Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

Feeling like an absolute jackass, I let go. “Sorry.”

She rubbed it with her other hand. “It’s okay.”

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Oh, no.” She held up her arm as if to prove it. “I just didn’t expect that. I startled you, you startled me. I guess we’re even. Except we’re not. What I mean is, I want to thank you for getting rid of Colin.”

“Sure.”

“He lives up in Pinecrest so it’s kind of weirding me out that he was here. Anyway, you didn’t have to stand up for me like that and you did, so I appreciate it.”

I grunted, keeping my eyes on the bar.

“Okay, well, I’ll quit bugging you. I probably talk too much when I’m nervous and right now I feel about as calm as a rabbit running through a field full of foxes.”

That almost made me crack a smile. “Nice alliteration.”

She laughed softly. “I’m going to go before I make this worse. Thanks again, Josiah. I’ll see you around.”

I tried not to look when she left—and failed. Sandra hesitated, like she was deciding whether or not to say something to me.

She stepped closer. “Thanks for that. She needed it.”

“Just do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t tell my aunt Louise about this.”

Sandra chuckled. “She won’t hear it from me. But we both know she’ll hear about it.”

I groaned. “I know.”

“See ya, Josiah.”

I turned back to the bar. What did I care if people talked? Gossip was Tilikum’s favorite pastime. Nothing I could do about it.

But something about the whole thing kept eating at me. I met Rocco’s eyes and he stepped closer.

“That asshole I chased out of here. Have you seen him in here before?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t look familiar, but I don’t memorize faces.”

I nodded. That was fair enough. But a cocky jerk like that would stand out. Seemed like Rocco would have remembered him.

Did he come down here from Pinecrest once in a while just to have a drink in peace? Or had he been out looking for Audrey? Noticed her car in the parking lot and come in to see her?

And if so, did he go home? Or was he out there waiting for her?

I clenched my hands into fists. Damn it. She wasn’t my problem.

But I got up anyway.

I twisted off the stool, my boots hitting the floor with a thud, and was out the door in a few strides. I hadn’t paid for my drinks, but I didn’t worry about it. I’d square up with Rocco later.

Empty. Just a handful of parked cars, but no sign of Audrey and Sandra. Or Colin.

Audrey hadn’t gone out to the parking lot alone. Sandra had been with her. I knew Sandra O’Neal well enough to know that if Colin had been waiting, everyone in the bar would have known about it. That woman could be loud when she wanted to be.