He whipped his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Elliot. The call went to voicemail. Swearing, he tried again.
“Tee,” Elliot said when he answered. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Megan just left Sanctuary,” Tione replied. “She’s alone. Has there been any sign of her ex in the area?”
“No reported sightings,” Elliot said. “He’s not staying at any of the hotels, but that doesn’t rule out B&Bs.”
“It’s a good start.” He thought fast. “I don’t know where she’s going.” He turned to Kat, whose glare had lessened. “What do you think?”
“She wasn’t leaving town.” Kat seemed reluctant to offer more, and he reminded her that Megan’s safety might be at risk. “Try Brooke or Faith,” she suggested.
He relayed the message to the policeman. “Call Brooke and Faith; one of them might have seen her.”
“Will do.” Elliot cleared his throat. “Don’t panic, Tee, the whole town is on the lookout for this guy. Once I track your girl down, I’ll arrange a patrol to check up on her every few hours. We’ve got this under control. That bastard won’t lay a finger on her.”
Tione prayed he was right. “Thanks, Elliot.” Hanging up, he turned to Kat. “The police are onto it. They’ll do a better job of watching out for her than we possibly could.”
She just shook her head, her upper lip curled in disdain. “Get over yourself.”
He took a step back, shocked by her vehemence.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” she snapped, and he was glad for once that none of the dogs were inside with him, because they’d have had their hackles up, prepared to defend him. Kat looked ready to take a swing. “You’re being a self-pitying sack of shit, and I’ve had enough.”
She advanced on him until the bed hit the back of his knees and he sat. He had to crane his neck to see her face, but he immediately regretted the action because her eyes were like lasers searing him to the soul.
“You’ve made mistakes,” she continued, fully into her rant now. “So what? That’s not who you are anymore. But if you continue to let them rule your life, you’ll lose her, and you know what?” She knelt in front of him so he couldn’t avoid her gaze. “It won’t be anyone’s fault except your own.” Her tone softened. “You don’t want to go down this road. Trust me, I’ve been there. Regret won’t keep you warm at night, and all the regret in the world won’t reverse what happened.” She patted his cheek, surprisingly gentle, and stepped away, giving him room to slump onto his back and stare at the ceiling.
Was she right? Had he changed? He wasn’t so sure. And yeah, he knew regret wouldn’t keep him warm at night, but he didn’t deserve to go to bed with a woman he loved. He deserved to pay for his crimes. The justice system had never held him accountable, so the job was left to him.
“It’s time to move on,” she said, and he heard the door open. “Think on it.”
27
Megan had known leavingSanctuary would be difficult, but she wasn’t prepared for how hard the loss of Tione’s rare smile and gruff laugh hit her. Baking helped, though. Her first day in Faith’s commercial kitchen felt strange, like she was trying to wear a shoe that didn’t fit anymore, but by the second day she’d fallen into a routine of mixing batter and swapping recipe ideas.
She stayed in the back, away from customers, not ready to expose herself to them, but she listened to the buzz of conversation and tried to tell herself she could easily join in if she wanted. She wasn’t broken, just weary. Apathetic. At least, she was until the first reviews of her cupcakes started to surface. People came back for seconds. Some asked for an entire box to take away with them. By day three, she was filling orders for dozens at a time. Her apple martini and pina colada cupcakes were crowd favorites. One woman even asked if she could supply cocktail-themed cupcakes for a wedding, in lieu of a cake.
With every bit of positive feedback Faith whispered in her ear, she felt more and more like her old self—the one she’d been before she had the misfortune to meet Charles Wentworth Junior. Unfortunately, despite her success, her heart ached with loneliness when she collapsed into bed late at night after giggling with Faith over stories of kitchen experiments gone awry.
She sighed, and rolled onto her side. At least she seemed to be safe. Surely if Charles were in the area, he’d have made a move by now. Perhaps he’d decided to cut his losses. She tried to be comforted by that thought, and to ignore the fact that Tione had also let her go—well, more like he’d pushed her into lettinghimgo. But no amount of mental gymnastics could help her come to terms with his past—although she did feel for him, because he seemed devastated by it. Once or twice, she couldn’t resist the urge to use Google to learn more, but afterward she just felt sordid, so she put it to the back of her mind and assured herself that she was better off without him. She had Faith, and her new friends, and that would have to be enough.
* * *
“Hey,”Faith called the following day, turning to catch Megan’s eye across the kitchen. “That’s the last of the Malibu cupcakes. Would you mind whipping up some more?”
“Sure thing,” she agreed, going to the refrigerator where a generic batter waited to be flavored. “One dozen, or two?”
She heard Faith say, “Better make it two,” and then someone grabbed her from behind, holding her arms tight to her sides and stuffing a cloth that smelled sickly sweet over her mouth. She tried to break free, or cry out, but the crushing grip didn’t let up. Her head started to swim, her senses dulled, and then she lost consciousness.
* * *
“We’ve got a problem.”
Ice pierced Tione’s heart at the unexpected statement coming from Elliot, and a cold shiver raced through his body. Something must be horribly wrong. Elliot was the king of understatement.
“What happened?”
“A little under an hour ago, Megan Talbot vanished from The Shack.”