Page 26 of Kiss of Deceit

His free hand landed on my shoulder to push me out of the way, and I snatched his wrist, twisting it away from me before bending it backward. He let out a pained grunt, releasing Hallie so he could try to free his arm from my grasp.

“I’m a forensic psychologist,” I stated applying more pressure to his wrist. “Do you know what that means?”

“I’ll fucking kill you,” he groaned through clenched teeth. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

I let him shove me away, and I stood between him and Hallie. “It means I was hired to analyze the behavior of those who break the law. If I believe someone is a threat to society, I can report that, and that person’s freedom could be taken away. What a shame it would be if that happened to you.”

Even though that was the truth of my job, I was bluffing. I had no idea how much freedom I had when it came to decisions like that when I worked under Natalie. She made the rules, not me. But Lucas didn’t know that.

“I have friends in that office too,” he replied, rage deep in his voice. “You have no idea how this town works. Stay the fuck out of my way.”

He stormed past me, leaving the café. I sagged against the wall, my heart pounding in my ears. That was the last thing I should have done here. Keeping quiet and my head down was how I planned to spend this year.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Hallie said quietly. “He doesn’t forget things. He might come after you now.”

“Let him. He won’t touch me.” My eyes cut to the red marks on her arm where Lucas had grabbed her. “Has he hurt you before?”

“Yes. That’s why I left him,” she muttered. “Once he burned me, I knew that was it?—”

“Burned you?” I cut her off, the back of my neck tingling where my scars were.

“He was drunk.” She lifted her shirt, revealing her lower stomach. “He did it once before I could get away. I moved out that night.”

I stared at the small, circular scar on her skin. It was a cigarette burn just like the three on the back of my neck. Anger scorched my veins, loathing for the man who’d hurt her exploding through me. If I’d known what he did while he was still in here, I probably wouldn’t have just let him walk away. He was a monster just like the men who tried killing me.

“Thank you for trying to help” she whispered. “But be careful. This town…it’s not as safe as it looks.”

With those words, she spun around and went back behind the counter as the door opened, and a few people trickled in. I hastily grabbed my purse and my now-cold coffee before stepping outside into the chilly air. Hallie’s words repeated in my head. What did she mean this town wasn’t safe? I’d been at the sheriff’s office for over a week, and there hadn’t been one crime. No break ins or fights. Nothing.

But if what she said was true, then what was I missing?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

kole

“Aren’t you on the clock?”I poured whiskey into a glass as I stood behind the bar.

Harry blew out a laugh. “And who’s going to report me? I’m the sheriff in town.”

I slid the glass toward him, and he snatched it, not wasting a second to gulp half of it down. Shaking my head, I didn’t make a comment. Nothing happened in this town anyway, it didn’t matter if the sheriff spent half his days drunk. Except those missing knives from the butcher shop. It had been nearly a week, and Harry had managed to keep that crime hush hush. There was no chatter about it, making me believe they had no idea who did it.

Wiping down the counter, I scanned the bar, making sure no one was causing trouble. For a Thursday, it was decently busy. With the arrival of the interns, everything in town was busier. Just like the regulars, they were making it a habit to come to my bar after work.

“How’s your new roommate?” Harry asked, pulling my attention back to him.

“Fine,” I answered gruffly. Not that I really knew how Dani was doing. She was out of the house before I woke up and in her room with the door closed when she was home. She was avoiding me as much as I was her.

“I hear she was making some threats the other day,” he said, his eyes gleaming as he shared his gossip.

I arched a brow. “We talking about the same girl? Because I haven’t heard her say two words to anyone in this town.”

“She made friends with Hallie at the café.”

“And?”

“And…she apparently told Hallie’s ex to fuck off when he tried talking to her.”

“Good. Lucas is an asshole. He shouldn’t be bothering Hallie anymore.” I couldn’t help but wonder what Dani said to him. Even though she was quiet, I knew she could handle her own after how she defended herself the night she showed up in my house. “Where’d you hear that?”