Reckless Faith
: Chapter 24

Elle sipped her chai latte. Sugar and Spice was busy around her, but her mind kept flicking back to the same thing.

Boyd. He was dead. Was it an accident? The mechanic told Eastern there’d been a fault in the brakes, so all signs pointed to yes. She should be grateful, right? That he was gone and she didn’t have to worry about him?

A hand on her arm caused her to jump. She turned to look at Jace beside her.

He frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just…I keep thinking about Boyd.” There was no point in lying.

His fingers tightened around her arm. “He’s gone now. You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

“I know. I just hate that we don’t have any answers. Like why he targeted me. Why he tried to kill me.” God, even saying those words out loud sounded weird. A guy she’d never met had tried to kill her.

Eastern was still looking into him, but so far, he’d found no connection between her and Boyd. He appeared to be just what they already knew he was—a small-time criminal. An abuser. An out-of-towner.

“I hate that too.” A muscle ticked in Jace’s jaw. “I wish we knew, but I’m not sorry he’s gone.”

She nodded, shifting her gaze back to the latte. “So I’m safe now, right? He’s gone and he was the only threat…” She knew he couldn’t guarantee that, but a part of her still hoped he would anyway.

Jace’s brows flickered. “I’d like to think so. But I still want you to stay close to me for a while to make sure.”

The café was closed for a week, and Jace had taken the week off work to be with her. It also gave Molly time to recover.

When her gaze caught on his phone, she frowned. “You haven’t received any more messages from that private number?”

“Not since I blocked them.”

That was good. One less thing to worry about.

“You know what we need?” Jace asked.

“A crystal ball that has all the answers we’re seeking?”

“Well, that…and cupcakes.”

In the glass cabinet at the counter, a dozen different types were on display, and they all looked amazing, especially the pumpkin pie. She sighed. “But how will we ever choose?”

“Why choose when we can have one of each?”

She opened her mouth to tell him that was ridiculous, but he was already up and walking to the counter.

When the bakery door opened, Callie, the new Pilates and yoga studio owner, walked in. The woman’s gaze immediately slid to Elle, and she smiled before heading her way.

“Hey, Elle.”

“Hey. It’s good to see you, Callie.” The woman was wearing her usual leggings and sports crop, probably having come straight from a class. “How’s the studio going?”

“Great, actually. We’ve been really busy, which surprised me. I thought it would take a while to build up clientele, but I guess Misty Peak was ready for a fitness studio.” She cocked her head. “You’re always welcome to come back for another class, you know.”

Elle internally cringed. “Thank you. I think I need some time to summon the courage first. Your class was amazing, but it absolutely destroyed me.”

“We have beginner’s classes.”

“What? The class Sadie and I took wasn’t a beginner’s class? She said it was!”

Callie grinned. “No. It was intermediate. But come by and I can give you a schedule of all the classes so you can see which ones you might like to try. If you want to, that is. No pressure.”

She was going to kill Sadie. “Thanks. I’d appreciate it.”

Jace returned to the table. “Hey, Callie, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Jace.”

“I know. How are you?”

“I’m good.”

“Happy to be back?”

“I am.” He glanced at Elle.

Callie smiled. “Your family’s almost all home.”

One side of his mouth lifted. “Yeah, don’t know if we’ll all ever be home though. Nylah will likely stay in Cradle Mountain, and I think Lock might be out there for life.”

Her smile slipped a fraction. It was subtle, but enough for Elle to notice. Did she know Lock?

“Is he good?” Callie asked, voice sounding strained.

“I mean, from the little he updates us, it seems so.”

She swallowed and nodded before stepping back. “Good. That’s great. Well, I’ll see you both around.”

Elle frowned as the other woman walked away. What was her history with Lock? Because there was a history. Before she could ask Jace, Mrs. Sandler stopped at their table with two plates, each holding a cupcake, as well as a takeout box.

The store owner smiled at them. “Here you go. Enjoy.”

When she walked away, Elle raised a brow at Jace. “How many did you order?”

“I told you, one of each.”

“Jace…that’s ridiculous and will make us sick.”

“The only thing that makes me sick is thinking I’m not feeding you enough.”

She sighed. “I’m already gaining inches on my hips from that damn candy you gave me.”

Seriously, she’d gotten over her not-wanting-to-touch-it issue, so now every time she walked past the jar, she took one. Not because she wanted it, but because she needed it. She was already out of cola skulls and was seriously considering ordering more.

