Page 34 of Legends: Easton
Bailee stared at Easton for a long moment, trying to read his closed expression. Her stomach dipped with an eerie sensation that he knew more about her and her case than he let on. Not that he couldn’t find out the basic details just from an internet search, but he spoke as if he was involved with the case, not just someone looking in from the outside. Pushing her paranoia away, she shook her head.
“No. Should I?”
“He’s the man from the grocery store. The one who attacked you at the bar.”
Bailee’s eyes widened. Shock started in her chest and radiated throughout her body until it reached her fingers and toes.
“How the hell could you possibly know that? The Chief told you, right? How did he find out, and why would he tell you before he told me?”
“Tater didn’t tell me. He wouldn’t compromise an investigation like that unless he had no choice. My brothers and I found out. Luke is sharing the information with Tater, and I wanted to give you a heads up before Tater came to you with questions.”
She was sure her confusion showed on her face because she didn’t think she could hide it if she tried. “I don’t understand.”
“I told you that my brothers and I have skills that could come in handy in watching out for you and Darby Anne. I get that it’s hard to believe since we’re blue-collar guys, but it’s true. We’ve been asked to help out with situations in the past when law enforcement exhausted all avenues at their disposal. When you told me about the guy at the grocery store, I asked Luke to check into it. He used his resources to discover the guy’s identity. He shared it with me yesterday before I started my shift at the bar.”
Bailee scowled. “You never said anything.”
“No, I didn’t. I wish I had. If I had thought for a minute that he would attack you, I would have. I swear. Hell, if I had thought he was lurking around the bar, I wouldn’t have let you leave by yourself.”
“It’s not just that. You had no business interfering in my affairs when I told you to stay out of it. You want me to trust you, but you go behind my back to do the one thing I asked you not to. Then you don’t tell me something this important. That’s bullshit, Easton.”
“You’re right.” He looked away, but not before she saw the regret reflected in his eyes. “I’m hoping you’ll let me make it up to you.”
He pulled a folded piece of paper from his front pocket and handed it to her. When she unfolded it, she realized it was actually a couple of pages — a printed dossier on Clive Melvin including a headshot that was obviously taken several years ago. The much younger man in the pic had no beard, but the deadly glint to his eyes and hard slant to his mouth were just as she remembered from her two encounters with him.
Easton remained quiet as she read through the printout. The man was a criminal, but there wasn’t anything in the intel that would connect him to her, the gang, or to Jimmy.
So why was he here? Why come after her in Fire Creek and not Gainesville when she visited her parents? Why attack her at a public place? Granted, she had been the only one in the parking lot at the time, but there was always the risk of someone coming out of the bar. Why was it a risk he was willing to take?
“He’s not a contract killer.”
Her head whipped toward Easton, and she immediately regretted the move when her head spun and nausea overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes and fell back against the chaise.
“Bailee?”
She held up a hand. “I need a minute.”
She felt something warm and heavy on her leg. Opening her eyes to slits, she saw Roxy staring up at her from where she rested her head on Bailee’s leg. The sick feeling passed quickly, but she was careful when she moved to stare at Easton.
“Why would you tell me that?”
He shrugged. “I figured that’s where your mind went. That’s where mine went. You don’t have an obvious connection to the guy, so if he was a contract killer, then he could have been hired by someone you’re connected to. That’s why he tracked you to Fire Creek. Only—”
“He’s not a contract killer,” she finished for him. “And he had a chance to kill me at the bar and didn’t. He wanted me compliant, but not dead.”
“The bar’s security cameras showed him entering the parking lot not long after you, Reagan, and Melody arrived. He drove a gray SUV. Nothing that would look out of the ordinary around here.”
“I wasn’t followed. It’s habit for me to check, even around here. How did he know where I’d be? I didn’t decide to go to the bar until the last minute. Hell, I didn’t even decide to visit Gran until a day or so before I left. And only two people know where I am.”
“I don’t know how, but he’s tracking you somehow.”
“I suppose he could have put a tracker on my car without my knowing.”
Easton shook his head. “My brothers checked before they brought it back here from the bar. It’s clean.”
“Then I don’t know how he found me, but what scares me more is that he knows about Gran. He saw me with her. He could use her to get to me. I’ll take her to my parents’. It’s probably better if I keep them all together where my brother and I can protect them.”
“How certain are you that this is related to your case?”
