Page 27 of Squatch Out!

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

SEAN

W hen Darren lunges for Olivia, I move too, sending my chair skidding out from behind me.

I move to charge at him, but he’s already pulling her out of my reach.

The flash of metal against her neck freezes me in place and sends my heartbeat skyrocketing.

It takes every bit of my strength to keep from squatching out.

“Do it! Show them!” Darren shouts at me. His eyes are wild, and I can’t look away from where he is carelessly pressing the blade to her throat. If he so much as nicks her perfect skin, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to hold on.

Inside my head, my squatch howls his frustration at the danger our girl is in.

Not yet. My control over him has never been this tenuous, but knowing that’s exactly what Darren wants gives me the strength to hold him back.

As soon as Darren stormed into the restaurant dining room I had a feeling that something was about to go down.

I sent a text to Owen, just before Darren grabbed Olivia.

Now, all I can do is hope he’ll pass the warning to some of the locals, before all hell breaks loose.

All I can do now is keep my cool so Olivia doesn’t get hurt while I wait for backup.

Fear has leached all the color from her cheeks, but her eyes are steady and calm, locked with mine as she silently tells me to hold on.

Begging me to keep my squatch hidden. Except, there is no telling how long it might take for help to come, and the longer my girl is in danger, the weaker my grip becomes.

“Put the knife down. Olivia hasn’t done anything to deserve being treated this way.” I hold my hands up, trying to reason with him.

“Yeah, man,” the cameraman suddenly speaks up. “I didn’t sign up for anyone getting hurt.”

“Shut up and keep recording!” Darren hisses at him, then turns his attention back on me.

“My brother wasn’t doing anything either when the bigfoot came rushing out of the woods at him.

We were deer hunting, and then suddenly he just came out of nowhere.

Of course, no one believed me. They thought I killed Johnny.

They sent me to jail, but I’ll finally be able to prove that it wasn’t me. ”

The cameraman glances over at the other two, who shrug, and he holds the camera up again.

Turning his attention back to me, Darren presses the knife harder against Olivia’s throat. “Do it! Now!”

“Do what?” I shout back at him trying and failing to keep the panic I’m feeling out of my voice. “I can’t do what you expect me to do!”

“Quit playing dumb. Turn into bigfoot like I saw you.” He glances at Olivia. “Or, I swear, I’ll hurt her until you do!”

Olivia lets out a soft whimper, even as she shakes her head, just slightly. Pleading for me not to do it.

The tense silence stretches, and Darren slowly drags the sharp tip up and down the side of her neck. “Fine. I warned you.” He turns so his lips are pressed to the shell of her ear. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Liv.”

She squeezes her eyes shut when he presses the knife’s edge deeper against the side of her throat, and the familiar tingle of my shift starts in my fingertips.

Just then, the sound of sirens and tires skidding on blacktop come from outside.

Icy relief washes over me, and I curl my hands around the sharp claws that have broken through the ends of my fingers.

“What is going on here?” a voice booms just before a tall man in a police uniform storms into the restaurant. The moment he sees the weapon in Darren’s hand, the officer draws his taser. “Drop the knife.”

Several more cops file into the dining room behind him, followed by a small group of elders I recognize from nearby tribes. Seeing them helps me relax enough that the tingling in my fingers subsides.

“Keep recording, Alex,” Darren barks at the cameraman. “I’ll show everyone!”

But Alex and the other two are already backing away with their hands up as the police pull them aside.

When Darren realizes his stunt isn’t going to work in his favor, he turns to run.

Olivia is still pressed to his chest when the officer fires his taser.

The prongs dig into his back, sending 90,000 volts through his body.

With a strangled sound, he stiffens like a board and the knife falls from his fingers.

Unharmed, Olivia pulls herself away from him and runs right into my arms.

“Oh, my God!” she sobs against my chest.

“It’s alright, baby. I’ve got you. You’re alright now.” I’m probably holding her too tight, but I can’t loosen my arms. I need to feel her heartbeat pounding against mine and hear each shuttered breath, so I know she’s safe.

When her pulse has calmed a bit, she looks up at me with brown eyes that are wide and worried. “I thought—I was so scared that you might…” She glances around and then presses her face back into my chest.

My arms tighten around her. Leave it to this woman to worry about me, when she was the one in danger.

“That was never going to happen,” I lie, because it was close. Too close.

Her head snaps up again, and this time she is glaring at me. “I saw your hands, you idiot!” she hisses at me, then pinches my side. Hard . “You sprouted claws.”

I can’t help laughing as I pull her back against my chest. “It’s okay. No one noticed.”

She scoffs. “If I noticed your hands, then it’s probably on someone’s recording,” she whispers into my chest.

I glance over my shoulder and see a couple of the elders with the cameraman. One has his camera, and I suspect any footage will be erased when he gives it back.

The officers have Darren cuffed and are dragging him out of the restaurant when Owen comes rushing through the doors. His eyes are worried as he looks around. When he finds me, his whole body sags with relief, and he pushes through the mingling cops to get to me.

“I called for help as soon as I got your message and then got here as fast as I could.” He’s out of breath, and his eyes are looking everywhere at once, taking in the aftermath. “What the hell happened?”

It’s been less than an hour since I messaged him, and it takes twice that to drive down from the mountain. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I was already in town.” Over his shoulder, I notice Jenny from the general store standing quietly against the back wall, taking everything in.