“I love your hips,” Jace whispered, his breath brushing over her lips. “They’re as beautiful as the rest of you.”

Jace looked up and down the street as he stepped outside. Even though Boyd was dead, Elle was right. They didn’t know why he’d targeted her, and that left an uneasy knot in his gut.

His fingers tightened around her hand as they made their way to his car. He helped her in before climbing behind the wheel and setting the cupcakes in the backseat. The second he looked at her, he forced the tension from his features.

“Ready to go home?”

“Now that I’m full of sugar and in serious need of a long nap? Definitely.”

Damn, her smile was gorgeous.

He started the car and pulled onto the street before reaching across for her hand. She slipped her fingers through his easily. He needed to be touching her today. Needed eyes on her and to have her close.

He’d only driven down a couple of streets when someone in the rearview mirror caught his attention. Whoever it was drove a red Honda with tinted windows, and they’d been behind him since they’d left Sugar and Spice.

He took another left, then a right.

Elle frowned. “Where are we going?”

The red car reappeared in the rearview mirror.

Jace tightened his fingers on the wheel. The asshole was following them.

“Something’s wrong,” Elle guessed before he could respond to her.

“Someone’s tailing us.”

She gasped and started to turn, but he grabbed her arm.

“Don’t.” He hit the Bluetooth on the steering wheel.

Eastern answered on the first ring. “Jace. Everything okay?”

“I’ve got a tail.”

“A tail?”

“A red Honda Accord. Plate numbers are TCA 4832. Can you run them?”

“Hang on.” There was the sound of typing. “It’s a rental car. I can contact the business and see who rented it, but it’ll take me a few minutes.”

Fuck. If he was alone, he’d lead the car into a dead end and approach them, but no way in hell was he doing that with Elle by his side. They could be armed.

“Do it,” Jace finally said. “I’m gonna lose them.”

“On it.”

The second the call ended, Jace shot a look at Elle. “Hold on, Tink.”

She gripped the grab handle, and he pressed his foot to the floor. They immediately sped up, and he took a hard right.

“Where are we going?” Elle asked.

“To Eastern.” He wasn’t sure if their tail would follow; it depended on how stupid he was or whether he knew this town well enough to know where they were headed.

His tires squealed as he took a right, then a left. He knew these roads like the back of his hand.

A few minutes later, he shot a glance in the rearview mirror to see that the road was empty. Were they gone?

He slowed the car to a normal pace.

“Did you lose him?” Elle asked quickly, an edge to her voice.

“I don’t know.”

Two more streets and he pulled into the sheriff’s office parking lot. No one pulled in after them. Still, he didn’t immediately get out, and when Elle put her hand on the door handle, he grabbed her other wrist.

“Wait.”

She frowned and looked behind her. There was still no one there.

“I’m gonna come around to your side.” He climbed out, his gaze continually shifting around the parking lot before stopping at Elle’s door. The second she was out, he slipped an arm around her and tugged her against his side. He didn’t let his guard down until they’d stepped into the building, and even then, his muscles remained tight.

The older woman at the front desk looked up. “Hi. Can I help you?”

“I’m here to see my brother.”

The words had just left his mouth when a door behind the desk opened and Eastern stepped out. “Come in.”

Jace’s hand shifted to the small of Elle’s back, and they moved into Eastern’s office.

Eastern lowered behind the desk. “I contacted the car place and got the details of the woman who hired the car.”

Jace frowned. “Woman?”

“Yeah.” Eastern clicked a few keys on the laptop. “Alice Kelly.”

Kelly…the name felt like a kick to the gut. “Dean’s sister.” Something Eastern would already know after looking into the family.

Why the hell would she be here, in Misty Peak, tailing him?

Eastern turned the screen around to show them an ID, and sure enough, the woman on the screen looked just like Dean, only female. Same eyes. Same hair color.

It was his sister.

“It’s her,” Jace said quietly, pulling the pieces of the puzzle together. “She’s the person behind the unknown number.”

She had to be. They already knew it had to be a family member, and it was the sister Eastern hadn’t been able to track down because she’d been out of town. Now she’d rented a damn car to tail him.

“She’s escalating,” Eastern said quietly.

“Jace,” Elle whispered. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Jace clenched his jaw. “I blocked her from my phone and she couldn’t reach me. Now she’s here to mess with me in person.”