Ashley wasn’t backing down, but her body language telegraphed her fear.
Neither of them noticed me. Never a good sign. If they were that focused on each other, they’d be easy targets if I’d wanted to harm them.
When he grabbed her wrist, Ashley pulled away.Fuck stealth. I closed the remaining distance.
I had to bite back the urge to rip the guy a new asshole. With my hands fisted, I stepped beside her. When I saw the bruise, it took every ounce of control I possessed not to kill the guy.
Demonstrating restraint that’d make a saint proud, I kept my hands to myself while I chased the guy away.He had to be an ex-boyfriend.
The idea of this guytouching Ashley didn’t help my mood.
When I asked what had happened, she said nothing. When I pressed, she gave me a lame-ass excuse, saying a cat tripped her.
All I wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and hold her until her fear subsided. And protect her from every asshole on the planet.
But I had no more right to touch her than the asshole I’d chased away.
Ashley stomped away from me without answering another question. The fruity scent of her shampoo lingered after she walked away, driving me crazy.
Damn it. I didn’t like it, but it wouldn’t be hard for me to figure out who he was.
At the top of the list of ways to find out: Jamie. His wife was Ashley’s best friend.
I talked myself out of and into asking Jamie several times on my drive back to the office. I landed on asking. If he didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me, I’d find out for myself.
Before knocking on Jamie’s door, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. So far, my first week at SSI had been less than stellar, and I didn’t need to add suspected stalking to the list of reasons they had to doubt hiring me.
“Come in,” Jamie said when I rapped my knuckles on his door frame.
“Thanks. You have a minute?” I asked before pushing the door closed.
“Of course, what’s up?”
“I went to see Ashley.” His eyes widened, but he said nothing. “She was arguing with a guy on the front lawn. He got physical.”
Jamie’s curiosity shifted to concern, confirming my suspicions.
“My best guess, her ex, Finn. She dumped him before moving back to Weatherford to take care of her grandmother.” He coughed up the information without hesitation.
“Finn have a last name?” I planned on having a talk with her asshole ex and telling him to stay away.
Jamie leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, never taking his eyes off of me.
“Why?”
“So I can tell him to back off,” I admitted.
“Did Ashley ask you to talk to him?”
He knew damn well she hadn’t. If she had, I’d know his last name.
I shook my head.
“Let me talk to Ashley. If she wants our help, I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“I think he hit her.”
Now on high alert, Jamie leaned forward. “Did she tell you that?”
