Page 205 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

At just before dawn, I’d finally pulled my aching body off the floor, had showered and dressed, and had ended up here for my shift.

Numb.

Working on autopilot.

The whole day, I could feel Emery’s eyes on me as she wandered through Ivy Threads. Her care and worry woven in every glance she cast my way.

She’d hugged me tight when I’d first shown up, murmuring, “I’m so glad you’re still here.”

But that was all that had been said.

For the first time since I started to work here, Kane hadn’t shown, and there was an air of apprehension that had filled the store.

The normally light, airy mood dampened.

Or maybe it was just that I’d never been able to take in a full breath the entire day.

Now, my actions were stilted as I folded a pink sweater, fingers trembling as I checked the size so I could place it in its proper spot.

“Have a nice afternoon,” Emery called to a woman as she exited through the door, the bell jingling over her head.

It left us alone for the first time since we opened.

In the silence, the air grew denser. An impenetrable vapor that clogged my lungs.

I could feel Emery’s spirit crawling through the stagnant atmosphere as she slowly wound through the store, touching different items as she passed as if she were inspecting them before she came to stand at a rack behind me facing away. Her movements were slow as she began to reorganize the pieces that had gotten out of place.

Her words came cautiously when she finally whispered, “I found out after Kane had been shot.”

My heart clutched at her sudden admission, and the tears I’d been fighting all day gathered quickly.

“Of course, I’d known there was something going on with him. I knew he was keeping secrets. I mean, there was no missing that there was something dangerous underlying all his jokes and easiness,” she mused.

Her hushed voice drifted over me like she was inviting me into a dream.

“He told me he had to go out of town to take care of something important, and my gut told me whatever he was doing defined who he was, even though he hadn’t given me access to it.”

She paused while I struggled to find the oxygen that continued to go missing.

“It turned out, he and Theo had gone out of state to get a woman and her son out of jeopardy’s way. It was supposed to be a simple extraction, only the woman’s husband found out about it and chased them. It ended in a gunfight and Kane was hit.”

I could feel her body tremor at the painful memory.

“I didn’t know where he’d gone, and River was suddenly in front of me, telling me that he was injured. Shot. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. What had happened.”

She sniffled as she continued to reorganize the clothing, metal hangers screeching against the rod as she shifted items around.

“We went running to the doctor’s office. The doctor Charleigh works for. He’s in on what they do and treats anyone they bring to Moonlit Ridge. Only that day, he was treating Kane.”

My stomach tightened.

Dr. Reynolds.

The man who’d shown up the night after our accident. I’d known something was strange from the beginning.

Emery breathed out the strain. “I was terrified to find out what they were really involved in, Piper. Terrified that what they do is considered criminal. Terrified by the risks that they take. But how could I ever judge them for it? Assign them blame when they are giving their lives to the greater good?”

A tear streaked down my cheek, and I batted it away.