Chapter 11

11

Bryce sped the entire way. If a patrol car would’ve seen him, he didn’t even know if he would’ve stopped. A speeding ticket could be paid. Lila’s safety was more important than a dumb ticket.

Of course he was overreacting a bit. His brother was the one who texted him, so he knew Griffin wouldn’t leave her alone until he got there.

He pulled into her driveway at the same time Duke pulled up to the curb.

“You were fast,” Duke noted.

Bryce cocked a brow. “So were you.”

Duke flashed a glance at his patrol car, indicating he had the legal right to speed. It was a police matter. Bryce didn’t.

He shrugged, a low chuckle slipping out as they walked with long strides to the front door.

“I get it,” Duke said in a low voice. “I honestly get it.”

He still hadn’t admitted out loud to Duke he liked Lila, but the man wasn’t dumb. He knew. Everyone knew.

Duke opened the door before Bryce could answer, not that he had one. There was nothing to add to that statement. He knew how much Duke cared about Juliet and would do anything for her. Even if she was with another man. He wasn’t going to contradict anyone anymore when they insinuated he liked Lila.

Because he did.

A lot.

More so than he should.

As horrible as it was, he was free to act on those feelings now. Denise was dead. He was a widower. There was nothing holding him back. No marriage vows to tarnish a budding relationship.

But he wouldn’t act on his feelings because Lila wasn’t here for a fling. She had a job to do, and he wouldn’t be the one to risk it. So while he could do something about his feelings for once with the freedom of no wife, he still couldn’t make a move. Not if he wanted to remain a professional.

He closed the door behind him without looking at it, jumping himself when it slammed harder than he intended it to.

His gaze caught Lila’s right away. She was curled up on the couch with a blanket covering her, her toes, as usual, peeking out from underneath it. He loved how she relaxed, her toes always visible. She didn’t look frightened, but he saw the worry just on the edge.

“Duke, I want this dusted for prints on every inch,” Griffin demanded as Duke met him in the kitchen to examine the box.

He wanted to see it himself, but he also wanted to comfort Lila as well. The indecision must’ve been written on his face because she gestured toward the kitchen with a gentle smile as if she knew one wrong move and he’d break. She wasn’t mistaken.

Too much had happened in such a short time, and he hadn’t processed it all yet. Now this! He wanted to punch something, anything to get the anger building from the very depths of his soul to go away.

He nodded and joined Duke and his brother. Duke had pulled out his phone to take pictures. Bryce didn’t look inside until Duke stepped away, relaying he had to grab stuff from his patrol car to handle the evidence.

Leave now or you’ll be next.

Computer generated note. It didn’t leave many clues as to who could’ve sent it. Doubtful it even had any fingerprints to point them in the right direction.

“I don’t like this, Bryce,” Griffin whispered close to him, not wanting Lila to hear.

He didn’t like it either.

The message was crystal clear. They were threatening to kill her if she didn’t leave. But why?

“I know you’ll hate to do it, but—”

“Don’t!” Bryce quipped sharply under his breath. “Don’t say it.”

“We don’t know who killed Denise. We can’t afford to take this threat lightly. At this point in time, we need to let everything settle down before we can talk about hiring another PR company.”

Another PR company? Not Lila’s?

He pressed his lips together so tightly, his teeth grinded. What his brother was saying all made sense, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Except the company part. Why would he have to hire another company if they solved this problem?

“Bryce?”

“I want to know who sent this and now.”

He walked away from his brother before he did something stupid, like hit him. He was saying what needed to be said. He shouldn’t be mad at him for that.

Bryce took a seat on the loveseat, making sure to stay as far away from Lila as he could. It was a small couch, so it wasn’t easy.

“Did you call your brother?”

A short chuckle came out. “Are you insane? No. Aster would flip a lid.”

“As he should. This is serious, Lila.”

She frowned. “At what point did I make it seem like it wasn’t?”

Okay. Wrong choice of words. The anger inside needed to settle down before he made a complete mess between them.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like that.”

Her smile was gone. This time her eyes were filled with annoyance, not worry. “Apology accepted.”

But was it? Because it sounded forced.

He was making a muck of things, and he didn’t know how to handle this. It was supposed to be a job. Hire someone to turn the town around. Not fall under her spell and wish for things he shouldn’t even contemplate.

