“I was in the kitchen making coffee when your phone vibrated. I glanced at the screen, more out of habit than anything else, and saw this picture.”
She stepped back and began to pace the small kitchen. The half-eaten apple pie sat on the rectangular wooden table. The table ate up half the room, but his dad had turned the formal dining room into a home office after his mother passed away.
“And you think Dustin sent this?” He leaned back in his chair.
“Who else would hunt me down? Who would know to look for me here? He knows where you work. You talked about the bar all the time.” She stopped and shook her head. “I shouldn’t have stayed. I should have warned you and left, taking him with me.”
Noah sighed. “He sent it to my phone. Whoever sent this, he’s not just after you.”
And he could be after Josie.
His grip tightened on the phone. He didn’t like the idea of someone hunting down Caroline. But Josie? Goddammit, he wanted to reach through the phone and crush whoever had sent this.
“I know. Dustin’s after you too. ” She started to pace again. “We’re an easy target if we stay together. I should leave.”
“And go where?” he asked. “I like the odds of two against one crazy, bitter, and disgraced marine.”
“You believe me? You really think he’s coming for us?”
“Yes.” He’d always taken her at her word.
“Thank you,” Caroline said. “For believing me.”
“You don’t exaggerate or look for drama. Until all that shit started when we deployed to that remote FOB, you did your job.”
Sure, she’d endured off-color jokes during basic and possibly during her first deployment. He hadn’t been stationed with her on that one. But when they arrived at the forward operating base in Bumblefuck, Afghanistan, some members of their team, led by Dustin, had changed. Maybe something snapped when they went out searching for the enemy and returned knowing they’d taken lives. Or maybe they’d simply parked their decency and restraint at home.
“He’s coming for us. For you.” Caroline let out a shrill laugh. “I’m nothing to him. You’re the one who provided the evidence that stripped him of his rank and destroyed his career.”
“I know.”
This wasn’t a box full of kittens. This was a viable threat. And it was hitting close to home, not far from the barn where he’d slept with Josie last night. He’d been lost in the feeling that he’d finally found someone who wanted what he had to give. And the entire time, a pissed-off ex-soldier, who was probably armed and undoubtedly dangerous, had been lurking around his hometown.
Shit, he hadn’t offered Josie a rescue last night. He’d brought her too damn close to the kind of trouble that led to bullets flying—or worse. Now, he needed to keep her safe. And Caroline too.
“Do you have a plan?” she demanded, her gaze moving between him and the screen in his hand. “Should I start packing?”
He set the phone on the table. “You don’t need to keep running from him.”
“Dustin might alert the police,” she said, but he swore her spine straightened and she stood taller. Caroline had always preferred fight instead of flight.
“We’ll deal with that if it happens.” He stood. “But if he’s waited this long, I don’t think he plans to hand you over to be court-martialed. I’m guessing he realizes that you’ll be parked behind a desk instead of thrown in a military prison as punishment for deserting.”
“This is personal for him,” she acknowledged.
“Right.”
“Unlock the gun safe. We’ll go after him now.”
It was tempting. But after seeing Caroline aim at Josie, his faith in her only ran so far. Caroline had been hurt by people she’d trusted to have her back when bullets were flying. That betrayal had left her on edge. When they were still deployed together, she’d grown more and more paranoid.
“I doubt he’s still in the parking lot waiting for us after sending this,” he said. “But you can have your gun back if you promise to only use it for self-defense.”
“You have my word.”
His cell vibrated in his pocket. He withdrew it and glanced at the screen. Two words stared back at him—Josephine Fairmore.
“Shit.” He swiped his thumb across the screen and held it to his ear. “Hey, Josie.”