“You’re worrying about more than Rayna. Do you want to talk about it?”
Again, she knows me too well, but she’s grown closer to Nora over the last year. I can’t talk to her about the regret of allowing Nora to watch her ex die when the end result can be never taken back.
“I don’t wanna talk.”
Gripping onto her hand, I pull her around me and bring us chest to chest. I cup my hand over her cheek and slide my other hand around the back of the neck. I pull her against me and claim her mouth. Without breaking the kiss, I push her back until she’s up against the wall and I lift her legs and enjoy how tightly she wraps them around my waist.
My phone rings and it couldn’t be worser timing. Especially when I see who’s calling.
Lowering Holly down onto her feet, I answer, “What the fuck do you want, Sherrif?”
“Just giving you a heads up, Harry Stuart’s family have reported him as a missing person.”
After all this time? Yet, I say, “Who gives a fuck?”
I hang up and slide my phone back into my pocket. In the few seconds I was on the phone, Holly has wandered off and is glued to her phone.
“Nora’s on her way. Her mom died and she’s coming back for the funeral.”
Fuck. This isn’t what I want to hear. With his family on the hunt, how’s Nora going to cope if she runs into them? I knew something was going to come back and fuck us in the ass. I rub my chest to ward off the pain bouncing around.
“Leo, what’s going on?”
I can’t tell her shit. Not because I don’t trust her, but because I don’t want to put her in any type of position.
“Nothing, I’m just tired.” Which isn’t a complete lie. “I need to go. I’ll see you later.” I kiss her on my way out and inhale deeply once I’m outside. A part of me thinks having Nora where I can see her is a good thing, I can finally relax. But the other part, the bigger part, is wanting to put her in the ground. If I eliminate her, I eliminate this fucking anxiety.
Bringing up Grim’s number, I call him.
“What’s up, Prez?”
“I heard you’re on your way to Willow’s Peak for Nora’s mother’s funeral.”
“Yeah, I was gonna call when we were near.”
“Giving you a heads up, Harry’s family have officially filed him as missing.”
The line goes quiet, and I check the connection is still live. “Yo, you still there?”
“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “Thanks. We’re a couple of days out, I’ll let Nora know so she isn’t blindsided.”
“How do you think she’s gonna act? Is it gonna be a problem?”
My heart pounds in my chest waiting for his answer.
“She’ll be fine. It won’t be a problem.”
I end the call feeling no more assured than I did when I stepped out of the house.
Digging my keys out of my pocket, I ignore everyone as I head to my bike. The ride into town fails to soothe me and by the time I pull up outside Mason’s house, I’m more on edge than ever.
He must hear me arrive as he opens the door before I have the chance to knock.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, worry clearly etched onto his face.
“I need to talk to you.”
He steps back and I enter his home. “Aspen and the babies are sleeping, we’ll talk out the back.”
