Page 32 of Wrecked for Love (Buffaloberry Hill #1)

ELIA

I left Billings with my thoughts scattered. After a long day at the auction, I should’ve been relieved—my ranch was set for another season in the black. The familiar stretch of road should’ve brought calm, but Log’s words were eating at me.

Claire. What was I supposed to do with her?

My phone buzzed, her name flashing across the screen again. I’d been avoiding her, torn between giving her another chance or calling her out. But my emotions clung tight—anger, confusion, hurt. I knew better than to say something I’d regret.

I pulled over, parking on the side of the highway. One last attempt to make sense of it all. I needed the truth for myself.

And I found plenty of it when I searched for “Claire Magnussen.”

From Innocent sister caught up in gangland bloodbath, missing, presumed dead to Claire Magnussen: Victim or Perpetrator?

Unfortunately, not a word of it contradicted what Logan had told me. A hundred grand was missing, and it seemed Claire had shot one of the gang members.

Then came another headline: How A Girl-Next-Door Pet Groomer Turned Into A Murderer.

It was confirmed—she had killed that gang member. Revenge and money had been her motive. And now she was also wanted for the murder of a Long Island vet, Dr. Rick Ashbourne, allegedly to cover her track.

Dread slithered through me.

It was all there in black and white. I’d fallen for a murderer. A gang member…I could stomach that. The cold-blooded nature of it unsettled me, but I could deal. Killing an innocent vet, however?

How could I have let her in? Because I believed she could be a miracle. Those nightmares of hers? They were just guilt eating away at her.

Another call. It was her again.

I’d been terrified to answer, afraid her voice would pull me under and make me forget reality—she had that power over me.

And yet, above it all, something urged me to pick up.

I pressed the answer button and brought the phone to my ear. “Claire?”

“Elia…” Her voice trembled. “I killed him.”

Chaos surged through me. Was this her confession about New York? If yes, what a timing! Had Log gone behind my back and tipped her off?

But the way she spoke felt immediate, like it wasn’t a secret long kept but something that had just happened.

“I killed Armand Voss,” she added.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“He was at The Willow…he attacked me, but I…I managed to…I killed him, Elia!”

The storm of emotions that had been shaking me peaked, almost bursting out of me. Everything I felt about her secrets—it fucking hurt! But her safety still came first. Lies or not.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“I don’t know…um…I’ve been driving around…um…” She sounded disoriented and lost. “I’m actually close to the gas station.”

“Stay there. I’m on my way!”

I drove faster than I ever had, adrenaline taking over, my mind spiraling.

When I pulled into the gas station, I barely had time to turn off the truck before Claire slammed herself against me and hugged me like she’d never let go.

I could feel the tremors shaking her body.

I was still furious about what Log had told me, but I couldn’t deal with any of that now. Not when she needed me like this.

I let her hold me. For now. The rest…we’d deal with later.

“Leave your car here. Come with me,” I said, yanking open the passenger door. Claire hesitated for a second, her eyes wide with fear, but she climbed in.

We drove in silence to The Willow. I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears, my emotions simmering just beneath the surface. We pulled up at the doomed cottage in no time.

Claire was fighting herself between wanting to get out and staying in the car. Eventually, she jumped out. I did too. My foot landed on a pack of sunflower seeds. It was too cold to be working in the gardens, so maybe she’d already started planning her indoor nursery.

Gingerly, Claire opened the cottage door.

The place was spotless. No sign of a struggle. No blood. No body.

“Claire?” I barked, my frustration boiling over. “What kind of game are you trying to play?”

She looked at me, her desperate blue eyes cutting through. I’d always dreaded losing her, and today might be that day. But I wasn’t one to be played—by her or anyone else.

“Elia! I swear, he was here! I hit him with a hammer!”

The most dangerous criminals aren’t just liars. They’re storytellers, weaving deception so seamlessly that it feels like truth. She was one of them. And my God, I’d fallen in love with her!

