would pull something like this, almost bubbled over.
Again, he was impressed by Laurel’s strength. She’d been through situations no one should have to and she’d managed to come out stronger on the other side. Some used these kinds of setbacks as an excuse to give up. Not Laurel.
“Sorry, I had to catch my breath for a minute,” she said as she returned. Her eyes were red and just a little puffy. It made him want to reach out to her and be her comfort.
“No need to apologize,” he reassured.
“I’m not a crier, so…”
“Tell me more about what you think happened today at the festival,” he said, moving on so she didn’t feel the need to explain. She had every right to cry and even more rights to take a few minutes for herself.
“Ricky Harris is the cop from home, who could still be after me,” she said. “He has considerable resources at his disposal and he’s the one who threatened me. He blasted into my kitchen and backed me up against the wall. Told me I would regret what I did to his cousin.”
“The rapist?” he asked, not bothering to hide his frustration that one of his own could be dirty. He knew it happened and he’d heard specific stories but it never got easier.
Laurel nodded.
Griff’s hands fisted. He flexed and released his fingers a couple of times to ease some of the tension. “He has no business in my county,” he ground out. In his mind, the incident at the festival really could have been a prank. And yet, she seemed to have a very firm opinion it wasn’t.
“There’s another person too,” she continued. “His name is James Whitney and he was Timothy’s best friend. They were close. He found me at a diner where I got a job in the first city after leaving Chicago. My house had been broken into and he’d threatened that I would meet with an ‘accident’.”
“You believe he broke into your home to set something up,” he said.
“That’s right,” she said. “Bricks had been thrown in my windows. I can’t count the number of times my car was vandalized. It could be parked in broad daylight but no one ever seemed to witness any of it. I have no doubt someone had entered my home to set up a homicide to look like an accident. The cops would have closed the book without much of an investigation if something had happened to me.”
Griff muttered a few choice words.
“I knew I had to get out of Chicago after the threat. I’m sure James was working with Ricky to find me, but of course, I have no proof,” she said on a sharp sigh.
“Do you have pictures of these men?” Griff asked.
“I can probably find something online,” she confirmed. “But what does it matter if I’m gone?”
“They come here for you, I want to know about it,” he stated. “Everything that happens in my county is my business.”
“Okay,” she said and there was a spark of something in her eyes. Hope?
“You seem surprised by my offer to help,” he said.
“No one has had my back in a very long time,” she admitted. “I had a best friend back home who would have, but I couldn’t risk her being dragged into this. She’s the mother of twins and her babies needed her more than I did.”
“Who protected you?” he asked.
“Me,” she said on a shrug. “It’s just been me, figuring it out along the way and making all kinds of mistakes. But I’m still here, so that’s probably a good thing.”
“If you don’t mind me saying so, it sounds like a lonely journey,” he said.
“It has been,” she agreed. “But what else am I supposed to do? Put someone else in danger? End up with someone hurt in the crossfire? You saw what happened today. Anyone could have been hurt, or worse.” Her body shivered as she spoke the words.
“I’m not convinced what happened today was related yet,” he said. “But someone has been watching the cabin and I intend to find out who.”
“What if discovering the truth puts you in danger?” she asked.
“With all due respect, it’s my job,” he pointed out.
“That’s fair,” she conceded.
“What would you say if I personally asked you to stick around?” He figured it couldn’t hurt to push his luck. She seemed determined to go and there was little he could do to stop her. First, she needed to know her options.
“I’m not sure, Griff,” she started. “It’s risky and you have to work, so you can’t be around me twenty-four-seven.”
“What if I can?” he asked. “I have time saved. I could put one of my deputies in charge for a few days until we sort this whole thing out.”
“I can’t ask that of you,” she said. “You have a life here and I’m sure people need you.”
“You need me too,” he said.
She bit down on her bottom lip again and her gaze narrowed, a sure sign she was considering his request.
Their gazes met, and he held onto hers for a long moment before she finally shifted to staring at a spot on the wall.
“What makes you think today was a random prank?” she asked.
“First of all, we don’t have evidence to prove otherwise,” he pointed out.
“Okay,” she said.
“And second of all, these things do happen. Around here, a prank is far more likely,” he said.
“What about the person who seems to be watching the cabin?” she asked. “That can’t be random.”
“No, it can’t,” he said. “I’m trying to figure that one out and how it might be related but we don’t have enough to go on.”
She drummed her fingertips on the wooden table.
“There is a chance you’ve picked up a fan in Gunner,” he said. “Fan is the wrong word. An interested party.”
“That gives me the creeps,” she said.
“Agreed.” He paused. “You have been secretive and that might have caught the interest of local teens. Kids around here can get into all kinds of mischief, and spying on a newcomer who is private about her affairs isn’t out of the realm of possibility.”
