by Kait Nolan
On a grunt, he navigated around Duke to put the groceries down on the kitchen counter. When he began unloading food instead of kissing her hello or otherwise acknowledging her presence, Paisley knit her fingers together. There was a tension around his eyes and mouth and a stiffness in the set of his shoulders. Was he troubled about work? Whatever had happened must’ve been out of the ordinary, or he wouldn’t have been called in with such haste. Or was it something else? She hated not knowing how to act, what to say.
He solved the issue by asking first. “Get any work done?”
“Some. I’m not used to this kind of quiet, with no traffic. Plenty of room to think.”
He grunted again, still not looking at her. Something was definitely off. This was Now Ty, not her familiar Ty. Maybe this was the norm for him. She had no reason to believe that the fun, playful side she’d been coaxing out of him was more than a temporary thing. Something akin to vacation personality. How you behaved when you weren’t in your real life. She was painfully aware she wasn’t part of his real life. Flirting him out of this mood felt like the wrong move, but she didn’t know the right one.
Duke pawed at the door. She rose to let him out. The shadows outside were growing long. The sun would be totally down soon. “Don’t go far.” Shutting the door behind him, she decided to take the plunge into the River Awkward. “How was work? Can I even ask about that?”
His shoulders jerked. “It’s not classified. A couple of idiots decided it was a good idea to fill a chest freezer with Tannerite and shoot it.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I’m guessing it’s bad?”
“Tannerite is what’s known as a binary explosive target. It’s used for long-range firearms practice. Basically, it’s got two parts that, when mixed and hit with a high-velocity round, go boom.”
She’d grown up in the small-town South, where there’d been plenty of good ol’ boys who liked to hunt and play with guns. She could well imagine the kind of trouble this scenario might have caused. “Did anyone get hurt?”
Ty scrubbed a hand over his face. “By the grace of God, no. A copse of trees stopped the shrapnel from tearing them apart. They were damned lucky. There was a guy in Alabama last year who managed to blow his own leg off playing around with the stuff.”
Paisley covered her mouth in horror. Was that why he seemed off? Did the explosives bring up bad memories? Make him think of Garrett? She didn’t actually know the details about how Garrett had died. Now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Were they arrested?”
“They scared the shit out of their neighbors for miles—shook the ground when it went off—but didn’t actually break any laws. The sheriff hauled them in for a talking to, and they’ll be getting a visit from the ATF tomorrow.”
She wasn’t sure what to do. Comfort or retreat? Did he even need comfort? He’d barely even looked at her since he came in the door. It was so far from the warm kiss and “I’ll see you when I get home” he’d left her with this morning, she felt cold.
Did he regret asking her to stay? She’d worried about it herself after he’d gone. It was completely understandable he might second guess the impulse. And it had been an impulse—one born of the pleasure and the fun and the undeniable pull they still felt between them.
She craved a true second chance with him, but pushing too far, too fast would likely do more harm than good. Maybe she should give him an out. But what if he took it? What if this was her only shot? Disgusted with her lack of backbone, she decided to lead with her heart. If he rejected the overture, at least she’d know.
Crossing over, she wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her cheek against his back, feeling the outline of his Kevlar vest. It covered the scars neither of them had acknowledged in all their intimate moments, but she was aware of them now, wondering exactly how deep they went. He went stock still, both hands braced on the counter.
Her heart tripped, but she just held on. She could acknowledge, to herself at least, that she’d always hold on to him. “I’m sorry you had a crap day.”
After a long moment, his hand covered hers and the knots in her stomach loosened. But then his fingers were untangling hers, and he was stepping away.
Heart sinking, Paisley braced herself for the goodbye she didn’t want.
Ty stepped away from her, feeling wooden and hollow as he turned, determined to do the right thing. But when he met her eyes, he saw naked grief there before the shutters came down again. He was already hurting her without even trying. Calling himself ten kinds of asshole, he pulled her in, needing to offer some kind of comfort, even though he was the problem. Her hands curled in the front of his shirt, and he couldn’t stop himself from burying his face in her hair. She smelled of warm vanilla and the sharp cedar of his body wash.
Paisley burrowed against him, holding tight. How could he send her away now? How could he put that look in her eyes again? He’d had nightmares about it for months after he’d shipped out. He’d never, ever forgotten the sound of her tears when he’d broken things off.
You are a coward. You’re weak. You’re selfish.
He’d been none of those things at eighteen. But then, he’d only been a shell of himself since he’d left the Army. A ghost going through the motions. The only time he’d felt like he had any substance at all was when he was touching this woman.
He opened his mouth to apologize but what came out was, “Better now.”
And it was. The feel of her grounded him, leeching away some of the tension he carried. He didn’t know how to let that go, even though he should.
They stood like that for a long time, breathing each other in, until Duke scratched at the door. Pressing a kiss to her temple, Ty stepped back and went to let the dog in. “How do you feel about nachos for dinner?”
It was a helluva non sequitur, but they both needed some normal.
“Amenable.” She poked in the bags. “You got the fixin’s for fresh guac?”
