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“He was coming straight for you,” she whispers.

“We need to get inside.” I usher her back into the bar, then shut and lock the door behind me. I double-check the lock, then rush toward the back to make sure he didn’t somehow sneak back here and prop the door open.

Once I’m sure the bar is secure, I run both hands over my face and make my way back to the main room.

To Sadie.

“Maverick?” The brokenness of her tone and the fear in her eyes nearly undoes me. This woman undoes me. Which is why I’m so angry.

He was right there.

I could have taken him out before he could get the words whiskey and sour out of his monstrous mouth, yet I let him get away. And what’s worse? I didn’t even get a good look at him.

Reaching into my pocket, I withdraw the license and hand it to her. “It’s not me he was after.”

She takes it, and all the color drains from her face. Her body begins to shake violently, and all that joy I’ve been noticing over the last week dissipates as she slowly lowers herself into a chair.

Her bottom lip trembles, and she looks up at me. “He was here, Mav. He found me.”

Sadie hasn’t said two words since Captain Leopold and Ryker got here. Ryker was first, beating the police captain by five minutes. He’d checked the perimeter and the parking lot for me, ensuring no one was loitering.

But I could have told him that guy was long gone. He’ll be back, though. Of that much, I’m sure.

“You said that he was headed for you, then veered off course?” Captain Leopold says. “Why do you think that is?”

I run back through the events, trying to pinpoint each subtle movement to look for—and then it hits me. “Sadie.”

She looks up from where she’s sitting beside me, two feet of distance between us.

“Sadie?” Captain Leopold asks.

“She came out. He was headed right for me, but she came out. Had he continued, he would have hit her, too.”

“Makes sense,” Ryker adds. “If the guy is obsessed with possessing her, he’s not going to want to put her life in jeopardy. Can’t claim possession over a dead woman.”

Sadie lets out a strangled sob, then buries her face in her hands. I glare up at Ryker, wishing he’d chosen other words. He simply shrugs and mouths, “I’m sorry”.

“That’s a good point.” Leopold makes a note on his notepad. “You said you can’t remember what the guy looked like?”

I shake my head. “There were so many people in here; most of them just fade away. Even when the guy was sitting there, he kept his head low. He had a baseball cap on and a short beard. But that’s all I’ve got. I even checked the security cameras. Somehow, he managed to avoid being seen fully on any of them.”

“Think he’s a regular?” Ryker asks. “Maybe he’s cased the place and knows where they are?”

“It’s possible.” I shake my head. “Think you’ll get any prints off that money or the license?” I ask Leopold. He’s got the bills and Sadie’s driver’s license in an evidence bag on the table.

“I’m going to try. Hopefully, the guy slipped up.” He turns to Sadie. “Are you okay?”

“No,” she replies, then takes a deep breath. “That’s not true. Maverick is alive, and I’m safe; I have so much to be thankful for.”

“We’re going to nail this guy,” Leopold tells her. “He’s going to spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

Or in the ground.

“Are we done here?” I ask, desperate to get Sadie upstairs and secure, away from any and all major entrances and barricaded behind a security alarm.

“We are.” Captain Leopold stands. “I’m going to have a deputy drive by every so often to check on things. You won’t know he’s there, but he’ll be watching. I’ll also take your parking lot security footage and show it around. See if we can find the truck.”

“Thank you,” Sadie says. Her tone is weak. Hollow.