couldn’t argue with that, but what Rachel could dispute was that the person who’d made those new threats might not even be after her. Yes, a month ago someone had put a bullet in her father’s chest while he’d been in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office where both her brothers worked. But that person, Whitney Goble, who’d been responsible for the shooting, had tried to kill Rachel’s father so Whitney could set up someone else that she wanted to punish. Now, Whitney was dead.
Not that it helped lessen the memories just because Whitney was no longer alive.
No. Because of everything else that’d happened in the twenty-four hours following the shooting. That’s when they’d learned that her father also had secrets.
Well, one secret, anyway.
That, too, twisted away at her. Just as much as reading the threat he’d gotten and seeing him gunned down in the parking lot. But the truth was her father had been living two lives and had a mistress and a son living several counties over. Her brothers, Egan and Court, hadn’t known. Neither had her mother, Helen.
But Griff had.
Of course, Griff hadn’t breathed a word about it. Not after the shooting. Not even when later that night she’d gone to his bed to help ease the worry she was feeling for her father. That’s why the cut had felt so deep. Griff had known, and he hadn’t told her.
All of those emotions came flooding back. “I don’t want you here,” she said.
If her words stung, he showed no signs of it. “Yeah, I got that, but I made a promise to your mother that I’d keep you safe.”
It didn’t surprise her that her mother had made that request. Or that Griff had carried it out. But there was possibly another side to this. “Are you using this as a way to mend fences with me? Because if so, it won’t work.”
He didn’t even acknowledge that, but Griff did push her behind him. He brought up his gun as if getting ready to fire. That put her heart right in her throat, and Rachel came up on her toes so she could see over Griff’s shoulder. She shook her head and was about to tell him she didn’t see anything.
But she did.
Rachel saw someone move in the alley to the right of the small hardware store. Since it was only 8:00 p.m., she reminded herself that it could be someone putting out the trash. However, that knot in her stomach returned. It was a feeling that her brothers had always told her never to ignore.
Was this the person who’d made those new threats against her family?
Maybe. Whoever it was definitely seemed to be lurking. And looking in their direction. Rachel doubted the person could see them because Griff and she were deep enough in the shadows on this side of the street. Or at least they would be unless there was more lightning. Which was a strong possibility. She could hear more thunder rumbling in the distance.
“Why would someone want to hurt me?” she whispered.
“To get back at your father. At Warren,” Griff answered without hesitation. “Everyone in the McCall family could be at risk. Don’t worry,” he quickly added. “We have a guard on your mother’s room at the hospital.”
Good. Because her mother was mentally fragile right now. Suffering from a breakdown. Helen didn’t need to be fighting off idiots obsessed with getting back at Warren.
Rachel felt the first drops of rain hit her face. They no doubt hit Griff, too, but they didn’t cause him to lose focus. He kept watching the man across the street. But the guy wasn’t moving. She did see something, however. The flash of light, maybe from a match or lighter. A moment later, a small red circle of fire winked in and out.
That caused her to breathe a little easier. “He’s just smoking.”
But Griff didn’t budge. “He’s carrying a gun.”
Rachel certainly hadn’t seen anything to indicate that, but she took a closer look. She had to wait several snail-crawling moments, but she finally saw the glint of metal. Maybe a gun in his right hand.
More raindrops came. So did the vein of lightning that lit up the sky, and Griff automatically moved her deeper into the alley. He also took out his phone.
“I’m calling the locals for backup,” he said, without taking his attention off the man. “Yeah, it’s me again,” he added, speaking to whoever answered.
That probably meant Griff had already been in touch with local law enforcement. In fact, he’d probably called them as soon as he’d figured out she was in Silver Creek.
“Do a quiet approach,” Griff instructed. “If you can, try to get someone behind this guy so we can take him into custody.” He ended the call and put his phone away.
She doubted it would take long for someone to arrive, but it would feel like an eternity. And might be completely unnecessary.
“If he means to do me harm, why hasn’t he fired at me?” Rachel asked.
Again, Griff took his time answering, but judging from the sound of agreement he made, it was probably something he’d already considered. “Maybe he’s waiting for a clean shot.”
That gave her another jolt of memories. Of her father’s shooting. They hadn’t seen the gunman that day because she had fired from a heavily treed area behind the police station. But it had indeed been a “clean shot” that went straight into her father’s chest. It was a miracle he’d survived.
“We can cut through the back of the alley and then get to my truck that’s parked up the street,” Griff whispered. “That way you’re not out in the open.”
“My car is right there,” she pointed out. “Only about ten feet away. And the doors are already unlocked.”
“If this man wants you dead, he could shoot you before you get inside.”
That caused her breath to stop for a moment. Griff normally sugarcoated things for her, but apparently those days were over. Maybe he truly understood that their friendship—and anything else they felt for each other—was over, too.
“There’s a deputy,” Griff said.
Rachel immediately looked out and spotted a man on foot coming up Main Street. He had his gun drawn and was ducking in and out of doorways of the various shops. He was still three buildings away when the guy who’d been watching them turned and started running out the back of the alley. He quickly disappeared from sight.
“He’s getting away,” she blurted out.
“The sheriff might have had time to get someone back there.” Griff didn’t sound very hopeful about that, though. “Come on.”
He took hold of her arm to start them moving, and she saw his truck. It was indeed at the back of the alley. But they had barely made it a step before a deafening noise blasted through the air. Not lightning or thunder from the storm. The impact slammed Griff and her into the side of the building.
And that’s when Rachel saw that her car had exploded into a giant ball of fire.
Griff didn’t bother to curse himself for not being able to prevent this from happening. No time for cursing and regrets.
He had to get Rachel out of there. And it didn’t matter if she no longer trusted him—that explosion should be plenty enough proof to her that someone wanted her dead.
“This way.” Griff hooked his arm around her waist to get her moving.
He didn’t take her out onto the sidewalk, though. It was too risky for them to go there, because the person who’d just blown up her car could be waiting for them to do just that. Nor did he want to stay put in case there was a second explosion.
The