Page 3 of Saved By the Ex-Military Sheriff

"You want coffee?" he asks. "It's not great, but it's hot."

"Sure. Thank you."

He disappears for a minute and comes back with two mugs. The coffee is, as promised, not great. Burnt and a little bitter. But the warmth of the mug in my hands is grounding.

Kieran sits down across from me. The chair creaks under his weight. "So. Trevor."

"Trevor Hayes." I wrap both hands around the mug. "My ex-boyfriend."

"How long have you been broken up?"

"Two months. Almost three."

"And he followed you here?"

I nod. "I moved to Bloomfield three days ago. I didn't tell him where I was going. I didn't tell anyone except my sister."

Kieran's expression doesn't change, but his gaze sharpens. "Has he contacted you since you left?"

"Texts. Calls. I blocked his number after the first week, but he started using other phones." I take a sip of coffee to buy myself time. "He showed up at my apartment in Richmond twice before I left. That's why I left."

"Did he threaten you?"

"Not directly." I hate how small my voice sounds. "He'd say things like he just wanted to talk, that I was being dramatic, that we belonged together. But the way he'd say it..." I break off, swallowing hard. "He broke into my apartment the second time. Just let himself in while I was sleeping. When I woke up, he was sitting in my living room."

Kieran's hand tightens around his mug, just slightly. "What did you do?"

"Called the police. They made him leave, but they said since we used to date and he didn't actually hurt me, there wasn't much they could do. Told me to get a restraining order if I was worried."

"Did you?"

"I tried. The judge said there wasn't enough evidence of a threat." The bitterness in my voice surprises me. "So, I left Richmond instead. Thought maybe if I disappeared, he'd move on."

Kieran is quiet for a moment, watching me with those steady green eyes. "But he didn't."

"No..."

"You have any idea how he found you?"

"My sister's the only person who knows I'm here, and she wouldn't tell him. I haven't posted anything online. I've been using cash for everything." I shake my head. "I don't know how he did it."

"Does he have access to your accounts? Phone records, credit cards?"

"Not anymore. I changed everything."

Kieran leans back in his chair. "Tell me about him. What's he like?"

"Persistent." The word comes out more sharply than I intended. "Charming when he wants to be. He's good at making you feel like you're the problem, like you're overreacting." I pause, trying to find the right words. "We dated for a year. It was good at first. He was attentive, sweet. But then he started getting possessive. Jealous if I went out with friends. Upset if I didn't answer his calls right away. Little things, you know? Things that didn't seem like a big deal on their own."

"But they added up."

"Yeah." I look down at my coffee. "By the time I realized it was a pattern, I felt like I'd already invested too much to walk away. Isn't that stupid?"

"Not at all," Kieran says, and his voice is so firm that I look up in surprise. "It's not stupid. It's how this works."

The tension in my chest loosens slightly. "When I finally broke up with him, he acted like I hadn't said anything. Like I was just having a bad day and I'd get over it. And when I didn't get over it, he got angry."

"Angry how?"