“You got me there,” she said. “If I was any person off the street, I would agree one hundred percent with what you’re saying. My history has me thinking otherwise. The fact James tracked me down once already gives me the creeps and sends all my warning flares on high alert.”
“After what you’ve been through, your response is more than reasonable,” he said. “I’m looking at the situation from another perspective. One that hasn’t been on the run for…how long?”
“Nine months,” she supplied.
“With no end in sight,” he said. “Because if James or Ricky followed you here after all this time, they won’t stop until they find you. Then what?”
“An accident,” she said. “Like they planned all along.”
“If you leave here, you’re on your own again,” Griff said. “You’ll be alone with no one to have your back.”
“Only until they stop looking for me,” she said.
“And when will that be?” he asked. “What happens when you let your guard down?”
Laurel sat there for a long moment. At least she hadn’t immediately shot him down.
“Let me ask the question this way. Do you want to leave Gunner?” he asked.
A long pause was followed by one word. “No,” she said.
“I can help you get your life back,” he said. “If you’ll allow me to help.”
“What do you propose?” she asked.
“I’d like to quietly investigate the dirty cop for one,” he said.
“I’ve already spoken to Chief Russo. He doesn’t care. In fact, he told me that he couldn’t protect me from accidents,” she said. “He made it clear that he planned to look the other way if anything happened to me. He refused to investigate the break in and the bricks thrown through my windows. He said emotions were running high and he didn’t have enough resources to watch over my place.”
“This guy sounds like a class-A jerk,” Griff pointed out.
“He was,” she agreed.
“I can dig around without going through him. Normally, professional courtesy would dictate a call to the chief first, but this guy’s dirty, so there’s no use,” he said.
Laurel reached out and placed a hand on Griff’s forearm. The now-familiar jolt of electricity rocketed through him, seeking an outlet.
“I’m not sure if I can stay here anymore,” she said. “I’ll jump at everything that makes a noise.”
“You could stay with me,” he said. “Not many folks are stupid enough to come at me where I live.”
“What about my work?” she started.
“I can speak to your boss. See if I can arrange for time off.”
“She won’t go for it,” she said. “I’ll be fired. She’s already made it clear that I’m expendable.”
“Then, you won’t be any worse off than if you leave town. Either way, you lose a job. If we go with my way, you have a shot at keeping one,” he pointed out.
Laurel worked over her bottom lip.
“Have you had any contact with co-workers? Has anyone asked you out?” he asked, not wanting to admit how much he wanted to hear the answers to those questions.
“Tad Durant has been asking me out,” she said. “I generally avoid him as much as possible, but he has been persistent.”
“I know him,” Griff stated, thinking Tad was a person of interest. Could it be him lurking in the trees? Laurel may not have outright rejected him, but he might have taken her disinterest personally. Tad didn’t live in Gunner. He drove over from Barrel City, which was half an hour east of town. “At least, I know of him.”
“There’s something about him that I can’t put my finger on,” she said.
“When I swing by your work tomorrow, I can pull him aside and speak to him. At the very least, I can convince him that it’s in his best interest to mind his own business when it comes to you,” he said.
It annoyed Griff more than it should, that Tad seemed to have set his sights on Laurel. Strange, because she certainly didn’t belong to Griff, no matter how strong the attraction between them was. Shame.
Did Laurel dare hope she could stay in Gunner?
Hope blossomed inside her chest for the first time in years, and she wanted to lean into it with every fiber of her being. Hope made her believe she wouldn’t have to move again. Hope made her believe there would come a day in the very near future when she could go to the store without constantly looking over her shoulder. Hope had her thinking this could end. She reminded herself just how dangerous it could be.
“You said James is the one who visited you at the diner,” Griff continued. “What happened?”
“I heard his voice, heard him asking about me and whether or not I worked there, and then I made a quick exit out the back door,” she informed, thinking she’d had no plans to wait around and see what he wanted. She knew. He wanted her. Gone.
“What about your friend in Chicago?” he asked. “Have you been in contact with her over the past nine months?”
“No.” She shook her head for emphasis. Missing Marissa was a physical ache. “There’s no way I would risk it.”
“The babies?” he asked, but it was more statement than question.
She nodded. “And her.”
He seemed to understand.
“The harassment got to be awful for me. There was no way I was putting my friend through that. We’d been through too much together for me to bring that kind of trouble to her door,” she explained.
“Sounds like the two of you go way back,” he said.
“Best friends since the first day of fourth grade,” she said. “I’d come to live with my grandmother after my mom disappeared. Courts may have been involved at some point but I honestly don’t remember the details.”
The look on his face said he assumed the worst.
“All I do know is that she left me willingly. Said it got to be too much to take care of me and that she deserved a life. I never met my real grandmother. The person I called grandmother was actually my great-grandmother, and she was an amazing person,” she said. “I wish you could have met her.”
