counted out loud for her. I attempted to recall the calming techniques I had learned over the years. After a particularly rough deployment where we lost two of our teammates, I went to trauma therapy. I didn't think it would help, but it did, at least a little.
“You’re panicking right now, but you’re actually safe,” I said in my calmest voice. “No one’s here.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Put your hands on the table. Focus on the wood. What does it feel like? Is it cold? Is it rough, or is it smooth?”
She still wasn’t talking, but by the time I got done asking her to identify all the details of my table, her breathing was even.
She opened her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“No problem.” I figured I could share something about myself, even though I’d rather not. Maybe it would help her not feel so alone. “I've had them before too.”
“Panic attacks?” she asked.
“Panic, anxiety, whatever you want to call it. I've had it happen to me, and so I recognized it when someone else goes through the same thing.”
“From your time in the military?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you for your service. I hope that doesn’t seem too random for me to say right now.”
“No. It’s fine. Thanks.” It was awkward to hear that phrase sometimes, especially from people I didn’t know, but I always appreciated the sentiment. “The stuff I deal with is in the past. But this looked like it was pretty current. You want to tell me what that was all about?”
She still sat there, not saying anything. I couldn't help her if I didn’t know what was going on. “Ava. You need to tell me.”
“I know. I will.” A long pause. “I knew them in Chicago.”
“Knew them how?”
She still didn’t answer, and my mind started racing. How was she associated with these two? Was she in some kind of trouble? Fuck. I knew she was too good to be true. It might be harsh, but I was done tiptoeing around her. “Tell me right now who those men are. Don’t skip any details, don’t leave anything out.”
“They’re in the mafia. And they want to kill me.”
What the fuck?
I’d been duped. I’d assumed the best of her, and convinced myself that she was innocent, that she was hiding from a crazed ex.
But apparently she was mixed up in some kind of illicit operation, and now she’d brought this shit to my doorstep. If I’d run the background check like I was supposed to, what would I have found?
She looked up at me with her big eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek. My impulse was to comfort her, but she’d lied to me. What was she involved in? Drugs? Theft? “Who are these men? Why are they scaring you?”
I brought my hand down on the table and stared right into her eyes. “What made you come here? How’d you find my ad?”
If I had to call the FBI right now, I would. I would not let her manipulate me.
She closed her eyes, and her thin shoulders trembled.
I nearly relented. Could I truly blame her? I was the one who hadn’t done any vetting. I hadn’t done my part.
But hell. I’d not only let her in my house, I’d introduced her to Barrett, and I’d let her hang out with my little sister. Thank God I hadn’t introduced a criminal to my mother.
Her voice trembled. “I never had an appointment to interview. I just walked in, and I guess your other applicant never showed.”
So she’d been lying to me from day one.
I’d taken a con artist into my home, and into my bed.
Great job, Tyler. You’re a great fucking sheriff.
Chapter Thirteen
Ava
A sob threatened to escape my chest, but I held it in. I was an adult; I needed to handle this by explaining what was going on, and not resort to crying to gain Tyler’s sympathy.
Although from the look on his face, he had exactly zero sympathy for me. And I didn’t blame him one bit.
I’d jumped when he slammed his hand down, but it was no less than I deserved. He had a right to know why I was in his house.
“Why? Why did you leave Chicago? Start from the beginning. Because Ava, I am losing patience.”
I gulped. He was, and I would be too if I were him. So I started talking and I told him the whole story. As I talked, his expression went from pure fury, to frustration, and then dismay.
“So they were following