Page 77 of Sunkissed Colorado

“Are you safe to drive?” The question slipped out before I could stop it, though I hadn’t even seen him drinking at Hearthstone tonight.

“You offering to take me with you? We could go somewhere if you want.” Tommy’s gaze wandered down to my shoes and up again. His smirk slid into a knowing leer. “The creek?”

I inhaled sharply, taking a step back. “You need to leave. Right now.”

“Still an ice-cold little princess, huh? You were even more of a prude than Jessa was.”

“Leave,” I shouted. “Get off my grandfather’s property before I report you for trespassing.”

My whole body was shaking. I couldn’t breathe all the way until he finally got into his car and drove away, his taillights disappearing around the corner.

Tommy had brought up Jessa and the creek to provoke a reaction from me. I knew that. But he’d still gotten to me. Just like he had with his lies back in high school.

Lies I still didn’t understand.

I took an unsteady breath, walking quickly toward my own car. I’d come here straight after leaving Grandpa’s, so I hadn’t walked from Rosie’s.

As I approached, I noticed something tucked under mywindshield wiper. A piece of paper. Probably an ad for a local service, or a notice about some upcoming festival. I almost crumpled the paper in my fist.

But something made me unfold it.

What I saw there made my blood turn to ice, terrible memories flooding my mind from every direction.

Someone had scrawled in blood red:Murderer.

NINETEEN

Callum

My body ached,and I was covered in dried sweat and soot. What a hell of an afternoon. And evening.

Fuck, what time was it anyway?

We’d gotten the alert around midday, calling any available volunteers to a fire off Copper Road. The initial attack was always a rush, working in tandem to anchor the fire and establish control lines.

By the time most of us were released, close to midnight last I checked, I was beat. We’d spent the last several hours mopping up and cold-trailing. Checking for hotspots. A crew had stayed behind to monitor the site overnight.

A job well done, and that felt good. Now, I just couldn’t wait to crawl into bed. I was too tired to even think about Z.

Okay, maybe notthattired.

Darius drove with me in his passenger seat. Niko was a few minutes behind us. Connor hadn’t responded to the fire, apparently busy with something else tonight.

As Darius pulled onto our street, all was quiet. Yet immediately, something seemed off.

A car I recognized was parked in front of our house, but it wasn’t one I’d expected to ever see here. Not after what happenedon her last visit. And in the storage room at Hearthstone the day after.

“Hey, isn’t that Zandra?” Darius asked.

Fresh worries churned in my stomach. I’d checked my phone already, letting my siblings know I was safe. I hadn’t seen a single message from Zandra after the few we’d exchanged about her taking my shift.

She’d been avoiding me the last several days. Upset about our mutual orgasms in the storage room. Which was frustrating, though I didn’t know what to do about our situation either. I didn’t date. Wasn’t a relationship guy, and that hadn’t changed. I didn’t even knowhowto do relationships.

All I knew was that I still wanted her.

And the thought that something bad had happened set off a chain reaction inside me, my adrenaline racing like I was back at the fire again. If it was that douchewad Ian…

“Stop here,” I said. “Let me out.”