She’s wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with a red and black flannel tied around her waist. Her black hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, and her arms are decorated with colorful full-sleeve tattoos.

Wait, does this mean he was with Jenny last night? How often does he do this?

“Is there something you’d like to talk to me about?” I ask when Jenny pushes off the wall and comes over to join us.

“Nope,” Owen tells me before he turns to the woman. “Jen? You’ve met my brother, Sean.” She smiles and nods. “And this is Olivia, Sean’s… er…”

“Girlfriend,” Olivia answers for me.

Her proclamation makes my heart twist, and I can’t stop staring down at her and replaying the easy way she just announced herself as mine.

Jenny holds her hand out to me and then to Olivia. “Nice to meet you.”

“Sorry about all the craziness,” I apologize.

Owen drapes his arm around Jenny’s shoulders and pulls her against his side.

“No need,” Jenny scoffs, letting her head rest against my brother’s shoulder. “This kind of thing never happens around here. You just gave everyone enough tea to keep their cups filled for the next year.”

“Hey, Sean, sorry to interrupt,” the officer who tased Darren says as he ambles over to our group. “I need to get some statements from you, then you’ll be free to go.”

Owen steps back, and I don’t miss the way he keeps Jenny pressed into his side. “Come up to the house tonight for dinner,” he says before turning and leaving.

I watch them for a moment, then introduce Olivia to the officer. “This is officer Sanchez,” I press my lips to her temple and add quietly, “He’s an elder of our tribe and knows our secret.”

Sanchez is older with more silver than black in his hair. He’s a little overweight but has a friendly face. Leading us past where Tony and Brian are being questioned, he pulls a chair over to a table that isn’t being used. As soon as we sit down, he leans across and asks me pointedly, “She knows?”

I nod.

His thick brows shoot up into his hairline. “Do the others?”

Olivia and I both shake our heads.

“Okay.” He relaxes again. “Alright, so tell me what happened. The unedited version, please.”

It doesn’t take long, maybe another half hour to give our statements. Both the unedited one and an official version. After we finish, he snaps his notebook shut and then leans across the table. His voice drops as he levels me and then Olivia with a serious look.

“We’ll go through his phone and make sure to get anything incriminating,” Sanchez assures us. “The elders are taking care of any video from the guys he hired and anyone recording with their phones. I don’t think there will be anything you need to worry about.”

I slouch down in my seat as relief leaches out of every muscle.

Until Sanchez turns to Olivia. “You said you’re from Virginia. Do you plan on staying here with him?”

My breath catches when he just comes right out and asks what I’ve been trying to muster up the courage to. Ha! More like you’ve been too chicken shit to ask.

Olivia’s eyes widen with surprise, and then she glances over at me. “Oh. I—” she looks down at where her fingers are twining together on top of the table, “Actually, I have to fly back tomorrow.”

My chest tightens. Tomorrow. That soon?

“I see.” Sanchez lets out a heavy sigh. “I don’t have to tell you that all of this needs to stay here. Not that anyone would believe you anyway, but this is an important secret that I’m asking you to keep. Forever.”

Her eyes are wide and glossy when she looks up at him. They flick to me and back to him again as she nods. “Yes, of course. I understand.”

“Good.” Sanchez pushes himself up with a groan, and to me, he says, “I’ll get ahold of you if I need anything more, but this looks pretty cut and dried on our end.”

“What will happen to Darren?” Olivia asks.

I let out a heavy sigh, not surprised that she’s still worried about the asshole who tried to hurt her.

“Since you’re not going to press charges—and you can still change your mind about that—we’ll take him to the hospital and get him checked out by mental health. Someone will probably notify his family, and after that, he’ll be released.”

She nods slowly, biting down nervously on her bottom lip.

“Is there anything else either of you need?” Sanchez glances from me to Olivia. We both shake our heads. “It was nice to meet you, Olivia,” then to me, “I’ll be in touch.” And with that, he turns with a wave and disappears into the sea of dark blue and black uniforms.

We stay seated at the table until everyone has cleared out of the room and the staff are trying to put everything back to rights before the lunch rush starts showing up.

I can’t stop thinking about what she said to Sanchez.

About her leaving tomorrow. I knew she wasn’t going to stay, but I didn’t realize she was leaving so soon.

My stomach churns, knowing this will be our last day together.

“Would you like to come with me to Owen’s for dinner?” I ask her quietly, hoping she’ll say yes but also preparing for her excuse that she needs to pack or get ready to leave. And if that’s her answer, I tell myself I will handle it gracefully.

Except my heart sinks when her brow wrinkles and she keeps her eyes on her twisting fingers. “I want to, but I shouldn’t. I have to leave early tomorrow to catch my plane.”

“What time do you fly out?” So much for simply accepting her answer.

“Um, it’s at two. But it’s a long drive back to Seattle, and I have to get there early so I can get through security?—”

“If I make sure you get there with plenty of time, will you come with me tonight?” I reach across the table and clasp her hands in mine, silently begging her to stay with me. Even if it’s just for tonight.

Finally, she looks up at me, and her lips are curled up in a warm smile. “Then, yes, I’d love to.”

It takes the last of my resolve not to jump to my feet and pump my fist in victory. Instead, I pull her to her feet and out of the restaurant.