“I tried to tell her that you’re a big boy now,” Mike said, shutting the driver’s side door. His loafers crunched against the gravel. “But she was worried. The appeals court hands down its verdict any day now.”

Yes. He’d forgotten about the appeals. The thought of having to go back into court was not pleasant. “I am fine. Nothing to worry about.”

Jessie looked around. “I don’t know. I’ve heard some crazy stories about this place.”

“It is nice place.”

“Nice enough for a Sommerville. I saw him last night at that bar. What the hell is Caleb Sommerville doing in a place like this?” Jessie asked. She’d been the one to recognize him that day so long before.

Alexei turned to her. “Please to not be telling that around town. He is hiding.”

Jessie sighed. “After what happened to him, I can’t blame him. You know they shot his wife right in front of him. By the time the State Department finally found him, he’d been held captive for months. They said he’d been held in what looked like a box.”

A box. Caleb had been caged in a small space for a long time, his body encased, surrounded. For most men, it would make them claustrophobic. What if it had the opposite effect on Caleb? What if he needed to feel surrounded to be comfortable? An idea started to play in his mind.

Mike shook his head. “Poor bastard. Well, at least he had someone as powerful as Eli Sommerville on his side, or he would have been left there to die. Guess he didn’t deny his family name then, did he?”

“He has a lot of friends,” Alexei said with a frown. “If he wishes to be anonymous, this is his choice. I suggest you to be leaving him alone. I would not take it kindly if his secrets get out when he does not wish them to.”

“You’re close to him?” Jessie’s eyes assessed him.

“He is my partner.”

“I would listen to him if I was you.” A tall, dark-haired man turned the corner. He’d obviously heard a good portion of the conversation. “Caleb here is Alexei’s partner. We take partners real damn seriously here in Bliss.”

Caleb stood with the other man. He stared a hole straight through Alexei. “You aren’t going to extort me, are you?”

He was so stubborn. “I tell you this.”

The dark-haired man held out his hand. “Wolf Meyer. Nice to meet you. And I just spent a good twenty minutes of my life explaining that to Caleb. He’s got a thick head. I tried to explain that if a man like you wanted money out of him, you would just put a gun in his face and demand it.”

It was good to know he had a reputation. “I would not hurt Caleb for the world. He save my life.”

“Yeah, I told him that, too.” Wolf turned to the other two. “Feds?”

Mike looked offended. “US Marshals.”

Wolf rolled his eyes. “Same shit, different uniform. Caleb, you have everything you need?”

Caleb nodded. “I think I can handle it from here.”

Wolf walked away, but Caleb stayed. “Are they your handlers?”

“Not any longer.”

“We’re just in town to make sure he’s okay. There are two men he testified against who are up for an appeal. I’m nervous they might come after him. These are powerful men with long arms, if you know what I mean,” Mike explained.

Caleb turned to him. “Impatient bastard.”

Alexei shrugged. “I wait long time.”

“Dr. Sommerville, will you talk to him? It would really be better if he stayed in one place.”

“My name is Caleb Burke. If you insist on formality, you can call me Dr. Burke. I changed my name a long time ago. It’s legal. Use it. As for Alexei going back into witness protection, that’s not a good idea. He has responsibilities here. Don’t worry, if someone shoots him, I know how to stitch him back up.” Caleb gestured toward the town square. “Enjoy your stay in Bliss. Come on, Alexei. Walk with me.”

Alexei waved good-bye to his handlers. Maybe they would get the idea that he wasn’t going back.

“How did the job hunt go?” Caleb asked gruffly.

Alexei sighed as they passed The Trading Post. It was the one business in town he didn’t have the courage to go into and ask if they were hiring. The neat little storefront was one of the mainstays of the town. They sold everything from groceries to books to sporting goods in the multi-story structure. It was also run by Logan Green’s mothers.

“I will keep searching. I will try other towns this afternoon.”

“Yeah, you just keep right on walking, buddy. Maybe you should try some other states.” Logan leaned against the side of his county-issued Bronco, his eyes narrowed.

“Just keep walking.” Caleb nodded at the deputy, but didn’t speak to him.

Alexei stopped. “Logan, perhaps we could talk.”

He needed to figure out a way to make this right with the deputy.

