“Every move he makes is a threat. He’s stalking you, Chloe. Aren’t you clear on that yet?”
They were standing on the town hall steps. Chloe reached out and took his big, hard arm. “Can we talk about this in private, please—tonight, when we’re alone?”
“Sure.” He muttered the word out of the side of his mouth. “Whatever you say.”
He drove her back to her house to get her car. When she headed up the front walk rather than straight to the garage, he got out and followed her.
“What now?” She stopped to face him on the front step.
He had that look. Grim. Uncompromising. “I thought you were going to the showroom.”
“I will. In a little while. I’ve got some samples I brought home last night I want to take back with me. And then I’m stopping at your house down the hill to touch base with Nell on the remodeling.”
“Lock the door behind you when you go in, and reset the alarm while you’re in there—on second thought, I’ll just wait here until you’re ready to get in your car.”
“Quinn.” She reached out and put her hand against his bleak-looking face. Tenderness flooded her. Oh, she did love him. And one of these days, she really needed to gather the courage to tell him so. “Please stop worrying and go to work. You can’t watch over me every hour of every day.”
His eyes had a strange gleam to them, bright and dark, both at once. “I don’t like this.”
She tried for humor. “I think you might have mentioned that once or twice already.”
The corners of his mouth failed to twitch even the slightest bit. “I know more than one good man in personal security—”
“No. I mean it. Don’t you even start talking bodyguards. You’re overreacting. I do not need a bodyguard.”
He hooked a big arm around her and hauled her up close against him. As always, she reveled in the heat, the sheer power of him. “You watch yourself. Promise me. Stay aware.”
“I will.”
He swooped down and kissed her hard and quick. “We’re talking more about this tonight.”
A resigned sigh escaped her. “Yes, I’m quite clear on that.”
He kissed her once more, as swift and sweetly punishing as the time before, and then, finally, he let her go and returned to his car. She waited until he started up the engine and backed from the space beside the garage before letting herself in the house. After locking herself in and rearming the alarm, she ran downstairs to collect her samples and hurried right back up.
The blinking red light on the answering machine caught her attention as she was about to go out the door. She almost left it for later. But it could be something important.
Turned out it was a hang-up call. A swift ripple of unease slithered down her spine, followed by a burst of anger. Thank you so much, Ted. Now even a hang-up call freaks me out.
She considered trying *69. But what for? Whoever was on the other end, she didn’t want to talk to them.
Enough. She made herself a promise to banish her jerk of an ex-husband from her mind for the rest of the day.
And she kept that promise.
Until she got home from dinner at Quinn’s and found two more hang-up calls on her phone. When she went ahead and tried to call back, she learned that both calls were from blocked numbers. That thoroughly creeped her out. Though she had no proof of who had made the calls, she added them to her TD file and tried not to stew over them.
Then Quinn showed up.
Of course, he knew right away that something had happened. “What?” he said when he was barely in the door. “Just tell me.”
So she told him about the hang up calls.
His expression grew even bleaker. “You put it in the file?”
“I did, yes. I noted the date and the times that the calls came in and that whoever made them did it from a blocked number. In case it somehow turns out to matter in some way.”
“We need to talk about you trying for that order of protection.”
She went over, dropped to the sofa and put her head in her hands. “Can we just...not? Please?” She looked up. He was standing over her, eyes stormy with equal parts anger and concern. She got up. “He’s running our lives, Quinn. We can’t let him do that.”
He clasped her shoulders in his big hands and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Thinking about...?” She tipped her face back enough to look at him—and then she lifted enough to touch his lips with hers.
He made that low, lovely growling sound in his throat and settled his mouth more firmly on hers. They shared a slow, delicious kiss. He gathered her in. She slid her hands up over his chest and linked them behind his neck.
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” she said softly, when he finally lifted his head.
“Vegas.” He bent and kissed the word onto her upturned mouth. And then, soft as a breath, back and forth, he brushed his lips against hers and whispered, “This weekend. We’ll fly to Vegas and get married.”
“Married?” She jerked back so that their lips no longer touched. “Quinn, we’ve talked about that.”
He scowled. “I know that tone of voice. Here come all the damn objections.”
“I meant what I said before. I just need a little more time, that’s all.”
“Uh-uh. You need to be my wife and live with me and Annabelle and Manny. I don’t want you living alone here. Not anymore.”
“I’m perfectly safe. You’re here half the time and a lot of the time I’m at your house. And what about Annabelle? I don’t want to put her in danger, I really don’t.”
“So you do admit you’re in danger.”
Sometimes the man was too quick by half. “No, no, of course I’m not in danger.”
“Listen to yourself, angel. You’re ‘perfectly safe,’ but you’re afraid that if you move in with us, you’ll put my little girl in danger. You’re all over the map about this.”
“No, that’s not so. I really don’t think anything is going to happen. But if something did, I couldn’t stand it if Annabelle ended up in the middle of it.”
He took her by the shoulders—carefully, but firmly, too. “A few minutes ago, you said that we couldn’t let that guy run our lives.”
“And I meant it!”
“Then stop.”
She searched his face, not following. “Stop...?”
