Chris Hart owns the only grocery shop in Nortown, but he isn't exactly overrun by customers. Some days he wonders why he bothers to open the doors at all. Spending his days smiling at the few people trickling in and his nights alone in bed isn't the most interesting life a man could lead. But when Chris suddenly gets the excitement he's been craving, it may be more than he bargained for.<br><br>Gabriel Miller loves his life. He's close to his sister, has a job he adores and is the proud owner of one and a half cats. But all of it is taken away when he witnesses a murder. To keep him safe, the police place him in Nortown, of all possible locations.<br><br>Chris can't believe they're letting someone live in his gran's old cabin in the middle of the winter. It's too cold. When the poor man shows up in his shop looking to buy clothes, Chris's heart melts, despite the freezing temperature. Gabriel notices the way the shopkeeper looks at him, but it can't be right. No one looks at a heavyset man with heat in their eyes. Do they?

Pet Delivery

Gabriel startled and swayed a little on the road. “Officer Hart?” The words came out in pants.


Gabriel heard him and yet not. “I need help! They know I’m here.” He took a left turn, almost crashing into a Jeep he hadn’t noticed.


“Yes! Yeah, it’s me. I think they’ve found me. The man in the shop—”


“Gabriel! Calm down! Are you driving?”


Gabriel sucked in a breath and forced himself to slow down a little. Hart remained quiet for a few seconds then he let out a sigh. “What did Chris do?”


“Who?” His ribcage grew tighter. Did Hart know the men who knew where he was? He couldn’t breathe. What if Hart was the leak? Should he hang up?


“Chris is my cousin. He owns the shop in Nortown. Was he the man you were talking to?”


“If you talked to the man in the shop—mid-thirties with dark hair and blue eyes—it was Chris.”


Chapter 6