Page 63 of Wildflower and Whiskey
The only problem was, the only promises I ever knew had been broken. Why would this time be any different?
CHAPTER 28
Phoenix
Elyna insisted on going back to work today, even though I asked her to come to Montreal with me, since I needed to see a supplier to upgrade the patio furniture at the restaurant. She said she was low on money and got offended when I offered her some. I wasn’t in a position to press any buttons, so I gave her space, with the knowledge Cooper was just as big a guy as me and would have her back, and so would Dominic. I also knew Dad was going to drop in at some point to check on her because that’s who he was. And I knew Becket was making his rounds close to Birch Street to ensure Riley Jansen wasn’t hanging around there.
I hit the Maple Valley turnoff a little too fast, gravel hissing under the tires as I took the bend toward the loft. The late afternoon had that flat, pewter light Val-Du-Lys gets before rain. My phone sat face up in the cup holder, Elyna’s forwarded message still open:
Delivery notification:Package on route to Maple Valley, Loft Stairwell, arriving approx. 5PM.
It had been delayed, and I was grateful. There was no company name or tracking number and no “tap to manage.” Just text that was neat, precise, and wrong.
I pulled up to Maple Valley by four, relief washing over me that I’d made it back in time. She was on her way to pick up Braden from daycare. She said Cooper was being annoying and came along for the ride. My best friend had my back since the day I met him, and I was grateful for that. I made a pit stop at my house to grab some extra tools from the garage in order to reinforce the security measures I already implemented, a second camera, pry-proof window locks, a motion light, and a good drill. If there was a “package” coming to our damn stairwell in that window, I wanted a camera on every angle.
My screen blinked with a new motion alert from the deck cam I’d installed last night. Just a cat, thin and gray. I breathed once and let the air out slow. I carried the tools over to the loft, walking past her car. She must’ve had an alert on her phone because the loft door opened before I reached the top of the stairs.
She stood there with Braden at her hip, his chubby fist bunched in her sweater, and that look on her face, a mix of relief and apology, of trying to smile through a storm.
“Hey,” I said, dropping a kiss to Braden’s hair first, then to her temple. “You okay?”
“I am now.” Her mouth trembled, then held.
“Good. I got a few extra security measures to install. Let me work,” I said with a playful wink to try to make this hard situation a little lighter.
I got to work adding a second deadbolt and a second camera at knee height angled to catch shoes and plates, even if somebody decided to tilt their head away. I tuned the sensitivity down so moths wouldn’t set off her phone, and walked the perimeter to make sure everything was working as it should be.
Elyna busied herself taking care of Braden, but every once in a while I stole a glance her way and caught her looking at me. That look in her eyes just about undid me. It was full of gratitude and reverence, like she couldn’t look away. That did something to my insides I didn’t know how to name.
“I need the Wi-Fi password again,” I said, making my way over to the router.
“It’s still the ridiculous string on the fridge,” she said, managing a tiny smile. “I never changed it.”
“Good.” I keyed it in, paired everything, and pulled the live feeds on my phone. Stairs. Deck. Entry. Front windows. The bedroom angle caught the top rail of the crib and a slice of sky beyond. I dropped my screen brightness a notch and turned the phone toward her. “We’re covered.”
She looked once, then again, her breathing evening out as the real-time picture sank in. “Thank you. I know you have every inch of this place covered and it means a lot.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I thought we already agreed on that,” I said, but it pressed something warm into my ribs anyway.
She looked at her watch. “It’s after five and no delivery.”
“Could be a scam that’s unrelated to what’s going on with Riley. Regardless, we’ll keep our eyes wide open,” I said.
As if on cue, Braden let out a soft squeak. Elyna shifted him to her other hip. We slipped into the evening routine without talking about it because routine is a kind of courage too. I reheated the roasted chicken and potatoes Dominic had sent home, and we ate standing at the counter while Braden held on to his teething toy. When his lids got heavy, I ran the bath and sat on the floor with my forearms on my knees while she washed him, steam fogging the mirror, the scent of baby shampoo filling the bathroom. I held the towel. She lifted him out and wrapped him up. My chest ached with a kind of hunger I didn’thave words for. When she came out of the bedroom, I was on the futon with my phone, scrolling through security feeds and messages from Becket.
“Dad had the tech team look into the texts,” I told her quietly. “They’re analyzing the data now. Becket thinks the number’s been masked through a relay. It might not even be Riley sending them.”
Her brow furrowed. “So it could be someone else entirely?”
“Maybe,” I admitted. “Or maybe he’s using someone else’s phone. Either way, the pattern’s different. The phrasing. The time of day. Even the punctuation doesn’t line up with his previous messages. Becket says whoever it is knows what they’re doing.”
Elyna sank onto the couch beside me, close but not touching. “If it’s not Riley… then who is it?”
I shook my head. “Could be anyone tied to him. Maybe those same guys he said were after him in Montreal. It’s too soon to tell. But we’re not taking chances. Dad’s monitoring all activity from the lane. If anyone shows up, he’ll know before we do.”
She exhaled, shoulders drooping like she’d been holding that breath for days. “You’re sure he’s not just saying that to make me feel better?”
“Dad doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Trust me, if he thought we were screwed, he’d tell us.”
