Of course she would also love the fact that he’d told Max. He’d promised to keep it private until Nell was ready.
Max pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked down at it. He grinned when he looked back up. “Hey, congrats on the baby, man. Rach says she already knew but kept it quiet. Now I don’t have to forget.”
What had happened? “Rachel sent you a text?”
“Yeah, she heard it from Callie, who heard it from Marie, who heard it from Teeny.” Max’s phone buzzed again. “Oh, and it’s gotten to Mel. Has Nell recently been probed?”
God, it had been so long since he’d probed her. So freaking long.
“How did Teeny know?” He should find Nell.
Or she’d decided to tell the world and knew Teeny would be a good way to get the word out. She’d been on her way to the juice bar when they’d split up. Teeny was a sweetheart. She wouldn’t have started a rumor if Nell hadn’t told her it was okay. Well, Nell was in for a whole lot of beets. Luckily he didn’t hate them, and they might lower his damn blood pressure since he could feel it ticking up.
You wouldn’t be so on the edge if you got dirty with your wife.
You wouldn’t be so on the edge if you got honest with your wife.
Yep, he had an angel and a devil on his shoulder, and he didn’t want to listen to either one.
Max shrugged. “No idea. She has her ways. But again, congrats, and if you need it, I’ll loan out Q when Nell’s closing in on the finish line. See you later on this afternoon.” He turned and then Max was tipping his hat Heather Turner’s way. “Ms. Turner.”
The tall blonde gave him a snarky curtsy. “Mr. Harper.” She smiled Henry’s way. “I love a small town.” She had a backpack on her back and carried a small tote filled with veggies. “Hey, I thought you should know there’s a weird dude asking Nell all kinds of questions. I don’t think he’s from around here.”
Henry felt his whole body shift into fight mode. “Where is she?”
Heather pointed over her shoulder. “She was at the food court, but I had River save her. I think the guy’s still there. Not that it matters or anything. Just thought I’d warn you. I heard some of it. He was asking about Seth Stark. He might be a reporter or something. Nell’s such a sweetie. We all have to look out for her.”
Henry nodded, but his mind was already running through all the possible scenarios. He moved down the aisle, heading toward the food court that sat in the middle of the parking lot. Up ahead he could already see Nell moving away with River at her side. She was smiling at her friend, and he caught her say something about zucchinis.
Fuck. If he missed the asshole, there would be no way to find him. Bliss didn’t have CCTV cameras on every block. They had exactly one, and it had been used to prove to Mel that it had been a hungry bear that had knocked over the trash cans at city hall and not aliens attempting to steal DNA.
It was precisely one of the things he loved about Bliss, one of the things that had kept him safe, but now it could hurt his wife. He brushed past a couple buying potatoes and made it to the small courtyard.
It was empty.
“Henry, such wonderful news.” Teeny was smiling brightly. “I’m going to start on a baby blanket as soon as possible. Only organic cotton, and I’ll make sure it’s sustainably sourced.”
He didn’t have time to talk about baby gifts. “Teeny, do you know where the man who was talking to Nell went?”
“He seemed rather odd. Asked me if I knew where Seth lived,” Teeny said. “And then he didn’t even want a juice. A little rude if you ask me. He walked off toward the church. Is everything all right?”
He couldn’t tell her that the man might be an investigator for a drug cartel that wanted him dead. He could only imagine the text chain that would come from that admission. “I thought I recognized him from my professor days. I wanted to see if he was an old friend. If my wife asks, tell her I ran to the restroom and I’ll be back.”
He made his way toward the church in time to see a man dressed in black slip inside. The church kept its doors unlocked during the market to provide access to restrooms, but he happened to know the staff wasn’t working today. When he and Nell had a stall earlier in the year, they’d joined with the other sellers to ensure the church was cleaned after the market closed and they locked everything up.
He wanted a look at the guy. He would follow the man into the bathroom, get a good look at his face, and then see what car he got into. It would likely be a rental if he’d been sent to look for John Bishop, but Seth could work miracles if he had a plate number.
He slipped inside the church and the world immediately went darker and colder. The air conditioner was running, giving the quiet space a hum. The bathrooms were to the left, and the feed store portion of the Feed Store Church was in front of him. The lights were out, and he didn’t hear footsteps.
He felt that instinct flare up again. It was too quiet. He’d seen the man come in. Unless he’d sprinted down the hallway, Henry should be able to hear him walking.
Cautiously, he stepped into the store. It was the only place to hide quickly.
Why would he hide?
Henry looked around, and nothing seemed to have been disturbed. There were big bags of feed of all kinds and aisles of tools. To his right was a display of various lawn care