“You’re letting him keep you from living your life. You’re putting everything on hold for him.”
“No.”
“Yeah, Chloe. Yeah, you are. How long you gonna do that to yourself, huh? How long you gonna do that to us?”
She stared up at him, her heart like a stone, so heavy in her chest. She knew he was right.
And yet she just couldn’t do it. Not now. She could not say her love out loud. And she couldn’t agree to get married. Not right now. Not until she’d somehow dealt with the problem that was Ted.
* * *
Quinn didn’t know what to do about Chloe.
She tied his hands at every turn. She wouldn’t let him make a move on her ex. She wouldn’t marry him and live with him in his house where he could better protect her. She wouldn’t let him hire someone to watch over her. She wouldn’t let his half brother James check into slapping good old Ted with an order of protection.
She had dark circles under her ice-blue eyes and much of the time she seemed distant and distracted. He only had her full attention when he took her to bed.
Something had to give.
And it had damn well better give soon. She seemed so fragile to him lately and he feared some kind of...breakage. He feared the destruction of what they had together—no, worse. He feared the ruin of her tender heart, her strength, her spirit.
That night, he held her as she slept and wondered what the hell to do.
* * *
When Chloe woke in the morning, Quinn was still there. Already dressed in the jeans and knit shirt he’d worn the night before, he sat in the bedside cha
ir, just looking at her.
She pushed up on an elbow and raked her sleep-tangled hair back off her forehead. “Shouldn’t you be having breakfast with Annabelle?”
He rose. “I’m going now. I was just waiting for you to wake up.”
She saw the shadows in his eyes and felt remorse drag at her—for giving him nothing but trouble lately, for being a source of constant concern. “I’m perfectly safe here. All the locks are sturdy and the alarm system is state-of-the-art. And I promise to keep the system armed when you’re not here and to stay alert whenever I’m outside on my own.”
He bent close, brushed a kiss on her forehead and said mildly, “I just wanted to wait until you were awake.”
She started to accuse him of lying. He’d stayed to watch over her and they both knew that.
But she came to her senses before she could light into him. He only wanted to take care of her. Had she sunk to snapping at him for trying to keep her safe?
She ended up asking sheepishly, “Give Annabelle a kiss for me?”
He promised that he would and then he was gone.
Wearily, she got up and went about the beginnings of another day.
At a little after eight, as she was eating breakfast, the phone rang. She let out a cry at the sound and splashed hot coffee across the back of her hand. Wanting to slap her own face for being such a nervous twit, she mopped up the spill with a paper napkin and picked up the phone.
It was only Tai calling in sick. “It’s just a cold,” she said. “I’m thinking if I take it easy today, I’ll be ready to go again by tomorrow.” Chloe told her to get plenty of rest and drink lots of liquids, and Tai laughed and said, “Yes, Dr. Winchester. I’ll take good care of myself.”
Chloe left the house at eight-thirty, arming the alarm and locking things up tight. She kept her eyes open and her head up as she crossed the breezeway to the garage. She was careful in the garage, standing in the open doorway to the breezeway, pushing the button on the wall that sent the main door rattling up and then having a quick look around the space before shutting and relocking the breezeway door behind her. Locking herself in the car, she backed from the garage and then sat there until the door was all the way down, just to be certain Ted didn’t dart in there when she wasn’t looking, to lie in wait for her later.
At Your Way, she exercised the same watchfulness, scanning the little lot behind the building for any lurkers before she got out of the car. And then getting out quickly, locking the doors and hustling toward the back entrance, her right hand in a fist and her keys poking out between her fingers, a makeshift weapon ready to gouge a few nasty holes in anybody foolish enough to jump her.
She didn’t fiddle or linger, but quickly unlocked the back door, disarmed the alarm and locked the door behind her. Then she went through the rooms—the office, the restroom, the studio in back and the showroom in front.
Ted was not waiting there. Everything was right where she’d left it the evening before.
And did she feel foolish and overcautious and strangely let down?
Yes, a little bit. But she’d kept her word to Quinn, kept her head up and all her senses on alert, just as they’d taught her in self-defense class, all the way from her front door to the showroom.
Truthfully being vigilant was nerve-racking. And her nerves lately had been racked quite enough, thank you.
She spruced up the showroom and got the coffee going. At nine, she unlocked the front door and turned the sign around. Then she went behind the register counter and called Nell over at Bravo Construction to say she was stuck at the store until closing time but would stop by the remodeling site on the way home.
Nell was her usual bold, funny self. One of the new guys on the crew had asked her to dinner. “Big muscles,” Nell said, “gorgeous ink. Too bad the brain is practically nonexistent. I like a big brain. It matters to me.”
“So he’s only a piece of tasty meat and you’re not going out with him?”
“Tasty meat.” Nell groaned. “I said that, didn’t I, when I was busting your chops about Quinn?”
“You most definitely did.”
Call-ump. Call-ump. Chloe recognized the sound of Nell’s boots landing on her scarred desktop. Nell said, “So you think I’m objectifying this guy?”
“Well, maybe just a little.”