“Of course.”
Duke pranced in and gave a cheerful leap, trying to kiss Ty’s face.
“Down.” When his butt hit the floor, Ty obliged the mutt with a rub, noticing the bright red collar. “Do you change out his collar to accessorize or what?”
“Huh?”
“Duke’s collar. It’s different from this morning.”
“I didn’t…” As her gaze dropped to the dog, all the blood drained out of her face. She visibly shook as she rushed over.
The hair on Ty’s arms stood up. “Pais?”
“No.” The word came out in a tremulous whisper. Not directed at him. Her eyes were fixed on the collar, a dawning horror moving across her face. She lunged for Duke, fumbling to get the collar off. “No, no, no, no, no, no!”
“What’s wrong?”
Her hands raced over the dog, searching for what? Injury? He seemed fine. No visible blood or wound, though he whined, clearly picking up on his mistress’s distress.
“Paisley.”
“He’s here. He followed me.”
Ty remembered her reaction to his assertion they were being followed at the tavern Friday night and went on high alert. “Who?”
“I don’t know! But he’s been in my house! This collar was in a box, on a shelf in my closet, when I left to come here.”
Which meant someone had broken in to take it and followed or tracked her here.
Ty straightened. “Stay here. Lock the door behind me.”
He sprinted up the drive, but there were no vehicles on the winding road. Turning back to face the cabin, he studied the surrounding woods with sharp eyes. Was somebody watching, sticking around to see the reaction he’d inspired? He had questions, so many questions, as he circled around to the west side of the property, where he’d heard Duke barking. He didn’t know exactly what he was looking for, and the light was going fast. The nearest road was on the other side of the next ridge. Unless their perpetrator had hiked a lot further afield, that was the most logical place to have parke
d.
Ty jogged through the woods, scanning for signs of passage and hoping like hell he wasn’t destroying any evidence on the way. Finding nothing by the time he made it to the top of the ridge, he started to turn back. Whoever had been here was likely long gone.
The sound of a distant engine had him pivoting, scrambling down through the trees to get to the road below. But when he burst free of the trees, onto pavement, there was no one and nothing to see.
“Shit.”
It was full dark when he made it back to the cabin. He unlocked the door, grateful he still had his keys on him. Paisley had retreated to the sofa, locking her arms around Duke, who sprawled across her lap, still trying to lick at the tears streaming down her chalk-white cheeks.
“Did you find anything?”
“No.”
“We should call the vet. What if he did something horrible to Duke? Poisoned him or gave him pork bones or…” She trailed off, pressing her face to her dog’s fur, her brain clearly still spinning with the possibilities.
Ty had seen almost every mood of this woman. Joy. Excitement. Annoyance. Anger. Upset. Arousal. But he’d never seen her truly afraid, ever. The sight of that fear etched into her face had every protective instinct he possessed roaring to life.
“Has he thrown up? Behavior changed? Anything?”
“No. But—”
There were a thousand terrors in that “but”, and Ty knew she’d never settle until she knew for sure. He pulled out his phone. “We don’t actually have a vet in Eden’s Ridge, but I’ve got a friend who can help.”
Sebastian had more knowledge about animals than anybody else Ty knew. His specialty was horses, but at the moment, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and Duke was probably fine. This was more about putting Paisley at ease. He sent a quick text with the essentials.
Sebastian’s reply came back almost immediately. On my way. After a moment, the bubble popped back up, indicating he was typing another response. Is this a just me situation or do we want the whole team?
Hell if he knew. But by God, he was getting the full story out of her one way or the other. He tapped out an answer. Still getting the details.
Sebastian came back. Understood. En route.
“He’ll be here as quick as he can.” Crossing over, he sat on the edge of the coffeetable, bracing his arms on his knees as he leaned toward her. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a stalker?”
She cuddled closer to the dog. “I didn’t think it would follow me. I came here to get away.”
“For a naked distraction,” he said flatly. He’d been on board with that. So why did it feel like such an insult now?
Paisley winced. “Don’t make it sound like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you were just some convenient warm body. I wanted to see you.”
“But you didn’t want to tell me about this.” Didn’t she trust him?
“It’s not your problem. The police in Nashville are handling it, insofar as it can be handled. And until now nothing that happened could be classified as an actual crime.”
Unless they could prove someone broke into her house back in Nashville, this didn’t count as one either. But at least now he knew why she’d seemed off. It stuck in his craw that she hadn’t confided in him. That he hadn’t pushed harder to get at what was bothering her. He’d sensed something was wrong. If he’d known it was this, he would’ve… Well, he didn’t know what he would have done. Not left her alone today, for one.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Months. Well before we ran into each other again.”
He hadn’t seen her in years before a few weeks ago. She hadn’t been his to protect. Yet hearing that someone had been, at the very least, harassing her for months felt like another failure.
“I’m a cop, Paisley. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just tell me about this to begin with. Maybe not after the wedding, but when you called to come up here. Something happened to prompt that, didn’t it? Something that spooked you?” Rewinding their interactions, he could see it.
She just nodded, wordless.
