Page 47 of Shattered By the Currents

Raven met Connor’s gaze from across the community center. The hall was filled with locals from Deep River. But then, town meetings always brought in a crowd.

Connor sent a smile her way before turning back to the guys. They stood to the side of the stage, talking to Ferris, while she waited at the back after putting the last few chairs out.

It had been a week of staying at his house. A week of sleeping in the bedroom right beside his. Of waking to a hot breakfast in the kitchen. A few mornings, she’d caught him walking around shirtless, and every time she had to use every scrap of her willpower to look away.

There’d been no more kisses. But the tension… God, the tension felt so much worse.

“Raven Price?”

She turned to look at a man who appeared to be in his fifties. He wore jeans and an oil-stained shirt. “Hi. Do I know you?”

“I’m Rob, the mechanic who’s been looking at your car.”

“Oh. Rob. Hi, yes, Connor told me you’d picked it up. How does it look?”

“It’s all fine. You had a small coolant leak. Nothing dramatic.”

“Thank God! How much do I owe you?” Nerves tickled her spine. It would be a lot. Most car problems were, right?

“Nothing. Connor took care of it.”

She stiffened. “He did?”

“Yep. Good guy, that one.”

She glanced at Connor again. He was already watching the exchange between her and Rob.

He kept saving her. Why? There was no reason for him to do so.

She’d pay him back. She wasn’t sure how or when, but she would.

Rob inched closer. “But there’s something I need to tell you. I haven’t shared this with Connor yet. Figured it’s your car, so I should tell you first.”

She swallowed, already knowing she wouldn’t like what came next. “Okay.”

“There was a tracking device behind the back wheel.”

Air stalled in her lungs. “What?”

“Yeah.” He scratched his head, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “It’s at the station. I’ll tell Connor and he can?—”

“No. I’ll grab it.” If he found out, he’d just push harder for answers she couldn’t give him. “He doesn’t need to know.”

“Oh. Uh, okay. It’s your call. Come by anytime to pick it up.”

When Rob walked away, Connor looked like he was about to head over, but Ferris turned to show them something on a laptop.

Connor used a hand to wave her over, but she shook her head. She needed a second to wrap her head around what Rob had just told her.

A tracking device. God. Was it Xander? Ofcourseit was. Who else would have put it there? But when? Before they’d broken up? When she’d said she was leaving?

She felt sick. She’d never tried to hide her location from him. If she’d wanted to, she wouldn’t have come back to Deep River. But knowing he’d been tracking her this entire time, knowing he’d had her exact location down to the street address, was so…violating.

When Ferris took the stage and started the meeting, her head was still a mess.

Then, because obviously things could always get worse, Lottie came to stand beside her.

“There are spare seats,” Raven said under her breath.