“In light of this new development, I think it’s best we postpone our business venture until things settle down.”

Her eyes burned with fire, the annoyance disappearing in a blink of an eye. “Are you firing me?” She threw the blanket on the floor and stood up. “How dare you use that smarmy politician voice on me!”

Smarmy? Since when did he sound like that when speaking?

He rose from the couch himself so they were on an even level.

“I’m not firing you. I’m saying—”

“Oh, I heard your words just fine, Mr. Mayor. In light of this new development ,” she started, mimicking his words sarcastically. “It’s as if you wrote that speech before you arrived. That’s how your statements you love to make sound. Fine. You want me gone. I’ll leave.”

She rounded the coffee table and stormed out of the room, slamming the bedroom door. It wasn’t an accidental slam as the one he’d done.

He stood there, wondering what to do. Go after her? And say what? He wasn’t saying anything right. Damn it!

Griffin joined him. He looked over at the kitchen, not even realizing Duke had re-entered the house at some point. He was fiddling with the box, pretending he hadn’t heard any of that.

“That went…well. The best thing for her is to go back home.”

Bryce laughed, no humor behind it. “You thought that went well? Which part? Because I’m pretty sure I screwed up the moment I sat down.”

Griffin lifted his hands in a careless gesture, wincing. Yeah. That’s what he thought. No part of that interaction went well.

“She’s scared. I’m sure once she calms down she’ll understand.”

“Do I really sound like a smarmy politician when I give speeches and such?”

Griffin hesitated, and Bryce knew that whatever he said would be false. To shield his feelings.

“I do. Oh my gosh. I don’t mean to sound fake or anything. I care about the citizens of this town. I want—”

Griffin clasped his shoulder, stopping his rambling tirade. “No one thinks you don’t care. Do you change your tone of voice when going into mayor mode? Yeah, a little. Your speech becomes more articulate and”—he winced again— “matter of fact. Could you have worded what you said to her better? Sure. It did sound a little too polished.” He squeezed his shoulder, leaning closer. “I know you care about her. I know you haven’t admitted it out loud, but I can see the way you look at her. Sometimes when we’re scared for the one we care about, we do or say things we shouldn’t. It’s going to be okay, Bryce. She’ll go back to California and she’ll be safe. That’s what matters the most.”

Another true point from his brother. It didn’t make it any easier to deal with. He didn’t want her to leave.

But he also didn’t want her in harm’s way.

He still saw Denise’s mangled body in his mind when he closed his eyes at night. If he saw Lila the same way…it would destroy him.

“I’m done,” Duke interrupted, holding the present in a large evidence bag.

Griffin let go of his shoulder, stepping back. “Let me know as soon as you find anything.”

Duke nodded and left.

“You can go too, Griff. I need to talk to Lila. I can’t let her leave like this.”

“She should call her brother. She shouldn’t be alone until she leaves town.”

Calling Aster didn’t sound like it would happen, not based on her opinion on the matter. But he nodded anyway to appease his brother. He left, and only Bryce and Lila remained. He locked the door, double checked the sliding door, then made his way to her bedroom.

He stood for the longest time in front of the door, working up the nerve to knock. Words—the right words—still hadn’t sprung to mind. He had no idea how to erase the last few minutes.

A light knock sounded on her door. She ignored it.

If it was Griffin, she was embarrassed that she’d had such an outburst and didn’t know what to say to him for getting upset with his brother. Not that she was sorry about it.

If it was Bryce…well, more harmful words might come out still. How dare he fire her! After all the hard work she put in. After everything she did for this town—for him. She’d been by his side from the first moment she heard about the murder. One nasty little note and he was tossing her aside. Making her leave.

Another knock sounded. Still light. A bit tentative, as if the person was unsure of themselves.

It made her think it was Bryce. He knew he’d messed up. He would be one who’d want to fix his mistake. A trait she liked about him, just not right now.

When a third knock sounded on the door, she decided she had enough. He didn’t get her message the first time. She’d make sure he understood her this time.

She whipped open the door, gripping it hard. “I’m sorry I forgot to add you need to leave as well. Get out of my cottage.”

He flinched, not expecting that. “Lila—”

“As we no longer have a working relationship, Mr. Mayor, you have no reason to be here.”

