Page 8 of Obsessed Fox

"Did this group have a name?" I couldn't stay quiet any longer, and for the first time since entering the living room, Maisie looked up at me.

Maisie snorted. "Believe it or not, they didn't. People only talked about theirleader,Atlas Decker, and hisfollowers.That should've been the first clue this group was bad news, but Matty and I were desperate to see life from a different point of view."

"What happened to Atlas?"

For the first time, Maisie looked nervous but she maintained eye contact when she answered. "I killed him. Stabbed him in the neck, just like I did the guy today."

CHAPTER THREE

Maisie

I hadn't uttered those words in twelve years. I promised Matty I would never tell another soul what we did, but I had to admit, it felt good to share the secret.

"And you've been on the run ever since?"

I smirked thinking of all the cities I've seen over the years. Bouncing around through different states was probably the best part of being on the run. "Thirty-three different locations in twelve years. I figured I was safe enough to settle down once I came to Willow Creek."

"Thirty-three?"Hendrix practically choked out the number. "How the hell did you afford all those new identities?"

I threw my head back on the leather recliner with a chuckle. "You really think that, if I'm capable of murder, I care about a pesky thing like a legal name? Willow Creek is the first time I bought an identity and I only did so because I wanted to start the bakery. Otherwise I was fine floating around the country without a care in the world."

"Why Willow Creek?"

I thought about it. Really thought about it because no one ever asked me that before.

"I'm not sure. My plan was to drive through like I've done with a million other small towns, but then I saw the ‘for sale’ sign on the old bakery and suddenly it hit me. I was ready to settle down and open my own place."

"And the new identity?"

I smiled. "You meet some interesting people when you're on the run from the law. About six years ago I met a man who, for the right price, could completely reinvent someone. We stayed in touch, so when the time came that I wanted to open up Wickedly Delicious, I reached out. He had me set up within a couple of weeks. The following week I applied for a loan to buy the shop and the rest is history."

Hendrix was giving me a strange look, so I called him out on it. "What?"

"And yet, you were ready to walk away without a second thought?"

I bristled at his tone, even though I knew what he was saying was the truth.

"I wouldn't survive jail. It would be like living with my parents all over again. Bland and lacking all sense of fun. I couldn't live like that again. Not after I got used to expressing myself so heavily."

"Give me two days," Hendrix offered.

"Excuse me?"

I agreed to come here but I still had every intention of leaving before the cops came knocking.

"Give me two days to prove to you that you won't be spending any time in jail."

Something that felt a lot like hope flickered in my chest but I tried to push it down. It was dangerous for someone like me to get my hopes up.

"How are you going to do that?"

"Leave the details up to me. Two days, Mais. That's all I'm asking for. I'm sure you have someone who can look after things at the bakery for a short time while you hide out here."

I chewed on the side of my lip and thought about what he was asking me to do,how muchhe was asking of me. The only person I trusted over the years was my brother. Everyone else had let me down. Then I thought about all the times Hendrix had been honest with me, even when he knew I wouldn't like what he had to say. He never sugarcoated anything.

With that thought, my mind was made up. "All right. I'll give you forty-eight hours. Janie has been hinting for months that she's ready to take on more responsibility, so now seems like as good a time as any to give her a chance to prove herself."

Hendrix cocked his head to the side and scrunched his brows. "Who's Janie?"

---