Chapter 2 - The Name I Buried
I hated hearing my last name spoken like that.
Not because it was unfamiliar.
Because it belonged to a life I buried.
The sheriff stood in front of me.
Older.
More tired.
But still carrying the same sharp eyes I remembered.
The attackers were suddenly silent.
A few minutes earlier, they thought they owned the parking lot.
Now they didn’t even know if they should move.
The sheriff looked at them.
Then back at me.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
A lie.
My shoulder hurt.
My hands were shaking.
But not from the fight.
From the past.
The lead attacker slowly stood.
“You know her?”
The sheriff didn’t answer.
That frightened him more.
Because silence from authority often meant something bigger was happening.
The sheriff walked toward the men.
“You need to step away from her.”
The lead attacker tried to recover.
“She attacked us.”
I looked at him.
And almost laughed.
People always changed the story when they lost control.
The sheriff glanced at the security cameras above the parking lot.
Then at the men.
“Interesting.”
One word.
But enough.
The men stopped talking.
Then the sheriff looked at my watch.
“You still hide it.”
I pulled my sleeve lower.
“It’s not important.”
He looked at me.
“That’s what you said six years ago.”
My stomach tightened.
Six years.
That number meant something.
The men noticed.
They realized this wasn’t a random encounter.
This was history.
The sheriff lowered his voice.
“Callie, someone has been looking for you.”
My fingers tightened around my keys.
“Who?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he looked toward the Walmart entrance.
May you like
“Someone who knows exactly what that tattoo means.”
📖 Chapter 3 reveals who has been searching for Callie and why her hidden tattoo puts her in danger again. 👇
