Page 10

I hand over a slip of paper to him with a murmur of thanks.

"I'll see what I can find out."

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"You know it."

I watch while he slides into his cruiser to go about his day, and I turn to go grab some lunch. Par for the course, the Beach Babe Burgers food truck is parked near the pier, and the Greene sisters are inside.

Jasmine looks fresh-faced and smiling as always, but over her shoulder, I see Violet working on an order, visibly exhausted.

As though sensing my stare, she lifts her head and locks her gaze on mine. I see a flash of trepidation or fear turn to recognition, and my stomach locks up like a vault. I will uncover the secret she's keeping, if for no other reason than to eliminate the fear she feels but won't verbally express.

I wait in the line of fishermen and locals, and when it's my turn, I smile at Violet's sister. "Hey, Jas. Can I get the special and a cold water?"

"You got it."

The special is a taco burger that's new to the menu, but it's not like anything can go wrong with tacos. "Vi, how you doing today?"

"Fine."

Yup, there's my girl. "You're looking awfully gorgeous back there."

I sense Jasmine's surprise that I'm openly flirting with Vi when I've kept things pretty low-key in public. But her gaze is approving, as is the grin that widens her lips as she takes another peep at her sister.

"You won't get extra meat because of compliments," Vi calls from within the truck.

I bellow a laugh, drawing everyone's gaze and wink at Violet when she flushes due to the attention. Those rosy cheeks look good on her.

I watch as the girls go about their tasks and keep up a steady stream of chitchat with Jasmine while eyeing Violet the whole time.

When my order is ready, Jas rings me up and hands it over, leaning close and lowering her voice. "Hurt her, and I'll kill you," she says with a sweet, Southern-girl smile that masks the truth beneath her threat.

"You'd have to stand in line, sweetheart. But I hear you," I say, chuckling. "See you later, Vi."

She gives me a stare that reveals nothing but says a lot at the same time. I take my food over to the closest empty swing facing the Atlantic, and the ladies, and sit to have my lunch.

I see Gabe and Kace approaching the truck and lift my chin in a nod. Kace has moved from crutches to a cane after being injured in a fire, and the sight tugs. The dude is big and broad, and seeing him right after the accident set us all on edge because of the realities of our profession. One wrong move, one mistake, or in Kace's situation, helping a fellow fireman free himself after being entangled, was all it took to put him out of commission, though thankfully not for good. But he could've died in that fire. And I know we've all said more than a few prayers of thanks that he didn't.

When he’s not in therapy or home, Kace still comes to the firehouse to hang out with the crew, not wanting to miss a minute of the action even though he’s on medical leave at the moment.

The guys get their food and come join me. I'm finishing up as Kace settles himself beside me on the swing. Gabe perches on the edge of the wooden railing to my right, setting his drink beside him before sliding me a stare.

"Heard there might be trouble brewing," Gabe says in his serious fire-chief tone.

One glance and I know the island's gossip mill is circling—or the first responder one, anyway. "Oh?" I sense the two of them looking at me and fill my lungs. "I'm just…checking into things."

"Keep us posted," Gabe says. "That's an order."

I look over at the truck and find Violet staring at us. We lock gazes for a millisecond before she takes in Gabe and Kace and turns like I've pissed her off. "She's hiding something," I murmur. "And whatever it is came back into her life last night."

"You couldn't get anything out of her?" Kace asks.

I shake my head, making no bones about watching Vi as she moves about inside the food truck. The visual of her from last night floods my senses, and I see her pale face, haunted eyes and the fear she couldn't hide. Rage burns through me, and I want to strangle whoever put it there. "It's bad. I know that much." And I won't stop until I know what's going on.

Nobody's going to hurt my girl.

Chapter 7