“Well, Duke is gone, and so is my brother, and I can’t leave you alone.”

“You most certainly can.”

“With that threat. No, I can’t.”

“I said—”

“Because I still can’t get Denise’s body out of my head, so there’s no way in hell I’m going to let the same thing happen to you.” His voice cracked at the end, his eyes filling with water. “Do you think I want you to leave?”

She froze, watching as his features crumbled. As the wall he’d built to hide his worries fell.

“Apparently, I have two tones of voices. My regular one and a smarmy politician one. I’ve never noticed I do that. I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart how I handled everything out there. I said it all wrong.”

She knew he wasn’t lying because it was his regular voice he was currently using. Not that he lied when he went into politician mode.

“What were you trying to say?” She’d give him one chance to correct his mistake. Only one. If she didn’t like what she heard, she’d slam the door in his face.

He exhaled with a large, audible breath, visibly relaxing. He wasn’t out of the waters yet, but she could see her small reprieve was a blessing to him.

“I don’t know…I don’t know how to say everything.” He clenched his jaw, then it slackened, biting his bottom lip. “The last thing I want is for you to leave. I don’t want that at all. But I also don’t want your safety in jeopardy, and that threat does exactly that. So it’s best that you leave. That’s what I was trying to say. Evidently, in a polished and articulate way that came out wrong.”

A tiny smile emerged, one she couldn’t hold in. They had been precisely that. It made her wonder if Griffin told him how he sounded. It didn’t mean she liked these new words any better. He still wanted her to leave.

“For how long?”

His brows furrowed low. “What?”

“How long do you want me to stay away? I mean, you still need a PR company to help this town. Or were you going to hire a new company?”

“I’m not sure.”

“About what?” She let go of the door, crossing her arms.

“I can tell you I have no intention of hiring a new company. I want you.”

Her heart pitter-pattered for a second that those words meant so much more than he intended. She wanted them to mean more. She wanted him to want her. To drop all pretenses and kiss her. Hell, throw her on the bed and make sweet love to her. Declare some sort of feelings and tell her to stay.

Not that she had to leave. Anything but that.

“I don’t want you to leave hating me. I’m not asking you to leave because I don’t want you here.”

And he was choosing the wrong route. He wasn’t going to ravish her or even attempt to kiss her. Damn the man!

“Actually, Mr. Mayor, you’re telling me to leave. There was no asking.”

His frown turned into a scowl. “Can you please stop calling me Mr. Mayor?”

“Why?” She should stop needling him, but she was still too pissed off by his insistence she leave. “That’s what you are. We have a working relationship. You’re firing me, and I’m being respectful by using your title.”

“No, you’re saying it in an impertinent way and like you hate me. I’m not firing you. At a later point in time, I’d like you to come back.”

“You’re still using fancy words. It’s annoying me.” Her nails dug into her arm to stop herself from saying anything further on the matter. He knew it bothered her, so why did he keep speaking that way?

He gritted his teeth, the water gathering again. “I don’t mean to. It’s reflexive. You don’t hate me, right?”

No, she didn’t. Hate was too strong of a word, and she tried to not feel that emotion often. Hurt would be a better description. Or devastated.

“I want you to come back,” he added when she didn’t answer his question.

“When you find the killer? Which is who you are assuming sent the note.”

“Yes.”

“And if you never find out who killed her, what then?”

The panicked look in his eyes sprung forth. “We will. My brother will or the sheriff. I have faith they will.”

That didn’t answer her question.

“I don’t hate you. But this was not the outcome I expected. I stood by you all week, on your side. This, right here, feels like you’re abandoning me. I’ll get over it though. It’s just a job. I’ll call my brother so you can leave.”

She shut the door before he could say anything else. There wasn’t anything left to say. He fired her. She had to leave.

The killer won.

She dialed Aster before she changed her mind. Bryce, in his own way, was acting protective. Making her leave to keep her safe. Her brother would be far worse.

“What’s up, Lilac? Change your mind about supper? We still have food left.”

“No, I need you to come over. I’m booking a flight for tomorrow morning and going home. You’ll want to spend the night, so bring a bag. Please come now so Bryce can leave.”

Bryce had to leave.

