Page 33 of Fractured Hope
“Let me get a washcloth, and then you can stay all cozy in my bed.”
“You like me in your bed, huh?” His face flushed as he smirked at me.
“I love it.” With one last kiss, I went to grab a washcloth and ensured Bodhi stayed cocooned in my blankets.
I was determined to get my work done quickly so I could go back and spend the day with Bodhi. When I arrived at the shop, I was surprised to find Seb there waiting for me.
“What’s going on? I thought I was here this morning so you didn’t have to be.” I gave Seb’s muscled frame a hug. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a change of plans? I could still be snuggling a certain someone right now.” I waggled my eyebrows lasciviously.
Taken aback by Seb’s lack of reaction to my insinuation and his serious expression, dread filled my stomach. “What’s wrong?”
“Come to the break room. There’s something I need to show you.”
I followed him through the workshop. “Can’t you just tell me? You’re kind of freaking me out.”
“You need to see it to understand.”
Uneasiness settled over me as we walked into the break room. Seb ran his hand through his thick and wavy hair as he gestured to a blank envelope on the table. “I found this yesterday afternoon after you’d taken Bodhi home. I was finishing up an oil change and had just ducked into the storeroom to grab the replacement oil. When I came back, this was on the engine of the Cadillac I was working on. I didn’t think anything of it and picked it up to see what it was. I never expected this.”
He looked visibly shaken and paler than his usual bronzed complexion as he reached for the stark white envelope and tipped its contents onto his palm.
I took in the large rifle bullet in Seb’s hand. Looking at him questioningly, I waited for some sort of explanation. What could this even mean? Why did someone drop off a bullet?
“It gets worse.” Seb turned the bullet, revealing Bodhi’s name engraved on the shell casing.
“What the fuck!” I went to grab the bullet for a better look. Seb held it away from me.
“Hold on a sec.” He pushed me back a little. “I’ve already touched it. We shouldn’t let anyone else contaminate the evidence.”
The evidence....Breathing deeply, I began to pace.What does this mean?“Fuck! Bodhi said his ex was a cop, it must be from him. How does he know Bodhi’s here? How did he even find him? That doesn’t look like it’s for an average hunting rifle.It’s too big. How can I tell Bodhi something like this? He’s just getting his life back.”
I was well on my way to panicking.
Seb gripped my shoulder hard and shook me to get my attention. “I think we need to tell the Sheriff. Max will believe us. He was Pa’s best friend. And you’ll need to warn Bodhi.” He raised his eyebrows at me.
“I don’t think I can, Seb. He’ll run.” In my gut, I knew that was exactly what he would do.
“He has a right to know. What if we tell him together?” Seb gave my shoulder an encouraging squeeze.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to lose him, Seb.”
“I know, bro, but he needs to be on alert. Let’s talk to Max, and then we can have more information to reassure Bodhi.”
“Okay, let’s talk to Max first.”
With a nod, Seb carefully placed the bullet back in the envelope and grabbed his cell phone to call Max.
How had Bodhi’s ex even found him? Had he used some police database or some sort of special tracking? Bodhi hadn’t had a cell phone or car or computer when he’d arrived. It didn’t seem possible. My mind was reeling. It was scary to think someone with a badge could be so malicious.
“Max is on his way.”
I jumped at the sound of Seb’s voice.
“It’ll be okay, we’ll make sure Bodhi is safe.” He smiled at me.
We waited anxiously for Max to arrive. Neither of us could sit still, so we decided to look over the shop and see if there was anything out of place. We didn’t have security cameras because we’d never needed them, but maybe it was something to think about.
Max arrived in record time, and we dove straight in. He was tall like me, and the years had been kind to him because he was still an attractive man, just now with a little salt andpepper in his hair. He gave off a vibe of authority as he quickly logged the bullet, putting it in a clear plastic evidence bag and giving it a case number and everything. My stomach sank at the implications of this sort of threat.
