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

The man’s eyes narrowed. “You probably don’t know him. He only got here a few days ago.”


“Yeah, no sorry.” Zachary leaned against the checkout counter. “There hasn’t been anyone new. In a place like this, you know the moment someone from outside arrives.”


Chris’s legs turned wobbly, but his heart kept beating faster and faster.


“Yeah, I guess.” The man smiled as if he’d figured something out. In the same moment, he turned around, the door opened again, and another man dressed in black peeked inside. “We need to go.”


The first man nodded and hurried towards the door without a second glance in Chris and Zachary’s direction.


“That was strange.” Zachary shrugged and chuckled.


Chris stood frozen for several seconds, one scenario after another playing out in his head. “I have to go up there! Call the police!” In his mind, he ran towards the door but somehow, he got stuck in the chair behind the counter as he tried to move.


Chapter 26