Page 81 of Where the Roses Bloom

And loud, incredibly loud.

My hand shot out to turn it down, but it seemed the radio wasn’t paying any attention to human control right now. I covered my ears, yanking my knees up to my chest, terror coursing through me?—

Knock knock knock.

“Willow?”

My eyes jerked to the driver’s side window and I found a sight that made my heart soar: Rhett, standing in the dark, his truck idling on the other side of the street with the headlights on. I unlocked the door and opened it so fast that Rhett stumbled back, then I was in his arms, clutching him like I might fly off into space if I didn’t hold on tight.

“Willow,” he murmured, pulling me to him, one hand on my back and the other in my hair as I shook. “What the…are you okay?”

“The car stalled,” I managed to get out. “I don’t—something’s after me?—”

“I’ve got you,” he soothed, stroking my hair. “I’ve got you.”

My eyes darted up to search for any lingering threat, but all I found was Silas leaning against Rhett’s truck, arms crossed, gaze averted like he didn’t want to intrude. That alone was weird, but what was weirder was the fact that he was holding one of my damn crystals clenched in a fist.

“You should get in the truck,” Rhett said, pulling back just enough to look me in the eye. “What’s in the car that you need?”

“Uh…” I struggled to remember anything but my impulse to get the hell out of here. “My kit, my purse. I think that’s it.”

He nodded. “Okay.” Then he looked over his shoulder. “Silas, help me push the Bug onto the shoulder?”

Silas moved forward wordlessly, heading over to the car and grabbing my stuff from the passenger seat. Rhett took another step back from me, eyes still locked on mine.

“I don’t want to get in the truck without you,” I whispered.

His eyes flickered to the tree line, then back to me. “But it’s safer there.”

Safe from what?I thought.

But, because I already knew, I said, “I’m afraid he can talk to me through the radio.”

Rhett gripped my shoulders tighter, and his next words took me by surprise. “I’m not going to let him hurt you.”

He knew.

“You just tuck yourself in by the truck, no need to get in,” Rhett finally said. “Let me push the car with Silas so no one hits the Bug, and we’ll call Beau to come and get it in the morning.”

“Okay,” I breathed.

Silas gave me a look…then he handed over the crystal: black tourmaline.

“Thought you might want this,” he said, then passed me my kit and my purse.

I clutched my belongings to my chest as the guys got to work, pushing the car to the shoulder. I was safe…Rhett was here, and he and Silas both seemed to understand something weird was going on. The sound of the guys grunting as they pushed the Bug was distant, muffled by the lingering static still buzzing in my head. It hadn’t come back on, but the memory of it was enough—like the aftershock of something already passed but not yet over.

Once the car was off the road and Rhett gave it a final pat, we all got into the truck. I was still shaking, and Rhett reached over to twine his free hand with mine, expression solemn.

“You good, rosebud?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No…no, I don’t think so.”

And we drove into the night, leaving Mill Creek Bend behind.

CHAPTER 28

Rhett