He’d hurt her, and she didn’t want to be around him any longer. While she knew he hadn’t meant to cause her pain, he’d done it anyway. Distance was needed. A very long distance. She couldn’t wait to get on the plane now.

“What happened?” Gone was the cheeriness, replaced with the attitude she was so familiar with. Over-protective mode activated.

“Someone left a present for me on my doorstep. A note inside said to leave or I’d be next. Griffin and Bryce think it’s from the same person who murdered Denise.” She inhaled and exhaled, then continued. “So Bryce fired me and I’m leaving.”

“I’ll be right there.”

She tossed her phone on the bed and stared at her bedroom door. She was surprised Bryce didn’t knock again and try to continue the conversation. But she was also grateful for his restraint. Aster would be here soon and make him leave. She’d be gone tomorrow and life could go back to normal.

Where she didn’t pine after a man that didn’t belong to her. That didn’t care like she had thought he did.

He knew the moment Lila called Aster because Juliet called his phone. He’d relayed what had occurred, pausing at times when he found himself using those damn articulate words Lila hated hearing.

Juliet tried to reassure him that everything would be okay, but also reamed him for firing Lila. Whatever she had told Aster hadn’t been good. Nowhere in their conversation had he said the words ‘you’re fired’ so he despised it she kept insisting that’s what happened.

But what really killed him inside was that she thought he was abandoning her. Was asking—telling—her to go home the same as abandoning her? Even Griffin had said her getting out of town was the best idea. He was looking out for her safety! If that’s how she wanted to perceive it, so be it. It kept her alive, and that’s all that mattered to him.

He’d been pacing the living room when several deep knocks sounded on the door. On the safe side, he looked through the peephole first.

Aster.

The man looked pissed.

Bryce unlocked the door and let him in.

“Where is she?”

“In her bedroom.”

“You can go.” Aster swung a hand at the door, nearly hitting him in the face. Bryce didn’t know if it had been intentional or not.

Why was he the bad guy here?

“I didn’t fire her.”

Aster narrowed his eyes. “Are you calling my sister a liar?”

“No, but I didn’t say she was fired. I told her it was best she left for the time being and come back another time when this is all solved. That’s what I said.” Bryce stepped into Aster’s space. “I found my wife’s body. I saw the brutality of it. Her mangled body. The blood everywhere. The walls, the ceiling, the couch.” He almost shouted but managed to control himself so Lila didn’t hear. “I refuse to witness Lila in the same manner. That is why I told her to leave.”

The last sentence came out broken. He could feel the tears that had threatened to flow earlier resurface. He hadn’t even shed any tears for Denise yet. No emotion had erupted since her death. Perhaps he was still living in shock. He wasn’t sure. But he couldn’t seem to control his emotions now.

Aster’s anger he’d walked in with deflated. His body relaxed. Even the hatred in his eyes dissipated. “You did the right thing. You made my job easier. So thank you.”

Bryce nodded and took a step back.

“You can still go. I’m here now.”

He didn’t want to go. Yet, her words filtered through his mind. I’ll get over it though. It’s just a job. I’ll call my brother so you can leave.

She wanted him gone.

“Tell her I’m sorry, if you don’t mind. I’m sorry I hurt her in any way. It wasn’t just a job for me.”

“You and I both know that to be true, but I ain’t saying that to my sister.”

“Because you hate me.”

“Because she’s leaving and it doesn’t matter anymore.”

But she’ll be back. Though he didn’t voice it because it didn’t sound true. She wouldn’t be back. They both knew it.

Bryce put on his shoes and coat, then grabbed the door handle, staring at the door. “Thank you for what you did for this town. I am grateful for that.”

“It’s a quaint town. I like it.”

“But not enough to stay for Juliet.”

Aster laughed. “What’s between her and I is just that. Between us.”

“How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Live life without a care. Sleeping with a woman like it doesn’t matter.”

“You know, Mr. Mayor, I almost thought we had come to some sort of truce. Then you have to go be a dick.” Aster’s brows narrowed, his lips tight. “Get out.”

There would never be a truce between them. And he was right. His relationship with Juliet wasn’t his business because she was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. It didn’t mean he didn’t worry as her brother. That he wouldn’t stick up for her.

He decided to let Aster have the last word and left.