Page 80 of Something’s Brewing

Madison’s stomach dropped. “That’s the truck that struck me.”

The driver stepped out wearing a ball cap low over his face.

Nick grabbed his phone. “Stone,” he barked the second the call connected. “Get out to the mayor’s place, stay on the road, and don’t let him know you’re there.” He filled her in on what they were watching. “Bring Larson from State Patrol.”

Garrett looked at Madison. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I want that bastard.”

Nick ended the call. “We don’t move on Benson yet. Not until we have enough to lock this down completely.”

The room fell into tense silence.

Then, thirty-seven agonizing minutes later, Nick’s phone buzzed.

Everyone froze.

Nick checked the text, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Stone has him.”

Madison’s breath left her all at once.

Nick looked up from the screen. “Truck’s impounded. Driver’s in custody. There was clear evidence of damage to the front end.”

Sawyer pumped a fist into the air. “YES.”

Garrett turned toward Madison, one hand settling against the small of her back.

Nick looked around the disaster zone they’d created in his dining room.

The war room.

And for the first time in weeks, it finally felt like they were winning.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The late afternoon sun slanted through the windows of Northern Lights Brewery. The steady hum of conversation and clink of glasses had become familiar music over the past few weeks. Madison was laughing at something Chloe had said, when the front door opened. The change in energy was immediate. She looked up, and every muscle in her body went rigid.

Her father, Harrison Mitchell, stood just inside the doorway. He hadn’t changed. His impeccably tailored suit likely cost more than most people in town made in a month, and his expensive watch caught the light. His confidence bordered on entitlement. The only difference was he’d let silver threads invade his dark hair. And of course, a new woman, half his age and perfectly styled, stood next to him and smiled like she was already bored.

Madison’s stomach dropped so fast she felt it in her knees.

She walked up to him. “Dad,” she heard herself say, though she hadn’t made the conscious decision to speak.

“Madison,” her father said, spreading his arms as though this were a pleasant surprise instead of an ambush. “There you are.”

There you are? Like she’d been misplaced. Like she belonged somewhere he’d left her.

She made no move to hug him. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she said, keeping her voice even.

“No,” he said smoothly, lowering his arms without a trace of awkwardness. “I imagine you didn’t.”

Of course not.

His gaze slowly swept the brewery. “Well,” he added, “this is . . . quaint.”

Madison bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t say something she’d regret.

Beside him, the woman shifted. “It’s charming,” she corrected lightly.