Page 58 of Into the Fire
He finally snapped. “You think I’d care more about keeping the damn peace than protecting you?”
His words made her blink, tears starting to rise, her throat tightening.
He took a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “Shit. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad that you felt like you couldn’t tell me. Emery, look at me… I’d burn the whole fucking world down for you.”
Levi stared down at her for a long moment.Then, slowly, he stepped closer, and held the side of her face, his thumb brushing under her eye.
“I’ll say it again. You’re mine, Em. And when someone threatens what’s mine?” He glanced at the doll again. “They don’t get a warning; they get war. No more secrets, baby.”
???
Levi stood just outside the barn, arms crossed, glaring as Sheriff Carter leaned back against the cruiser, one thumb hooked on his belt and the other resting on the radio clipped to his shoulder.
The brown-haired Barbie and the note were sealed in an evidence bag in the front seat.
Emery was inside with Margaret, who had picked up June after school and was now prepping dinner, distracting her from the commotion outside.
“Don’t need a forensics team to tell me that’s sick,” Gage said, shaking his head. “Butknowing and proving are two different things, Levi.”
Levi’s jaw worked. “You know it was Cole.”
“I got a strong hunch,” Gage said carefully. “But he didn’t leave fingerprints. No cameras near the place. And he’s playing it quiet. That doesn’t give me much to work with.”
“He left a Barbie doll with its hands tied behind her back, Gage,” Levi said, his voice low and heated. “And pink damn toenails. After the comment he made to Emery in the barn. You telling me that’s not enough?”
Gage exhaled through his nose. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. Hell, I do. But unless you catch him in the act or he slips up, we’re stuck.”
Levi stepped in close, frustration flashing in his eyes. “He’s watching her. He’s watching my girls. What happens when the next ‘gift’ ain’t a damn doll?”
Gage straightened up. “Look, I’ve known you since we were kids. You’re not the kind of man to sit on your hands. But you need to be smart about this. Whoever’s doin’ this…” He paused. “Is not just unstable. It's strategic and calculated.”
Levi met his gaze.
Gage continued, “You could fire Cole. Hell, you probably should. But if it is him… backing him into a corner might light a fuse that neither of us can put out. You’ve seen the type, unpredictable, the kind that wants to hurt something just to feel like a man again.”
Levi’s silence was the only answer he needed.
“You got Em and June to think about,” Gage added gently. “I know your instincts are telling you to strike first. But this ain’t a bar fight. This is dangerous. And I don’t want to see your name in the paper ‘cause you took the bait and it blew up on you.”
Levi stared off toward the tree line for a long moment. “So what? I just wait for him to snap?”
Gage sighed. “You protect your family. You do what you’re already doin’. Lock the place down. Get cameras rolling.” They stood in silence for a beat. Then Gage added, “I’ll keep patrols near your place. Off the record. And if you see him even lookin’ in the wrong direction, you call me.”
Levi nodded, still tense. “And if you don’t get here fast enough?”
Gage stepped back toward the cruiser. “Then you make damn sure he doesn’t get the chance to hurt them. But you do it right, Levi. You hear me? And I’ll clean it up after.”
Levi nodded once, jaw tight. “Loud and clear.”
As Gage got into the cruiser and pulled away, Levi stood alone, the weight of it all sinking deep into his bones.
This wasn’t just some prank trying to scare them.
But Levi had made his choice, and no man—not Cole, not Denny, not anybody—was going to take her away from him.
Not without one hell of a fight.
The house was still.
