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“What really happened that night, Kash?”

He frowned. “I told you. Didn’t I?”

“Maybe I need a refresher.”

He nodded. “Okay. One of our customers asked us to meet his cousin downtown. Since it was a new person, we were supposed to go together. Can’t be too careful about that crap. We set it up with the guy, then agreed that Hunter and I would meet a block away ten minutes beforehand. Hunter never showed.”

“What were you supposed to do if that happened?”

Kash shrugged. “We never even talked about it. I trusted Hunter completely, just like he trusted me. It was never a question—until he didn’t show up.”

“So what did you do?”

“What could I do? We had a reputation to live up to, and this sale would put us over Hunter’s personal—inflated—minimum threshold to get us out of town. We needed it, so I went to finish it. But the customer was already spun when I got to him. Don’t know what he was on, but it was some janky shit. He took one look at the product and started swinging.”

“So you fought him?”

Kash shrugged. “I guess. I mean…sort of. Mostly just kept him from destroying me, though. Like I said, he was on some janky shit. By the time he tired himself out I was pissed off and bleeding and I just wanted to go to bed. So I did. Got a solid three hours of sleep before the cops busted my door down.”

My heart sank for him. “That must have been awful.”

“Could have been better. I refused to give them my alibi, that’s what screwed me. They saw my messed-up face and jumped to conclusions. And I guess they found the murder weapon in my shed.”

Startled, I glanced up at him. “I didn’t hear that part. What was it?”

He shook his head. “Just a wrench. A big, heavy wrench. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a bolt big enough for it. It sure as hell wasn’t mine, but it was on my property. As far as they were concerned, that sealed the deal.”

The thought of Hunter dying on the end of a wrench made my stomach churn. I looked out over the creek to settle my soul, watching the sunlight play over the rippling water. A wad of trash floated by, ruining the view. I sighed.

“You know what kills me? This town has so much potential. There’s all this beautiful nature around, all those historical buildings—but nobody cares enough to take care of it.” A restless fire twisted down my spine. “I need to get out of here.”

Kash wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Soon,” he said. “I promise.”

“How? You’re working for room and board; I’m barely making enough to save anything. I think I have three hundred dollars in my savings right now. That’s not even enough to pay for gas to get anywhere good.”

His eyes twinkled when he looked down at me, and he kissed my forehead. “Trust me,” he said.

I did, implicitly. A small part of my mind wondered if that trust would prove to be my greatest weakness.