Bryce turned to look at me, his gaze serious. “Yeah.”

“I don’t know if this is relevant or not, but while I was here on Tuesday, I drove around Snow Creek for a little bit later that afternoon. I stopped in the hardware and office supply store, and there was an older man with silver-gray hair making a purchase. When he was done, the cashier called him ‘Mayor.’”

“What?” Bryce said. “That can’t be right. He drove to Grand Junction that morning.”

“I’m not saying it was him,” I said. “All I can tell you is that he was a man of average height with silver-gray hair, and the cashier, an older man named Gus, referred to him as ‘Mayor.’”

“Sounds like him, Bryce,” Joe said. “He could have easily come back from Grand Junction that afternoon.”

“Then why didn’t he come home? He told Mom he was staying in the city for a few days.”

Tension was still sliding off Jonah in waves. He gripped his glass with white knuckles, his forearms flexed. “Melanie, do you remember what he was doing in the hardware store?”

“I don’t really know much of anything. I didn’t talk to him. He was buying a few things. Duct tape and rope, I think.”

“You must be mistaken,” Bryce said. “Why would my father need duct tape and rope?”

“Duct tape and rope are pretty normal things to have around,” I said.

And they were also the things the masked man had used to bind my hands and ankles. My heart thudded, and I dropped my mouth open.

“Melanie?” Jonah looked at me with concern. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

I looked at Bryce, my knuckles tight as I clenched my glass of water. “Tell me. What color are your father’s eyes?”

Chapter Seventeen

Jonah

“They’re blue,” Bryce said, looking at me. “Why?”

“It’s just… It’s nothing, really.” Melanie looked down.

“Melanie,” I said. “Why did you ask that? Did you see the color of the mayor’s eyes when you were in the hardware store?”

She shook her head. “His back was to me. I had a view of the counter where he was making his purchases. That’s how I know what he was buying.”

“Then why do you want to know the color of his eyes, sweetheart?”

I hadn’t meant to call her sweetheart in front of Bryce, but I couldn’t bring myself to be sorry I had. We wouldn’t be a couple for much longer, once she found out the truth, but for now, it felt kind of good to have him think that we were.

“I don’t know. It was a silly question.” She yawned. “I think I’ll take this glass of water back to my room. I’m sorry to bother you.”

Melanie didn’t want to go back to her room and be alone. I could see it in her eyes, her demeanor. I touched her arm as she walked by me. “You can stay.”

She smiled and shook her head. “I’ll be all right. Just come check on me later, okay?” She shuffled out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

I turned back to Bryce. “Before you ask, she’s staying here for a few days. Her loft was…broken into.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Seems we have a rash of crime around here these days.”

More than my best friend even imagined, if what I suspected about his father was true. “Bryce, I’m sure your father is fine.”

I was speaking the truth. The mayor was an iceman. I didn’t know where he’d gone off to, but I knew for damn sure that he had a reason for it.

“I hope you’re right. But I need to find out. Can you help me?”

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Bryce was my oldest friend in the world, and on a normal day, I would have moved heaven and earth to help him. Today? I wasn’t so sure. One thing niggled at me, though. Why had Melanie asked the question about the mayor’s eyes?

I sighed. “What do you need me to do?”

“Float me a loan of a couple grand? I need to hire someone good.”

That I could handle. “Sure, man. Absolutely. Consider it a gift.” I stood. “My checkbook’s in the office.”

“No, no, I’ll pay you back. Every dime.”

“All right,” I said. “If it’ll make you feel better. I understand.” And I did. Bryce was a good man. He didn’t want to owe me or anyone else.

He followed me to my office, where I wrote him a check for five thousand dollars. I handed it to him. “That should get you started.”

“That’s more than I asked for. Thanks, Joe. I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

That was the truth. Because eventually, my best friend was going to hate me, when I told him the truth about his father.

 

Melanie was still awake when I checked on her. She sat up in bed when I entered.

“I’m sorry, baby. Did I wake you?”

“No. I haven’t been sleeping. I’m just a little on edge.”

“Perfectly understandable.” I sat down on the bed and took one of her hands. “How are you doing? You need me to stay in here with you tonight?”

She nodded, biting her lip.

“All right. I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I’ll be back in, okay?”

She nodded again.

“I’m going to let Lucy in for the night. I’ll tell her to stay in here with you while I shower.”

She smiled.

I got up, went back to the kitchen, and let Lucy in. Then I went to my bedroom and showered. When I returned to Melanie’s room, I found Lucy cozy on the foot of her bed. I laughed. “She knows better than to get on the bed.”

“Don’t blame her. I coaxed her into it. Having her here just feels good.”

“If it feels good to you, she can stay.” I smiled. “I just hope there’s enough room for me.”

“I’ll always make room for you, Jonah.”

I snuggled up next to her. She was naked. I hadn’t been expecting that.

“Why do you have pajama pants on?” she asked.

“I just want you to feel safe tonight,” I said.

“Safe from you?”

I let out a sigh. “You’re always safe from me. I would never hurt you.” Except that I already had. She just didn’t know it yet. I shouldn’t have said those words, even if I felt them deep in my soul. I’d rather burn in hell for eternity than harm Melanie Carmichael. Why hadn’t I considered every single possibility when I saw her phone call that evening? Why?