needed something, or someone. Dammit, she was tired of it all.
“Were you really trying to find a way to get me out of town?” she asked, her voice as cold as she could manage.
“In the beginning, yes.”
“And that included sleeping with me?”
“Not initially, but…”
“What makes you think I need a man who would use me that way. You’re no better than Blake. You’re no better than any man I’ve ever known. I don’t need you. What I need is to get out of this damned town as soon as possible.”
Judge wanted to stay with his new people, but Silas held the bloodhound back. Judge whined, he was miserable, but he obeyed Silas’s commands. After Gabi crossed the street, they followed. She turned and looked back once, yelled at him to go away, then increased her pace.
Maybe it would be better for her to get out of town, but he had to make sure her ex didn’t show up before she made her escape.
It was for the best. Away from Mystic Springs Mia wouldn’t develop any abilities that would mark her as different. She’d never have to hide what she was, what she could do. There was a big world out there and she could be a part of it, with her mother at her side.
She could go to the beach and the mountains. Fly on an airplane. Go to college. Do all the things every young woman might want to do.
The things Felicity and Bria would never do, if Jenna got her way.
Well, shit.
Instead of heading directly for home, Gabi veered to the left and headed for Cindy and Mike’s front door. They’d become friends. Maybe she wanted to say goodbye. He stopped where he was, waiting on the sidewalk as Gabi glanced back, then closed the Benedicts’ front door behind her. He didn’t hear the lock engage, but he’d bet his last dollar…
He’d screwed up. He should’ve called Clint as soon as he’d realized what Jenna was up to, deadline be damned. He should’ve told Jenna to take a hike, and then shared her plan with the rest of the town. No one could make such an important decision for others. The people of Mystic Springs deserved the right to choose for themselves.
Sitting obediently at his side, Judge whined.
“Yeah, I know,” Silas responded. “I already miss them, too.”
Judge barked, just once, in protest.
“I didn’t expect it, either.”
He felt Travis approaching before he heard the police chief’s footsteps. As usual, Travis didn’t seem to be in a hurry. Silas assumed he was heading to his brother’s house, but the chief stopped beside Silas, gave Judge a scratch behind the ears, and then said, “I never took you for a stalker, Hollister.”
“I’m no stalker,” Silas grumbled.
“That’s not what Gabi Lawson says.”
Silas sighed. Gabi hadn’t gone to Cindy’s to say goodbye, she’d gone in to borrow the phone to call the police. On him. “Someone has to keep an eye on her. Her ex-husband is in town, and he’s trouble.”
“The one we were looking for last night and found no trace of.”
“That’s the one.”
“Have you seen this ex?” Travis asked.
“No, but Gabi did, and Jordan saw someone who fits his description.” Silas looked at the chief. “Even your brother told me she needed help.”
Travis shrugged his shoulders. “Luke isn’t always all he’s cracked up to be. You know how it is. Maybe the man Jordan saw revved up Gabi’s imagination and an unfounded fear was enough to set my brother off. Who knows?”
Silas stared at Travis. “You think Gabi’s lying about the man she saw last night?”
“I think maybe she panicked and saw what she wanted to see. It happens. Maybe we have a peeping tom in town who bears a passing resemblance to Gabi’s ex. There are a lot of possible explanations.”
Gabi didn’t want to see her ex-husband, but she feared it so deeply it wasn’t impossible that she’d imagined his face at the window. Was hearing him call out for her any different from a soldier hearing gunfire when there was none?
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “She’s leaving town.”
“Just as well,” Travis said. “Most Non-Springers don’t stay as long as she did. They find their way in and then, after a while, they get the hell out.” He didn’t walk away, but stood there, looking at his brother’s house. After a long pause he said, “She gave a good haircut.”
Gave. Past tense. As if she’d already gone.
“You gonna arrest me?” Silas asked.
“Still trying to decide.”
They watched the house in silence, and