Page 125 of Watch Me Burn
“Something like that.” I step inside, breathing in the dense floral scent. “I need red dahlias. As many as you have.”
She moves behind the counter, already assessing her stock. “Red dahlias specifically? That’s particular.”
“They’re her favorite.”
“Ah.” Understanding crosses her face. “And you need to apologize.”
“That obvious?”
She pulls buckets of flowers from the cooler. “Honey, I’ve been doing this for forty years. I know an apology arrangement when I see one coming.” She selects dahlias first, then adds white lilies and cream roses. “These lilies symbolize regret. The white roses convey a sincere apology. And your red dahlias—those are devotion.”
I watch her hands work, building something that looks both elegant and intentional.
“Will it help?” I ask.
She glances up, her brown eyes kind but honest. “Depends on what you did. But it’s a good start.”
I sign the credit card slip and add five thousand to the tip line. Her eyes widen when she glances at it, but I’m already on my way out the door.
My phone rings as I pass the town limits. Cade’s name flashes on the dash display. I tap to answer.
“Yeah?”
“We’ve got a problem. Caleb Hunter was spotted heading toward the sanctuary twenty minutes ago. Alone, driving erratically.”
Ice floods my veins. “Luna?”
“Still in the main house. Cameras show her letting Shadow out the back door for his evening run.”
Fuck. That means her protector is outside when she needs him most.
“Patch me into the feed.” I press harder on the accelerator. The Range Rover responds, engine roaring as I take the curves faster than I should.
“Check your screen.”
The dashboard display splits to show multiple camera angles from inside Luna’s house. She’s moving around the kitchen, unaware of the danger approaching. The soft flannel shirt she’s wearing, one of her grandfather’s she loves so much, drowns her slight frame, sleeves rolled to her elbows. Her blonde hair tumbles from a messy knot at her nape, the strands falling across her cheek as she turns.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel. She looks so damn beautiful, so unguarded, with no clue what’s coming.
“How far out are you?”
“Fifteen minutes, maybe less if I don’t wrap this car around a fucking tree.”
I’m going seventy on roads designed for forty, but I don’t give a fuck. Nothing matters except getting to Luna.
“There’s more. He stopped at Murphy’s Gun Shop two hours ago. Picked up a Glock 19 and ammunition. He ordered it online a week ago.”
The world goes red around the edges. This piece of shit thinks he can come to Luna’s sanctuary armed? Thinks he can threaten the woman I love?
“How does a man with a restraining order against him buy a fucking gun?”
“I don’t know. Colorado law prohibits it, but I’ll have our people look into it.”
It won’t matter because I’m going to kill him tonight.
“Alert the sheriff. Anonymous tip about an armed, intoxicated man heading toward the sanctuary.”
“Already done, but she’s responding to a domestic on the other side of the county. ETA fifty-five minutes minimum.”
