Page 45 of Small Town Beast 2: Saverin's Duet

“Before I answer that, I need you to clear something up for me,” Absalom said. “What happened when the boys brought you up here? Did they kill somebody?”

“Yes,” she said. “Thosemenkilled a harmless old man with no legs. They shot him dead at his own front door! He was a good man and he fought for our country. He lost his legs for our country! And they killed him for nothing.”

“I gave no orders for that, darlin’. But take my word, the men responsible will be punished.”

“I don’t believe you,” said Tanya. “I know how it goes. You all protect your own.”

“Saverin must like that you got a temper.”

She seemed to be restraining a poisonous comeback. Absalom waited.

“How long are you going to keep me here?” she asked finally.

He was honest. “As long as Saverin behaves you won’t come to no harm.”

“Are you going to hurt him?” She inhaled sharply and looked down. “Don’t. Please. He’s a good man and he only wants to heal.”

“Is that what you do together? Healing?”

“You–” Again she bit her tongue and glared somewhere off in the distance.Good girl.

Absalom flicked a stray curl out of her face. “Tell me more about this man they killed, alright?”

Tanya shifted her gaze to the clean glass window and the incredible view of Florin beyond it. It was the best view in the county, second only to the one from Saverin’s hill.

“I didn’t know him very well. His name was Wilks Johnny. He was Saverin’s friend,” she answered slowly.

“Did he shoot first?”

“No,” she snapped. “Your thugs just ran up on him and shot him dead. He was defending himself. There was nothing wrong with that.”

“Does he have any family?”

“No. He was all alone…Saverin was supposed to fix his roof.” She brushed at her eyes. “Just a nice old man, going out like that. It was foul. And they just left him there to rot!”

“Saverin found him. They called the funeral home,” Absalom told her, stretching an assumption into what he hoped was the truth. “I can’t bring him back, but we’ll make it right. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

“Where is Saverin? I saw you talking to him through the window. And who was that woman with them? Where the hell am I?”

“You’re in Florin.”

She widened her eyes at him. “Wow, really?”

He restrained a laugh. She reminded him so much of Lorrie and it wasn’t funny so much as— what was this damned feeling like his heart was being squeezed?

“Do you know Lorraine Denver?” he asked.

“No.”

“Excuse me, then.” He got up and put the chair back in place. “If the boys give you trouble just let me know. You’re our guest.”

“And how am I supposed to let you know if I’m in trouble?” she demanded.

“Scream real loud.”

“Wow, thanks.”

Absalom was nearly out the door, his mind already turning to other things, when Tanya called “Wait!”

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