“So do I,” he stated with so much warmth and conviction more of those tears threatened.
Laurel wanted to lean into it, into Griff.
“She was an amazing person,” Laurel said, picking back up on the conversation thread.
“Sounds like someone I would have gotten along with,” he agreed.
Laurel nodded, and then there was a long pause as her mind bounced topics.
“Do you really think what happened earlier at the festival was random?” She was having a difficult time buying into it. Her background could be coming into play, tainting her viewpoint and making her less objective, so she truly wanted to hear his opinion.
“I’m not ruling it out yet,” he said. “Since it was the festival, there were plenty of new faces. I’d like to talk to some of the local businesses to see if they’ve seen anyone hanging around. If the incident was tied to your past, the perp would most likely have come to town for a few days first. He could have been watching you and checking out your schedule to see when a good time to strike might be.”
“These people aren’t likely to come straight at me,” she pointed out. “They would make it look like an accident so there would be no investigation linking my death back to what happened in Chicago.”
“Moving might have played into their hands. No one knows you around here,” he pointed out. “And no one knows who they are either. It would make moving through town during a festival very easy.”
“True. Hiding and staying under the radar does keep everyone at arm’s length from my personal life.” She’d been purposeful about hiding her real identity. There were advantages and disadvantages to both sides. His point was well made. Since no one really knew her, they wouldn’t know to look out for out-of-towners. But if folks did know her, James or Ricky would have already been here. Would they have slipped in her cabin in the middle of the night? Would she have even heard them coming?
Icy fingers gripped her spine.
The saying, caught between a rock and a hard place, applied to this situation.
“My only answer is to keep moving then,” she said. “At some point, they’ll tire and give up. It’s not logical for James or Ricky to hold onto this grudge for years. All I have to do is outlast them. Stay one step ahead until I’m old news.”
Griff lowered his head.
“What kind of life is that for you?” he asked. “And what if that ‘one step ahead’ advantage disappears and they catch up to you? Who will have your back? Who will step in if you can’t? Who will you talk to when you can’t take another day alone?”
Every single word coming out of his mouth scored a direct hit in the center of her chest.
“I don’t want to be alone any longer,” she admitted. “And yet the thought of putting anyone else in danger seems selfish.”
“Not if the person is trained to deal with dangerous situations,” he stated. “Give me time to investigate. Let me help you come up with a plan for your next move. I’ll let you sleep in my jail if it makes you more comfortable until these jerks can be arrested for harassment. I’m good at my job. Let me show you.”
She wanted to believe every one of his words along with the promises being made. Could he deliver? There was no question about his desire to. She’d heard good things about him as sheriff. Could his skills stand up to what she faced?
The thought of tucking her tail between her legs and leaving again didn’t sit well. Plus, Griff had offered to let her stay in his jail if she needed to, in order to feel safe again. The wild part was that being with him gave her such a sense of calm in the storm surrounding her.
“I hear what you’re saying and, believe me, it sounds good. Too good, actually,” she hedged. “It can’t be real. It can’t be this easy. And I can’t allow myself to be a burden to this sweet town that has welcomed me with open arms, let alone the sheriff I feel like I could really fall for.”
Had she really just said those words? The red blush crawled up her neck again, centering on her cheeks. She felt them burn and wished she could take those words back. They were out there now.
“I feel the same,” he said, bringing his hand to hers, before linking their fingers. A sense of calm washed over her at his move, but could she afford to let herself get caught up in it?
“You make me want to have a normal life again, Griff. I’m not saying this is the be-all, end-all in my life, but being around you makes me want to go to festivals and try to get to know people in town. I want to make plans for the future,” she said, withdrawing her hand before she could get too comfortable. They’d barely even kissed, and he was fast becoming the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Which engaged all her warning systems.
“Then stay. Let’s figure out what is happening between us because I can assure you that I’ve never felt this way about anyone else,” he said.
“It’s dangerous,” she countered.
“Yes. But don’t you want to know how it turns out? Because if we’re right and this feeling is what I think it is, it’s a game-changer,” he pointed out.
The thought scared and excited her all at the same time.
Could they afford the distraction? And what if it didn’t work out? What if he woke up tomorrow and realized he’d made a huge mistake in committing to help her, let alone try to date during this time? Where would that leave her?
“Leaving anything unfinished between us seems like a waste and a shame,” she said. “On the other hand, staying focused might mean the difference between life and death.”
“Sticking around and letting me help you whether we decide to do anything about our chemistry or not might mean the difference between life and death. I hate the thought of letting you walk out that door, get in your car, and drive off. Not knowing if you needed me will haunt me for the rest of my life.” His honesty caught her off guard. It probably shouldn’t, though. He’d been nothing but honest and protective so far.
Could she trust him with her life?