“You know, he is really sweet. Is it his fault he’s no Einstein? Dumb guys need love, too. And he’s so pretty to look at.”
Chloe thought of Quinn, who was not only wonderful to look at with a heart of pure gold, he was brilliant, as well. She felt an ache down inside her, just thinking of him. Because she loved him so, because she kept pushing him away when she knew she ought to be grabbing him closer, holding on tight, promising never, ever, to let him go.
She reminded Nell, “People used to think Quinn was slow, remember? And you can be pretty intimidating.”
“Me? You’re kidding.”
“You’re a force to be reckoned with, Nellie.”
“Keep talkin’. I’m startin’ to like where this is going.”
“Did you ever stop to think that maybe the guy is shy?”
“Oh, and I freak him out because I’m so awesome?”
“Nell, you are a giant bowl of awesome—with extra whipped cream and cherries on top. So yeah, it’s more than possible he’s intimidated by you.”
“A giant bowl of awesome. I like the sound of that a lot. And so you’re saying I should give this guy a chance?”
“Yeah. I think you should. He might turn out to be smarter than you think.”
Nell said she’d give it more thought. And then, out of nowhere, she asked, “Baby, are you okay?”
Chloe’s throat instantly clutched and tears burned behind her eyes. “Ahem.” She turned around and faced the hallway to the back door. Swiping at her eyes, she spoke more softly. “Fine. I’m fine.”
“Stop lyin’ to me, Chloe. It’s so not working.”
Chloe gulped down a fresh spurt of tears. “Really, I don’t even know where to start...”
“Is it Quinn? If he’s causing you grief—”
Chloe let out a laugh that caught on a sob. “Wait a minute. Aren’t you the one who asked me if I was slumming with your brother and promised to hurt me if I wasn’t good to him?”
“That was before I knew you. I was wrong, all wrong. You and Quinn are a great match, a true love match. And I love you both.”
Chloe’s throat clutched all over again. “Oh, Nellie. Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. We’re family.”
“And that makes me so glad.”
“But the problem is...?”
“Well, I can say this much. Quinn is not the problem. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I love him so much and somehow I don’t know how to tell him so. Things are scary right now and—”
“Scary, how?”
“Long story. I’ll only say that sometimes I think I’m just too damaged, you know? I think that there’s really something very wrong with me and I’m afraid that’s never going to change.”
“Not a damn thing is wrong with you. And we need some sister time.”
Chloe started to object. But then she realized she did want some sister time with Nell. “You know, that sounds really good.”
“Instead of the remodel, let’s meet at McKellan’s. Best cosmos in Colorado.” The entry chime sounded. Chloe swiped at her cheeks again and tried to compose herself before turning to greet her first customer of the day. Nell said, “Five-fifteen. Be there. Call Quinn and tell him that there will be drinking and he might have to pick us up later.”
“I will. See you. McKellan’s. Five-fifteen.” Chloe sniffed and smoothed her hair. Then she turned around and carefully set the receiver in its cradle.
When she finally glanced up with a bright smile for whoever had come in, Ted was standing not twenty feet away in front of the showroom door.
Chapter Fourteen
Chloe’s heart beat a sick r
hythm under her ribs and her throat felt like some invisible hand was squeezing it tight.
She’d done it to herself. It was all her own fault. She’d let down her guard. She’d turned around and forgotten all about how she needed to keep her head up and her eyes front.
She’d let her concentration slip to cry on Nellie’s shoulder—and her nightmare had found her.
Somehow he’d not only slipped in the door when she was talking to Nell, but he’d whipped the open sign around, too. It was just a regular glass door with a knob lock you could turn from the inside.
She had zero doubt he’d locked it, as well.
Her nightmare had not only found her, he’d locked himself in her showroom with her.
Beautifully turned out as always in a perfectly tailored designer suit and a Seven Fold Robert Talbott tie, not a single dark blond hair out of place, he gave her a slow, charming smile. And then he said in that smooth, cool voice that had slowly turned all her dreams into nightmares, “Hello, Chloe.”
Her purse was under the counter. She needed to reach in there and pull out the Mace. Carefully, trying not to move the upper part of her body and give herself away, she felt for the purse, found it...
Oh, God, she’d zipped it shut. He would know if she tried to get it open now.
Run! She needed to get the hell out of there. She started to whirl for the back door.
Ted said, so very mildly, “Please don’t do that.”
And her mind went to mush as her legs started shaking. She was rooted to the spot.
It was pitiful, really. Such a sad case, she was. He had trained her so well over all those awful, endless years with him. He only had to look at her, only had to speak to her in that smooth, mild voice of his and she couldn’t fall all over herself fast enough to do whatever he demanded of her.
She had dared, in the past year, to believe herself free of him—well, except for the nightmares. She had made herself free of him. She’d divorced him and moved on, found Quinn. Her Quinn, so fine and true, everything she’d always wanted—only better. Only more...
She shut her eyes. No. She couldn’t think of Quinn now. She needed to focus, needed to remember her self-defense training, to start acting like the independent, self-possessed, self-directed woman she actually was.
The Good Girl's Second Chance (The Bravos Of Justice Creek 2) Page 17
