A good sign and my cue to make myself scarce. Unfortunately, I didn’t really know anyone else, and I didn’t want to walk over and strike up a conversation with strangers. “You know, I’ve got to go do the nose powder thing, whatever that is.” I winked at Everly. “I’ll be around.” I headed to the ladies’ room, hoping I could fritter away enough time, doing heaven knows what, until Jem finished playing poker.

A clap of thunder rumbled loud enough this time to be heard over the din in the room. The storm must have been directly overhead. I smiled thinking about how Aunt Carly and I would count in between lightning and thunder when I was a little kid. It always made me feel less scared of the noise.

I walked into the bathroom. There were three stalls and two sinks with a long, hazy mirror. Everything was covered in white tile, but someone had taken the time to put a basket of fake flowers on a small table near the door. I walked to the window at the end of the stalls and smeared away some of the condensation from the glass. It was hard to see anything through the raindrops pelting the window, but lightning was still slicing up the night sky.

A small trail of cigarette smoke curled up from one of the stalls. Smoking was prohibited in the bar, but with the rain coming down outside, a diehard tobacco addict had no choice except to sneak a smoke in the bathroom.

I washed my hands to get rid of the stickiness left behind by the martini. As I reached for the paper towel, a bolt of lightning exploded outside the window.

“Hey, pussycat.” A deep, chilling voice floated up from the smoker’s stall. It was him.

The lights went out. A scream stuck deep in my dry throat. My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness. I felt along the wall, hoping I could reach the door before the man in the stall reached me. My hands knocked the flower basket to the floor. I heard the squeak of the bathroom stall door amidst the quietly building panic in the bar. My hand hit the door handle just as the lights burst back on. I didn’t look back. I swung open the door and ran smack into a hard chest.

I sucked in a terrified breath as arms wrapped around me. A cry of relief fell from my mouth as I clutched Jem’s shirt to keep from sinking to the ground.

“Tash? What’s wrong? What happened?”

My throat was parched and tight. “The bathroom,” I squeaked out. “He’s in the bathroom.”

“Go to Everly and Finn now.” Jem kicked open the bathroom door, getting the attention of the already nervous crowd. Faces were a blur as I looked around for Everly. The owner was on stage telling everyone to finish up their drinks, that it would be last call due to the storm.

A hand grabbed mine, and I startled. “It’s me, Tash.” Everly looked at the bathroom door. “What happened? Why did Jem go inside?”

I shook my head. I’d been keeping so much from her, I couldn’t explain it quickly, in the midst of the chaos. It would be like starting in the middle of a story, instead of the beginning. “There was a man in there,” I said. “He scared me, that’s all. I’m fine.”

The owner came over, looking a bit frazzled by the tumultuous night. “What’s happening back here?” he asked sternly. The bathroom door opened, and Jem stepped out.

“Wolfe,” he barked. “What the fuck are you doing in the ladies’ room?”

Jem ignored him and walked over to me. “There’s no one in there. The window was open, so they took off.”

The owner, an older man who looked as if he could still handle himself pretty darn well, put his hand on Jem’s arm. Jem stared down at the hand but kept his cool.

The bar owner quickly pulled it away. “What’s going on, Jem?”

“Tashlyn was in the bathroom, and there was a man smoking in one of the stalls. He just jumped out the window.”

The owner seemed to accept that explanation and returned to his bar for an announcement. “If you’re not ready to drive home, especially in this storm, you can stay until you’re sober. We’re readying flashlights.” His voice thundered over the heads of the disgruntled customers who’d all just had their beer supply cut off.

Jem’s arms went around me again. It was all I needed at the moment. Even standing in the narrow, dark passage to the restrooms, we managed to be the center of attention. Plenty were casting harsh scowls at Jem as if he could be blamed for the chaos of the night, thunderstorm and all. And, as always, Jem ignored their disapproving looks. It was a town of busy bodies, whose opinions were sealed in cement no matter what a person might do to sway them. And, all the while, truly dangerous people ran in their circles, free of their harsh judgment.

Everly came over. “Finn and I are going to go back to our house,” she said, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a smile.

“That’s fine,” I said. “Jem will bring me home later.” I leaned my face closer to her. “Take care of those lips though.” She laughed and gave me a hug.

I looked up at Jem, the only face I wanted to see at the moment. “Get me out of here.”

He dropped his hand to mine to lead me through the crowd. Dane was still sitting at the same table, but there were different girls with him. He was draining the last bit of beer from a pitcher, no longer bothering with the glass. He never looked up as we walked through.

The downpour had slowed to a heavy drizzle. We pulled up our hoods and jogged over to Jem’s car. He opened the door for me and I slid inside, happy to get away from this place, happy to be with Jem again.

He sat in the driver’s seat, turned the key and let the engine warm up. He reached over and pushed a wet strand of hair from my face, just a simple gesture, yet I felt the warmth of it in my chest.

“Did you see the person at all?” he asked.

I thought back to the few terrifying moments in the bathroom. “Whoever it was, they were smoking a cigarette, but I didn’t even take note of the shoes. It was the same person who tied me to the log carriage, I’m sure of it. He called me pussycat just like he did in the mill.” A shiver ran through me, but it wasn’t from the cold. “I’d heard a voice in the crowd at the bar, and it made me freeze for a second because it sounded eerily familiar. Then I went into the bathroom. I just thought some girl was in there sneaking a smoke.”

“Shit, I wish I’d been out there longer so I could have seen who was out in the bar tonight. I’ll talk to Dane later and see if he noticed anyone. Although noticing details isn’t really Dane’s thing. Unless it’s a fine pair of lips or . . .” He stopped and smiled. “Well, let’s get out of here.” He went to put the car in reverse, but I put my hand on his arm.

“Jem, there’s something I didn’t tell you.”

He looked at me.

“I got a letter in the mail. Everly brought it in from the mailbox. It was originally from my aunt, but someone had opened it. They’d shredded my aunt’s letter and replaced it with a scribbled note that told me to get out of town or die. I didn’t want to worry you and I sort of ignored it. I figured it was someone just trying to scare me.”

He reached over and pushed my chin up with his fingers. His brow lowered over his brown eyes. “From now on you tell me everything, Tashlyn. Do you hear me?”

I blinked at him, slightly hurt by how harshly he spoke to me. “I figured it was just—”

“No, don’t figure, don’t assume, all right? This town has more than its share of monsters, and one of them has his sights set on you. You tell me everything from now on.” His stern expression softened, and he leaned over and kissed me.

Chapter 22

Jem

Dane’s long legs were sticking out from under the jeep.

“Hey,” I called to him and tapped the bottom of his shoe with my toe. “I need to talk to you, bro.”

“Just a second.” His legs shifted with the movement of his upper body as he turned something underneath the jeep with a wrench. The jack stands he was using to hold the jeep up were weak with rust. “You need to get some more stands, Dane. These things don’t look all that steady anymore.”