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“Are you insane?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“He’s engaged to Brooke—one of my employees—but as I said, he’s new to the job, and sometimes he needs a hand.”
Ana regarded me curiously.“So you’ve beenhelpingthe cops?”
“Somebody has to.They have a tendency to play defence rather than offence.”
“A bad habit of theirs.But why break your cover?”
“I don’t break my cover.They have no idea it’s me.”I blew out a long breath and admitted the truth I’d been trying so hard to deny.“I got bored, okay?I thought I’d be content living a cosy little life in the middle of nowhere, but it’s dull, dull, dull.Quite frankly, I’m sick of pretending to be cheerful all the time.It’s unnatural.”
How did people do it?Just listening to Paulo chatter from dawn till dusk left me cold, and Brooke never snapped back at anyone, even when silence cost her dearly.
Ana nodded her agreement.“I understand the boredom thing.I only lasted a few weeks as a stay-at-home mom, and even now, I struggle at PTO meetings.Those women are asking to have their tongues cut out.”
“Yougo to parent-teacher organisation meetings?Have you lost your mind?”
Ana pointed at a poster on the wall.“Says the woman hosting a coffee ’n’ crafts support group?”
Firstly, Thrive was Brooke’s project, not mine.I merely provided the venue.And secondly, I didn’t attend the meetings, not in person.No, I just listened in from time to time and made notes.Whenever I needed a little adventure to take the edge off, Thrive provided me with a ready-made list of targets.Though I had to be careful.The women talked, boy did they love to talk, and if all the men who’d hurt them went through unfortunate experiences in a short space of time, they’d smell a rat.So I had to pace myself, get creative when I brainstormed the assholes’ fates.
“It’s actually a support group for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.Brooke started it after her own experiences.”
Emmy screwed up her face.“Ouch.”
“A friend would support her, yes?So that’s what I’m doing.Turns out that domestic violence is a big problem for women who weren’t trained from the age of fourteen in a dozen different ways to kill a man.”
“Only a dozen?No need to be modest.So, did you have a chat with the guy who abused your friend?”
“A chat?No, I didn’t speak to him.I decorated him.”
“Decorated him?”Emmy glanced toward the store.“With what?”
“A soldering iron and a Stanley knife.”
And I’d been careful not to use Darla’s cutesy handwriting when I burned the word “rapist” across his forehead.That episode had been my first foray back to the dark side.Both Colt and Luca—in his pre-deputy days—had proven to be spectacularly ineffective at catching the sick-minded stalker who’d assaulted Brooke, probably because they struggled to understand the man’s mindset.They simply didn’t know how to think like criminals.Rather than using their brains, they’d spent their days guarding Brooke and asking questions, questions, questions, whereas I’d simply hung back in the darkness and watched her.Watchedhimwatching her, the way I’d known he would.He had a twisted mind.Too bad mine was truly warped.
Emmy gave a low whistle as she drained a cup of coffee.“Nice work.Ana, c’mon.”
I pictured them driving off into the sunset.“You should stay.”
“Relax.Tell your cop buddy we’ll be back in five.We’re just gonna make hotel reservations and maybe ask a question or two about Leona Curran.I’m curious.Aren’t you curious?”
“Yes, I’m curious, but that’s not how things work around here.The cops ask the questions, and then I get the gossip from Brooke or Paulo or one of the others.It’s much easier to fly under the radar that way.”
“We’ll be subtle, I promise.Come with us if you’re worried we might make a break for it.”
“I try to avoid the Peninsula.”
Emmy turned back.“Why?”
I could have spun a story about the locals disliking outsiders, which was true, but Ana would have seen through the lie in a second.We were both outsiders.We always would be, but we knew how to fit in when it mattered.All it took was confidence and the right attitude.
So I told Emmy the truth.“I have a history with the owner.”
“As in…you danced the horizontal tango?”