“You don’t need to—”
“Like hell I don’t. Someone’s threatening my sister.” The steel in his voice reminds me of the Ranger he used to be before the IED nearly killed him. “I’ll be there soon.”
The line goes dead, leaving Jake and me staring at each other across the kitchen table. The joy I felt when I woke up this morning is a distant memory as I watch Jake pick up his clothes and get dressed.
“Hayden should stay at the hospital,” I start to say, but Jake shakes his head.
“He’s right to come home. You need protection, and I can’t be everywhere at once. There’s no one I trust more to protect you than him.”
True to his word,Hayden arrives shortly after his call. I hear the taxi in the driveway before Jake does, the sharp crunch of gravel under tires.
“Anyone coming through that door is going to have to deal with me first,” Hayden announces, going to the closet and getting his shotgun and a box of cartridges before settling into the chair that gives him the best view of the front entrance. He places his shotgun across his lap.
“Isn’t this a little much?” I ask, staring at the weapon that looks enormous in the confines of his living room.
“For anyone who threatens my sister? This is exactly enough.” There is no humor in my brother’s voice, and I realize he’s not joking around. “If my leg wasn’t lame, I’d be right alongside Jake when he takes out the motherfucker who’s been harassing you.”
Jake nods and grabs his jacket. “This ends today.”
The quiet certainty in his voice makes my stomach clench with fear. Not fear of my stalker, but fear of what Jake will do to him. His expression holds a cold determination that reminds me he’s capable of violence when necessary.
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“It means,” Jake says, checking his weapon and holstering it, “this man is going to understand that continuing to harass you would be a very poor life choice.”
“And if he doesn’t understand?”
Jake’s green eyes meet mine, and what I see there makes my breath catch. “He’ll understand.”
The implications hang heavy in the air. I want to protest, to insist that violence isn’t the answer, but the photo on my phone is a stark reminder that this man has crossed every reasonable boundary. He’s not going to stop because we ask nicely.
“How long will you be gone?”
“As long as it takes.” Jake crosses to where I’m sitting, crouching down so we’re eye level. His hands frame my face with devastating gentleness. “I need you to stay here with Hayden. No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, you don’t leave this house.”
“Jake—”
“Promise me.” The command in his voice cuts through my protests. “I can’t do what I need to do if I’m worried about you running off again. And Hayden can’t chase you. Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I will. I promise.”
I watch him gather his equipment, check his weapon one final time, and head for the door. The sound of his SUV starting up feels like the beginning of something I can’t take back.
“He’ll be fine,” Hayden says quietly from his position by the window. “Jake knows what he’s doing.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
CHAPTER 7
JAKE
Everyone is at HQwhen I arrive.
“Talk to me,” I say without preamble, dropping heavily into a chair beside Blake.
He looks up from his position at the main console. “I finally found him. He has some skills, but he’s not on my level. Our perp is Paul Waverly, twenty-eight, unemployed musician from Nashville.”Blake’sfingers fly across the keyboard, pulling up files and photographs that stoke fury in me.”History of obsessive behavior, two previous restraining orders from different women, and a pattern of escalating harassment that suggests he’s not going to stop on his own.”
The photograph on the screen shows a thin man with brown hair and dead eyes that make my skin crawl. This is the bastard who’s been terrorizing Izzy. That shit ends today.
