Page 26 of Deadly Storms (Sunrise Lake #3)

“I’m going to take a guess, Shabina, and say if anyone else turns up dead, these sticks will be on the little altar dedicated to their sacrifice. You can’t touch them. I’m going to take them in my car and give them to Raine if it’s all right with you. I’d prefer that you aren’t anywhere near them.”

Shabina didn’t want to touch them. “Maybe we should just leave them here, Harlow.” Her voice sounded faint. Tinny. She had to pull it together.

“I know you’ve had a problem in the past with PTSD,” Harlow ventured. “I’m wondering if Bale found that out and is doing everything he can to trigger another episode. Did you end up going back to Houston after the last one? Maybe that’s his endgame, to drive you away.”

“Murder someone just to get me out of town?” That sounded too farfetched, even for Bale.

“Who knows what motive a murderer has? Just remember, these sticks can be bought on the internet, just as the other items can be.” Harlow sounded practical, as was her way.

“Do you have the eerie feeling that someone is watching us right now?” Shabina asked because that ominous shadow refused to fade. It was easy to slip into paranoia in the midst of a PTSD episode. She was already having trouble distinguishing reality from illusion.

Harlow again waited before answering. She nodded once. “I don’t know if it’s real or not, Shabina. We’re both a little spooked by this, but I don’t like being so exposed out here. I’m grateful for the dogs. Are you armed?”

At least Harlow admitted she was uneasy. That made Shabina feel a little better.

“I always carry a gun. In this case, I have more than one on me.”

“I’m going to take this package in my car, and I’ll follow you back to Knightly. If you need to stop at Sunrise to let the dogs out or for a bathroom break, just signal. I’ll stop with you. I’m going to text Raine as soon as I can and ask her to meet us at your house. We can turn this over to her.”

“I don’t want anyone going after Raine. She’s been through enough.” That was one of her biggest worries—bringing danger to her friends.

“Raine has more protection than the rest of us. She’ll know exactly what to do to keep you safe from any charges if you’re being set up.

You can’t have any evidence in your home, Shabina.

Bale’s a big man in a small town. He has no idea of the kind of power someone like Raine can wield.

She’s a woman. She’s very small and delicate looking.

She’s quiet. Bale doesn’t understand real intelligence, especially in a woman.

He understands brawn. That’s the only thing he respects. ”

Shabina knew everything Harlow said was the truth.

The only problem she had with it was, suppose her opponent wasn’t Bale?

What if Scorpion was creating this mess just to torture her?

Although, to be honest, when she really thought about it, he would be more likely to use one or more of her friends as the murder victim.

He would know that would hurt her far more, and he would revel in her suffering.

She stayed silent because there wasn’t anything more to say.

Speculation only went so far. They had no idea who really had killed Deacon Mulberry or why the bizarre altar had been set up.

They didn’t have enough details about the actual murder to put any more clues together.

The authorities were keeping some information away from the public.

Harlow carefully wrapped her jacket around the small package and took it to her car. Both women slid behind the wheels of their respective vehicles and began the long trek home.

Shabina flooded the RAV4 with calming music.

She needed her mind to stop racing the way it was.

It wouldn’t help to replay every nasty insult Bale had given her or the harassment he and his friends had subjected her to when she’d gone out dancing at the Grill.

Once in the last year, she had gone to work in the early morning hours to find someone had painted filth all over the outside of her café.

There was an investigation, but no one was arrested.

That was when she had Lawyer Collins install a better security system with more cameras outside and inside.

Thinking about Bale was better than having her mind dwell on the nightmarish six months she’d endured with Scorpion before Rainier had appeared out of the sandstorm, rising up like some specter, slaughtering her enemies and carrying her to safety.

But that thought brought her mind to fixate on Rainier.

Thinking of Rainier was a two-edged sword.

She knew she had to find a way to break her reliance on him.

He didn’t—and couldn’t—return her feelings.

No one, including him, thought her feelings for him were real.

They believed she had established not only a dependence on him, but as a teenager she had developed a crush on the man who had rescued her.

Shabina knew that wasn’t true. As a teenager, she hadn’t crushed on any man, let alone Rainier.

He was older and as hard as nails. He was intimidating and demanding.

He was the only one who didn’t coddle her or want to keep her locked away from the world, especially when she wanted to retreat into complete isolation.

He made her face what had happened to her and the consequences.

He believed in the truth even when she didn’t want to hear it.

Now, she appreciated that quality in him.

As a teen, it had been very hard to take at times.

She’d found it difficult to be around any man other than Rainier when she’d first come home.

Even her father. That could have set the stage for the two to have such an adversarial relationship.

She really didn’t like the security guards always watching her.

It was difficult to leave her room even for physical therapy.

Only Rainier could get her to go out and only if he was with her.

That hadn’t been a crush; that had been a necessity for survival. She knew the difference.

Did she have a dependence on him? Back when she was a teen?

He was the only person she fully trusted, so yes.

Now? Same answer. When her life fell apart and she couldn’t distinguish reality from insanity, she depended on Rainier.

She tried not to. She wanted to have a completely different relationship with him.

Unfortunately, he didn’t return those feelings for her.

She was also fairly certain she wasn’t going to suddenly be miraculously “cured” of PTSD, no matter how much counseling she underwent.

As for the way she felt about Rainier now, those feelings for him had developed over time.

She hadn’t known it was happening at first until it was too late to protect herself.

She was the kind of woman who had intense, powerful emotions.

Her loyalty, once given, was unswerving.

It was the same with her love. And she knew she loved the man.

He didn’t have to return her love; she wanted the best for him.

That was one of the reasons she tried so hard to fight calling for him when she was in a downward spiral.

She’d wrecked his life once. She could only hope he was rebuilding it.

She wanted that for him. It was the same with her parents.

They’d been so close. The house filled with laughter and love when they were together.

Once she was back home, there were constant tears, whispered arguments and a dark pall that had never been there before.

She wanted her parents to find their happiness together again.

Shabina did her best to keep her mind centered on her friends and the way they were doing everything they could to help her.

She was very grateful for them, especially when she pulled up to her gate and found Vienna had taken the time to drive Raine to her house.

Raine was still having difficulty driving.

She told everyone she could if the situation was dire, but no one wanted to test that theory.

Once in the house, Harlow immediately told the other two about Bale, Edward and Sean joining the bird-watching tour.

She also AirDropped Raine pictures of Ellis Boucher and Rhys Cormier, the two businessmen from Paris, as well as Jules Beaumont from Belgium.

For good measure, she threw in Charlie Gainer.

She included more photographs of the university students as well, worried that if they were wrong about Bale, one or more might have been sent by Scorpion to break Shabina down before either killing her or attempting to kidnap her again.

While Harlow explained things, Shabina let the dogs run free in the gardens, feeling guilty that she hadn’t taken them for their usual run by the canal.

She was tired, and it was late. She was grateful her friends were there to support her, but she also wanted to curl up in the fetal position and pull the blankets over her head and disappear.

She knew she shouldn’t be alone, but that’s exactly what she wanted.

After she retrieved the plastic bag containing the feathers she’d found on the steps of the café and gave it to Raine, she busied herself making food for the others while they went over much the same thing Harlow and she had earlier in the day—whether Bale was involved.

She understood. Even though she considered him one of the worst human beings a man could be, he was still someone in their community who contributed when things went wrong. He really was a senior member of Search and Rescue, and he had never once shirked his duties.

Sean hunted, and, like many others, he provided meat for the elderly in Knightly. Edward cultivated a garden, indoor and out, and his winter greenhouse helped more than one older couple survive the winter. Grudgingly, she had to admit, the three men had a few good traits.