“I’ll be there tomorrow,” Mike said without hesitation.“Send me everything you have—the phone records, descriptions of the man Nica’s seen, photos of the note that came with the flowers, everything.I’ll bring what I can access through Bureau channels about the Carpenter case, see if anyone connected to it has raised flags or accessed those records recently.”
Relief washed over Gabe.“Thank you.I’ve got a spare room ready.”
“Keep Nica close until I get there.Document everything.”Mike paused.“And Gabe?Don’t try to handle this yourself.This person is escalating.”
After hanging up, Gabe moved to stand in the kitchen doorway, watching as Nica stood with her hands kneading dough.Looked like she was making biscuits.The way she moved—efficient yet graceful, an innate sensuality that captivated him the way it had the night they’d met.He’d never expected to find love after the scandal, certainly not with someone as vibrant and unflinching as Nica Boudreau.Now Summers.His wife.
Someone was trying to take that away.
His phone buzzed with a text.Mike:On my way at first light.Call me if ANYTHING happens before then.
Gabe slipped the phone into his pocket and headed into the kitchen.She straightened when she saw him coming, her smile making something in his chest ache.He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.Not now, not ever.
Mike Reynolds arrivedat ten the next morning, pulling his standard-issue rental sedan into the driveway of the Big House.After talking with Rafe and Douglas, it had been decided the best place to meet up was the Boudreau ranch, where everyone could hear what was happening with Gabe and Nica all at once, not having to repeat it over and over to all the Boudreau siblings.There was the added benefit of having advanced security measures, which meant Nica was protected, not only by state-of-the-art, military grade security, but by a family who’d give their own lives to keep her safe.
Gabe watched through the front window as his old friend emerged—taller than he remembered, shoulders broader under his casual blazer, hair cropped closer to his scalp.The years in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit had hardened him, but the grin that spread across his face when he spotted Gabe was unchanged.Gabe hurried out onto the front porch to meet his friend.
“Doc,” Mike called, grabbing his duffel bag and a sleek laptop case from the back seat.“Still hiding out in the middle of nowhere, I see.”
Gabe stepped forward to embrace him, clapping him on the back.“And you’re still an overgrown Boy Scout.Welcome to Shiloh Springs.”
Inside, Nica and Ms.Patti had prepared coffee and a late breakfast, hospitality instincts kicking in despite the circumstances.Nica hadn’t met Mike, but she greeted him warmly.
“Thank you for coming,” she said, pouring coffee into a mug adorned with cartoon cows around the outside.“Sorry, with this many people, it’s usually first to the kitchen gets the normal mugs.”Her smile was infectious, and Gabe knew Mike already liked Nica by the twinkle in his eyes.
“Mrs.Summers,” Mike nodded, accepting the coffee.“I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“Nica, please,” she corrected, and Gabe noticed her hands trembling slightly as she set down the coffee pot.“I hope you’re hungry.Momma tends to cook when she’s nervous, and with everything that’s going on, well, let’s just say the freezer’s got enough food for the next month.”
“Starving.”
For the next hour, everyone made casual conversation while sharing the family breakfast and gallons of coffee.Gabe watched the interaction between the family, most of whom had shown up.He wasn’t surprised the family circled the wagons to protect their only daughter.Nica was precious, not only to her family but to the people of Shiloh Springs.They teasingly called her the Boudreau Princess, but it was done with love and affection.
Once breakfast was finished, everyone moved to the living room, where Mike opened his laptop and took out a small notebook.“I need to know everything, starting from the first incident.Leave nothing out, no matter how insignificant it seems.”
Gabe exchanged a look with Nica, who nodded.Guess he was going first.“I started getting calls.First at the clinic, then on my cell phone.According to my notes, they started about three weeks ago, always from a different number.”
Mike’s eyebrows rose.“So, they know your schedule, your work routines.”
Gabe nodded grimly.“The calls escalated.First, just silence, then breathing, and by last week, whispered threats about exposing me, about making sure everyone knew what I’d done.”
“And you’re certain this is about the Carpenter case?”
“Positive.They mentioned her by name.”Gabe ran a hand through his hair.“I’ve gone over and over it.I’ve never hidden what happened.I was drugged by Dr.Marcus Richardson.In fact, he was supposed to perform the procedure, but called in sick.While it wasn’t my specialty, I’ve done dozens of gallbladder procedures, so it wasn’t an issue.He slipped ketamine into my coffee prior to a procedure which should have been routine.Melissa Carpenter died on my table because of it.I nearly lost my license, but the investigation cleared me when they found Richardson’s fingerprints on the bottle of ketamine, traces of the drug in my system, and a witness who saw him tamper with my coffee.”
“We know it can’t be Richardson,” Mike commented, typing notes.“He committed suicide before he could be arrested.”
“But he has supporters,” Nica interjected.“People who think he was framed, that Gabe was covering for his own mistake.”
Mike looked up sharply.“You’ve received communications from these supporters before?”
Gabe shook his head.“Nothing direct.Comments online, the occasional letter to the administrator at the hospital at Stanford.Nothing since I moved to Texas.”
“Until now,” Mike murmured.“Tell me about the stalking incidents, Nica.”
She took a deep breath, and Gabe reached for her hand squeezing it gently.“It started small,” she said.“You know the feeling you get when it seems like somebody’s watching you?Then glimpses of someone out the corner of my eye.The morning with the flowers, I first saw him outside Gracie’s Grounds.”
“What’s Gracie’s Grounds?”Mike was making a note on the pad beside the laptop as he asked the question.
