Page 116 of Hunter or Hunted

“Lighter.” My shoulder blades rounded down the back of my spine farther than they had in months. Maybe years. “Relieved. Not happy, but relieved it’s over. He won’t hurt anyone else.”

Gazing into the patch of trees ahead, Sebastian gave a short nod.

“What about you?” I asked. “How do you feel?”

“The same, mostly,” he said. “Maybe a little happy, if I’m being honest. Not because of what we did, but because of what she said to him. Before he killed her.” His jaw ticked. “I wish I would’ve been more controlled when I killed Jason. I wish I knew exactly what blow Sarah landed. But I killed him too quick. I’ll never know what her last words were.”

It was me reaching out this time. My fingers found his. He jolted at my touch, then softened into it. As his fingers intertwined with mine, he managed a smile for me. It was short, sad, but enough.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “We should go put something in our stomachs. Let Honey out. Then I’ll take care of him.”

“And I’ll start sanitizing.” I wrapped my arms around his and rested my head on his shoulder. “But in a minute, alright?”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Whenever you’re ready.”

39

SEBASTIAN

A Few Weeks Later

Mid-April

Ikept my eye on that small Missouri town.

The police had arrested two people in connection to Evan’s disappearance. One, a drug dealer with several prior arrests. Apparently, he and Evan had been in communication earlier the day of his disappearance. The police believed Evan owed him money, but they had no evidence. Hours after they arrested him, they let him go. No prosecutor could press charges. After all, they had nobody. No proof he had even died.

The second suspect? Ava Kennedy.

From what I gathered in the articles, the police’s working theory was that Ava blamed Evan for her sister’s death. Over the last few months, she had been gathering evidence that he had more contact with Allie than he claimed. She found text messages from someone claiming they were Allie and asking him to meet the day that Allie died. She also noticed the discrepancy in his shoe collection. Like any decent detective, she made the connection with the odd shoes her sister wore while she hanged in that tree.

But Ava had an alibi. Evan had dropped her off at home that night. Security camera footage showed Ava walking inside that night, eating a snack on the couch while she scrolled social media around midnight, and another of her walking out the front door with her parents the following morning to go to school.

Had Ava planned to do what Gwen and I had? Maybe. I found comfort in believing so, because if anyone had to do it, Gwen and I made the most sense. Ava may have ruined her life. But me and Gwen? We were doing just fine.

Better than fine.

Since spring arrived, we made progress on the house. We probably had another year or two to go before we could call the place livable, but for the first time in my life, I saw the future. One I wanted to live in.

I loved Lizzie, I really did, but raising her had taken up all of my twenties. My world had revolved around her since graduating from college. I didn’t regret that, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. But now, I felt like I did when I got that acceptance letter in my senior year. I could make a life of my own. Back then, that thought had looked like a blank canvas in my mind.

Now, that canvas showed the prettiest picture I could imagine. Gwen Kane.

We were in this. We were both in this for the long haul. For forever.

I saw it every time she looked into my eyes. Whether she narrowed them in annoyance or widened them with excitement, they said words that may never leave her lips. You and me, best friends, partners in crime, for the rest of time.

Today, those eyes were the softest I’d seen them in months. Brows crinkled in the middle, watery beneath her thick eyelashes. Still, as I stepped through the door of Maple & Thyme, she forced a smile across her lips and leaned over the checkout, elbows propping her up. “Hey, you.”

“Hey.” I stretched over the counter to give her a kiss and pulled back with a hand on her cheek. “What’s the matter?”

She straightened up and gave me one of those annoyed, narrow-eyed glances. “How do you do that? How do you always know?”

“You’ve got a shit poker face.” I glanced around, in search of Molly or Andrew. “Are you still getting out on time?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Just finished clocking out and everything.” She untied the apron around her waist and let out a slow, shaking breath. “But Julia stopped in again today. She was with some guy, and he was taking pictures of everything, talking in hushed tones. We asked Andrew about it, and he snapped for us to mind our business. If I had to guess though?”

My shoulders sank with disappointment. “She’s gonna sell.”