“There’s nothing here, Claire!” I shouted.

“No hammer, no blood, no Armand! What the hell am I supposed to believe?” My eyes stayed on her, trying to show her that this was about more than Armand Voss.

It was about believing in her, in everything she had told me since that night she ended up stranded on my property.

“Elia, you’ve got to believe me!” she pleaded, her steps closing the distance between us.

I jerked back, her touch suddenly unbearable. Then I caught the outline of her gun against her waist.

“Don’t you even think about playing tough,” I warned. She hadn’t just deceived me—she was armed and deadly.

My brain scrambled to make sense of everything.

Claire. She was never the sweet type. She had layers, and that was part of her pull.

But now, I’d uncovered a layer I didn’t want to believe—one that was lethal.

Two deaths. Were there more? I didn’t want to know.

It was a miracle I was still breathing—maybe because I still had my use.

“I killed Armand Voss,” she repeated, emphasizing every word.

Standing there, stiff and unyielding, her Ruger resting at her side, her face pale as ice, I could see the sinister layer beneath the desperation.

Did she really take out the younger Voss? I doubted it. The man was twice her size and wouldn’t think twice about crushing anyone, man or woman.

Maybe this was her twisted setup all along—luring me into a fight with my worst enemy so she could slip away, free and clear.

“You know what? Stay away from me!” My finger shook as I pointed at her and backed away. Trusting her was no longer an option.

She followed. “If you want nothing to do with me, fine, but you’re in danger. They’re coming for you, Elia!”

I should’ve cared. I should’ve listened. But the only danger I saw? It was standing right in front of me.

“The Vosses? They always come for me, Claire. But the real threat? It’s you.” The déjà vu struck me so hard that I almost stumbled. I’d known it before. Felt it deep in my gut. Ignored it.

Her expression tightened, too calculated for an innocent person. I watched her, gauging the shift. Was this her testing if I’d bend? Or was it anger the moment she realized I wasn’t falling for it?

I leveled her with a hard stare as I backed off. “Stay. The. Hell. Away!”

Not until I hit the porch steps did I turn, half-running back to my truck.

The crunch under my boot stopped me—another run-in with the sunflower seed packet. So small but unforgettable. It shouldn’t have mattered, but the sound and feel underfoot taunted me, a reminder of how tiny things can unravel everything.

Even the road felt foreign, like I wasn’t in Buffaloberry Hill anymore, with my thoughts darting in and out. By the time I reached The Lazy Moose, Koda’s bark greeted me like an accusation.

“Stay,” I ordered, my voice rough as I stalked inside.

I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. My hands acted before my brain caught up. I ripped the new mattress from the bed, dragged it through the house, out to the porch, and heaved it off the edge. It landed with a dull thud in the dirt, as useless as the trust I’d placed in her.

I should’ve kept the old one. It was lumpy, but at least it was mine—not bought with care for sharing with the enemy. Now? Now I had nothing. No bed. No peace.

No Claire—the version of her I thought I knew.

I sank into the couch, staring into nothing, my mind as blank as the room.

“What a fool,” I told myself.

But then I stood, remembering Koda didn’t deserve to be left waiting. I couldn’t eat, but my mutt didn’t need to starve along with me.

Logan called just as I was getting up. If I didn’t pick up, he’d be knocking on my door soon enough.

“Log,” I answered, balancing the phone between my shoulder and ear as I mixed Koda’s meal.

“You good?”

I drew in a breath. “Yeah. Yeah.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“Not yet. I’m wiped out. I’ll deal with it tomorrow,” I lied. I wasn’t one for lying, especially to my best friend. But after tonight’s betrayal, I felt capable of anything.

“All right, man. If you need anything…”

“Thanks. You’re a good friend, Log,” I replied before hanging up.

I fed Koda, giving him a pat as he stared at me, clearly sensing something was off. Then, I drifted back to the couch, back to being alone, though now it felt ten times worse.