“I think I’ll pass. I remember what happened the last time we talked.” The deputy’s eyes were rimmed with red. It was obvious he hadn’t been sleeping much.

“I am so very sorry for the pain you went through. I would do anything to make it go away.”

“You didn’t do much when that fucker was trying to kill me, did you? I believe I would have been termed an acceptable loss. Tell me something, asshole, did I play my part? Was I a good distraction? Did me getting my ass tortured buy you the time you needed to save your own sorry self?”

“I did to save Holly and later Jennifer.” It was his reason, but the words felt hollow in the face of his obvious pain. How could he tell the deputy that he still had nightmares? He could still hear the low, animal moans Logan made as his life was altered forever.

“Yeah, I’m sure that helps you sleep at night.” Logan slammed his fist onto the roof of his Bronco.

Caleb took a couple of steps closer to the detective. “Have you been drinking?”

“You know what, Doc? That’s none of your fucking business.” The deputy took a step back.

Caleb wouldn’t let it go. “It certainly is if you’re both on duty and driving around. You carry a gun, Logan. You can’t do this. And what’s wrong with your eye? Is that a contusion? When did it happen?”

“Don’t touch me, Doc. It’s fine. I got in a fight. You should see the other guy.” Logan stepped out from behind his car. “You should remember that, you big Russian asshole. I’m not a kid anymore. I’m not a pushover, and you won’t be able to use me again.”

Yes, he could plainly see that Logan’s youth had been taken from him in a brutal way. And he might not live for long if he kept getting drunk and fighting.

Logan looked at his car, but pocketed his keys. “I think I’ll avoid the Doc calling my boss. I’ve had just about enough of this town’s interference in my life. And Markov, you really should leave town. There’s nothing for you here. Not a damn person is going to hire you, and Holly will wake up one day and see you for the criminal you are.”

Alexei watched as he took the steps of his mothers’ store two at a time.

“He should get that contusion looked at.” Caleb was shaking his head as the door to The Trading Post opened and closed.

Alexei felt utterly helpless. There was zero chance the deputy would ever accept help from him, but it was so obvious he needed it. Alexei knew the look on the young man’s face. He’d seen it a thousand times on his own. It was the look of a man who had nothing to lose and wouldn’t mind going out in a blaze of glory.

“Holy shit, you really aren’t tricking anyone, are you? You really give a shit that Logan is hurting.” Caleb stared at him as though seeing him for the first time.

“I cause him pain.”

“No, some asshole named Luke caused him pain.”

“Luka.” Alexei could still see Luka as Stefan Talbot killed him. So much death. So much pain, and he was still causing it.

“Alexei, you couldn’t have spared him. What would that mob boss guy have said if you had told him, ‘Hey don’t hurt the cop who arrested me. I think we should be a kinder, gentler mob?’”

“I don’t think Pushkin would have liked that.”

“Nope. It wouldn’t have gone over well. He would have shot your ass, killed Logan, and I don’t like to think about what he would have done to Holly.” Caleb’s face went pale. “You can’t imagine what a man can do to a woman.”

He could. He’d killed a man once, a member of his own group who had tried to rape a young woman. He’d managed to cover it up by letting the woman flee and blaming the whole thing on her. He’d given her money and helped her disappear. But he didn’t talk about it with Caleb. Caleb was lost in his own nightmare. Caleb’s nurses had been raped. “They were trying to do good, Caleb. They knew it was a risk.”

“They were dumb kids.”

“Yes, well, sometimes dumb kids change whole world. And sometimes they die. Why am I not responsible for Logan, but you are for girls and wife? You did not pull trigger. You did not rape. You did not offer them up to save yourself.”

“How do you know that? How do you know I didn’t beg them to take the women and not me?”

“Because I study you. You are man who walks away from wealth and privilege to help others. You are man who saves someone when it would be better for you if he die. I did not only come back for Holly, Caleb. I came back because I falls down for Holly, but I also came back because I admire you. I think you are lost and you are worth being found again.” He might turn away. Caleb could run. Caleb could think he was playing a game. For all Alexei knew, Caleb could think he was coming on to him. But he wasn’t going to lie to the man.

“You fell for Holly.” Caleb’s voice was tight, thick with some unnamed emotion. “The other way makes it sound like you’re clumsy, and we both know you aren’t that.”