Page 31 of Riptide
Her eyes gleamed. "I've been doing this a long time. And I'm very, very good at it. I can see patterns. Read people. Find the cracks in their stories." She tilted her head. "What do you really know about your cute little baker? Her history? Where she came from? Who she was before Haven Cove?"
Gabe kept his expression neutral. "That's her business."
"Is it? When she's running a fraudulent business in your town? When she's living under a false identity? When she's?—"
"Be very careful what you say next." Gabe's voice went cold. "Because whatever Cara is or isn't, she's a member of my community. And I take that seriously."
Blaire studied him for a long moment. Then she smiled. “I'm a businesswoman, Chief. I provide a service. I find people. Period."
"Call it whatever you want. It stops here."
"Or what?" Blaire leaned back, confidence radiating from her. "You'll arrest me for talking to people? You'll charge mewith being successful at my job? I know how this works. Trust me. You have nothing. No evidence. No witnesses who'll testify. No crime you can prove."
He put his hands on the table, leaned down. "I will. So here's my offer: leave Haven Cove, and never contact Cara Sweet again. Or I make you my full-time job."
Blaire's smile never faltered, but something dangerous flickered in her eyes. "That sounds like a threat, Chief."
"It's a promise."
They stared at each other. Silent. Measuring.
Finally, Blaire laughed. "You know what? I like you. You're direct. Honest. A little naive, but that's charming." She stood, gathering her phone and purse. "But here's the thing. I'm not doing anything illegal. If Cara has a problem with that, she can talk to me herself."
She left.
Gabe stood alone in the empty room, jaw clenched, knowing he'd just made everything worse.
Because he hadn't scared Blaire off.
He'd challenged her.
And predators didn't back down when challenged.
They escalated.
His phone buzzed. Text from an unknown number.
He opened it.
A photo. Of him talking to the desk clerk.
Below it:Small town police chief threatens innocent businesswoman. Interesting story. My followers would eat it up.
Gabe stared at his phone, ice flooding his veins.
He'd just made everything worse.
And Blaire Mitchell had documented the whole thing.
9
Exhaustedafter a full day of pretending everything was normal while Diane ran circles around her, Cara descended the stairs at seven PM sharp. She’d managed a call to the third victim they identified, the lawyer, Whitmore, in Atlanta, but he’d hung up before she’d gotten halfway through her explanation.
They were back to zero.
The bakery had never looked better. The display cases were perfectly stocked. The customers were happy. The books were balanced.
Down here, the team was gathering for war. She couldn’t wait to get some actionable intel, something she could do instead of sit on her hands and worry.