“Did you think I’d dismiss you? Have the police in Nashville ignored you?”
“No. I...” Her throat worked as she seemed to search for words. “I didn’t tell you because that’s relationship stuff, and that’s not what we agreed we were doing.”
Everything in him rejected her explanation. “Oh, fuck that. It’s friend stuff. Naked tango benefits or not, I’m still that, and I’m going to help you get to the bottom of this. What’s the name of the detective in charge of the case?”
Surprise wiped away some of the fear. Jesus, did she think so little of him? But really, what did she have to base her opinion on? He’d agreed to this no strings bullshit. Why should she expect anything more?
Because it’s me, damn it.
“Um, it’s Joel Fisher. I’ve got his number in my phone. He’ll be more likely to answer if you call from mine.” Loosening her grip on Duke, she entered the passcode and handed it over. The fact that she wasn’t protesting his intervention told him plenty about how rattled she was.
The detective answered after two rings. “Paisley? Is everything okay?”
Ty didn’t like the familiar use of her first name or the warm tone of concern in the other man’s voice. “Detective Fisher, this is Deputy Ty Brooks with the Stone County Sheriff’s Department. I’m here with Miss Parish. We have reason to believe that someone has broken into her house in Nashville. I need you to send a unit to check on things.”
After a beat, Fisher responded with considerably less warmth. “I’ve had extra patrols in the area. Nothing’s been reported, but, of course, I’ll have them look more closely. Let me speak to Paisley.”
Translation: I’m not doing squat until I confirm she’s okay and you are who you say you are.
Approving of the man’s caution, Ty handed over the phone.
“Hey, it’s me. No, no, I’m…well, okay I’m not fine. But I’m safe.” She paused, sighed. “There was another one on Thursday when I got home from the station. No address this time. Just dropped off on the front porch.” Another pause. “We had literally just had a conversation about how there was nothing you could do. I didn’t see the point in bothering you again the same day.”
So, Ty wasn’t the only one she hadn’t felt like informing. Stubborn woman.
“Yeah, well, you’ve finally got something actionable. This one was a dog collar, which I left in a closet in the guest room when I left town. About half an hour ago, Duke came back in from doing his business wearing it. Someone’s been in my house, Joel.”
She was on a first name basis with the detective? Was that only because of this case or did she know him more personally? What did it matter if she did?
“No, I’m safe where I am for now. Deputy Brooks has me covered. But I would really appreciate it if you could send somebody to check on my house and call back to let us know what you find. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Do you need to talk to the Deputy again?”
Paisley offered him the phone.
“Detective.”
“I don’t know what she’s told you about her situation, but whoever is harassing her just crossed a major line. There’s not been anything up to this point that suggested an outright threat to her person, but I don’t like this escalation. Do whatever’s necessary to ensure her safety.”
Regardless of the nature of their relationship, Ty appreciated the other man taking the situation seriously. A lot of cops wouldn’t. His gaze slid back to Paisley. A little bit of color had come back into her cheeks. “You can be assured I will. Let us know what you find out.”
Chapter 7
“I think it’s safe to say that this guy is just fine.” As if to thank him for the diagnosis, Duke bounced up to give Sebastian a sloppy kiss.
Paisley released a slow breath, finally able to let go of one fear. “Thank you. I know it was probably an overreaction, but I just... He’s my b
aby. If anything happened to him, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“Nonsense, of course you were worried,” Laurel soothed, squeezing her shoulder. Sebastian’s fiancée was a take-charge, no-nonsense sort of woman. Paisley didn’t really know why she was here, but having another woman around was comforting. “He’s a total sweetheart of a pup.”
“I’ve always loved that he’s never met a stranger. But now... Obviously, I need to keep a closer eye on him.”
Sebastian scruffed Duke’s ears, frowning. “Are you sure he didn’t know whoever did this?”
That was an even more horrifying thought. That someone she knew might be behind all this. “I’m not sure of anything.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Ty assured her. He’d been totally locked down since the conversation with Joel, but she could see the simmer of temper underneath in the leashed power of his body. He was pissed she’d kept him in the dark and pissed about the situation in general, but she had to admit to feeling better that he knew. She had no idea what he’d be able to do that Metro PD hadn’t already tried, but he seemed so terrifyingly capable. Or maybe that was her inherent romanticism casting him in hero-colored glasses.
Another knock sounded.
Sebastian straightened. “Ah, that’ll be the cavalry. I figured I’d go ahead and get them en route since you choose to live at the ass end of the county.”
“The rest of who?” Paisley asked.
Ty opened the door, all calm, collected, and in control. “Thanks for coming.”
Harrison and Ivy stepped inside.
“I didn’t know you were back from your honeymoon!”
“Only just.” As Harrison accepted Duke’s enthusiastic greeting, Ivy came straight over and wrapped Paisley in a hug. “It’s good to see you, girl. We didn’t get to catch up at the wedding. But I guess you were sufficiently entertained.” One corner of her mouth twitched, and she arched her brows in question.
“Something like that.” She knew perfectly well there’d be a more overt demand for details later.
