Chapter 29

Killian Savage

Derek is quiet as we make our way to Mount Pleasant. He keeps looking over at me where I sit in the passenger seat of his truck, and I know he has a lot of things he wants to say, maybe even ask, but so far, he's refrained.

I asked him for a ride. He wanted to know why I had to go see Tori so desperately, but like usual, I gave him nothing. It's none of his damn business that I feel the need to explain myself to Tori. That I know she knows I said nothing back after she confessed her true feelings for me. All I did was pet her fucking head because I couldn't say the words. The last time I said them was to my wife before I left for a job, and the next time I saw her, she was dead.

I have to explain that to Tori, and I have to tell her that I'm all confused in my head and feeling things I can't quite explain. Things that I've closed myself off to and can't quite name anymore. The last thing I want is to have her walk away from me because I couldn't explain myself. The thought doesn't settle well with me. I'm not sure how much explaining I'll be able to do, but I have to give her something. If her sneaking out this morning is anything to go by, she's upset about it.

"So," Derek begins, drawing out the word and making me cringe. My hopes for a silent ride dash. "How was – uh – how did your hunting go?"

"Haven't done it yet," I respond, keeping my eyes on the road – or what I can see of it past the ribbons of rain.

"Are you going to finally tell me what you're hunting?"

I glance at him. "No, because all you'll do is report it to your sheriff, right?"

He scowls. "I haven't told him anything yet. I'm still deciding if I need to."

"You don't."

"Then give me a reason not to."

I look back at the road, flexing my jaw, and give him absolutely nothing because, again, it's none of his business.

"Look," he sighs out. "This town talks quite a bit. Everyone sees everything, and everyone hears everything. Ever since Tori hit that woman, things have been off and none of it is adding up. I get the feeling that you know exactly what's going on."

I flick my eyebrows into my forehead, my only indication to him that he's correct.

"Care to share what the hell is going on?"

I give a quick shake of my head. "It'll be over with soon, so there's no need to worry about it."

He's quiet for a beat as we pull into Mount Pleasant's downtown. A few people are milling about with umbrellas and store lights on to make up for the lack of sun, but for the most part, it's seemingly empty everywhere we look. "Does it have anything to do with needing a gun? "

I say nothing again aside from breathing a sigh of relief when I see Tori's car outside her shop.

"Fine," he grumbles. He pulls into a parking space next to Tori. "But I will eventually find out. The sheriff and I are on good terms. The news will get back to me at some point."

"Mhmm," I mumble as I grasp the door handle and open the cab to the rain. "Good luck with that." Because even the sheriff doesn't know the whole story. He only knows what I gave him, which was just enough for him to track down a lead and enough to finally get him to provide some sort of protection for Tori.

I step out into the rain, shut the truck's door, and turn toward the shop. As Derek backs out, I take a step forward. Rain pelts my jacket and soaks my hair as I fiddle with the bracelet and try to come up with some sort of wording for what I need to say to her.

I growl under my breath when I come up with nothing that would make sense and decide to just try anyway. She knows me well enough to know this sort of topic is hard for me.

My boots slosh in the puddles when I stride toward the shop's door. As soon as I open it, the cooler air seeps into my wet face and scalp, but I shake off the droplets before fully entering.

Tegan looks up from behind the counter with a frown on her face. It is still early, so she probably wasn't expecting any customers at this hour, but as soon as she sees me, her face relaxes.

"Hey," she greets cheerfully. "What are you doing here? Oh shit, did you come to see me?" She pauses and cocks a hip as she seems to gather some sort of courage. "I won't tell you any secrets about Tori. You're going to have to find those out yourself. "

I frown and begin crossing the shop to her. "No," I rumble. "I came to see her."

Her frown matches my own. "Oh. Well, you can't."

"Why?" I say through gritted teeth. Did she tell her friend to not let me through? Is she really that mad that I couldn't say it back?

"Geez," Tegan hisses, holding up her hands in surrender. "No need to get pissy. She's not here, Romeo. I don't know where she is."

I glance back at the windows to make sure that the car parked there is actually the car she's borrowed. When I see that it is, I turn back toward Tegan. "What do you mean? Call her."

Tegan cringes. "I found her purse by the front door. And the keys." She grabs something from under the counter, and then a purse appears on the surface. "Maybe she's at the hardware store?"

A sinking feeling settles in the pit of my gut. "You weren't here when she got here?"

She looks down at the purse with a guilty expression. "I overslept."

The sinking feeling intensifies until all I want to do is throw up. "Do you have cameras?"

Her head snaps up, and she meets my gaze once more. "Yeah, why?"

"Show me where they are," I demand.

"I don't think-"

"Tegan," I draw out the word, leaning forward and calmly splaying my hands on the counter. "Show me the cameras."

Her shoulders sag when she sighs. "Fine, but if this gets me into trouble, I'm going to tell everyone that you forced me to." As she walks around the counter and toward the back office, I hear her murmur under her breath, "Cole is going to kill me for being in the same room as this dude."

She opens the office door and flicks on the lights, and together, we head to the laptop resting on the desk. I swear to god, she's moving at a snail's pace, and it takes everything in me to not shove a pregnant woman aside and do it myself.

Calmly, as if she has no idea the direness of the situation, she takes a seat and swipes her finger across the mouse pad. I clench and unclench my fingers into fists as she types in the password and brings up the camera feed.

"I don't know what you're looking for."

"Show me when she arrived."

"Okay . . ." she mutters. She doesn't argue any further and backs the camera up until it picks up her parking the car in front of the store. She sits there for a while, checking her phone and muttering to herself, and then she climbs out and heads to the shop.

What happens next makes my breath stop. A black van pulls up. She doesn't notice.

As soon as a man in an orange raincoat steps out of the passenger side and slams Tori into the window, Tegan gasps. "What the hell is happening?" she demands.

I remain silent, my jaw clenched so hard that I'm surprised my teeth haven't shattered. Every nerve in my body is on fire, and every blood cell is ice-cold.

"Kent," I growl out. I can't see his face because of the hood, but I know it's him. No one else would have the balls to do this.

"Oh my god," she whispers as Kent picks her up and starts carrying her to the van. As soon as she's tossed inside and the door shuts, I'm moving away from the desk.

"Wait!" Tegan shouts. I pause in my step. "Look!"

Begrudgingly, because I know exactly what I'm going to do next, I turn back toward the laptop. Her finger is touching the driver's side of the van. Another man is sitting in it, wearing an orange raincoat, but his hood is down, and his face is as clear as day.

"What the fuck?"

"If that's Kent," she says, pulling her finger back to point at the other guy. "Who is that?"

"The Lillian," I spit.

"The Lillian? Wait! Where are you going?" she squeaks as I stomp my way to the door.

"To go find a sheriff and have a little chat about his grandfather," I say so deeply that my tonsils rattle.

And then I'm out the door, Tori's car keys in my hand with every fucking intention of making Pierce pay for not protecting my girl. I start the car with more force than necessary.