The part about himnotbeing a creep made me smile. As if I needed Ruby’s seal of approval to know that. The way we’d spent last night watching romcoms and eating takeout—without him making even the slightest move—was all the proof I needed. I already trusted Reid more than any other man in my life right now. Not a challenging feat to accomplish, but still.
“I told him I’m fine. I can’t believe he bugged you to talk to me.”
She twisted a long lock of blonde hair between her fingers. It was hard not to be caught off guard by how pretty Ruby was. She certainly wasn’t ever on the receiving end of any of Jackson’s lectures aboutlooking presentable.
“He told me about the letters,” she admitted.
“What letters?” Jackson asked. His client, a woman somewhere north of fifty, peered out from behind her layers of hair.Great. Guess I was in charge of entertainment at the salon today.
“Threatening ones,” Ruby continued, completely comfortable airing my business for everyone to hear. “From the guy who’s blackmailing Hazel. They’ve been sending them to her apartment.”
“Or woman,” I muttered, although I had a hard time believing there was any weight to Reid’s theories that Kiara or Mrs. Edenbury could be suspects. “But again, this person has been so sloppy, there’s no way I’m in actual danger.”
“Reid said he even stopped by the police station this morning to see if the letters would add anything to your case. They added it to the report, but they said without substantial proof of a credible threat, they couldn’t do anything.”
My jaw dropped. “He went to the police?”
She shrugged. “I think he feels a little helpless. He loves a mystery, and he loves helping, but he doesn’t love that this oneisn’t the easiest to crack. Also, he hates the idea that you could be in danger.”
Ugh, Reid. Why did he have to be so freaking sweet?
“I’m fine. And it’s not really his fault we aren’t making much progress. There’s basically nothing to go on.”
“You can stay with me,” Jackson offered.
“Um…that’s nice of you,” I said after a pause, racking my brain for how to turn him down politely.
“It’s only a studio, and I’m not giving up the right to have guys over, but the couch is yours if you want it.”
“Oh wow, that’s generous,” I said gnawing on my lip. I would absolutelynotbe crashing on Jackson’s couch.
“You really shouldn’t stay at your house if you’ve got a stalker,” his client chimed in. “A girlfriend of mine had the same thing happen—threatening letters, the sicko even sent flowers. She brushed it off too, until one day he finally broke in.”
Jackson gasped. “What happened?”
“Thankfully she beat him off with an old lacrosse stick, but it could have been bad. Even after the break-in, she had a hard time getting a restraining order.”
My heart sank as she continued to regale us with the details. Was I being too nonchalant about this? Was I the dumb bitch in a horror movie who got picked off first? I didn’t want to be the woman everyone was screaming at to take a threat more seriously.
“Okay, that settles that. Hazel couldn’t fight off anyone with anything,” Jackson said with a frown. “There’s no way you can stay there by yourself.”
I opened my mouth to protest but snapped it shut when three sets of determined—and slightly judgmental—eyes stared back at me.
I’d never even taken so much as a self-defense class. Unless I could pin an intruder underneath my massive grandfather clock, or assault him with glass figurines, I was pretty much screwed.
I sighed in defeat.
Reid was right.
“You haveno idea how happy I am that you changed your mind.” Reid stood in his doorway, his hair messy and damp from a recent shower. A loose black t-shirt and sweatpants hung off his tall frame. He looked comfortable in a way I hadn’t seen him before.
“Ruby is right behind me,” I added.
At the end of the day, when I’d weighed my options, Reid’s guest bedroom sounded a hell of a lot better than Jackson’s couch. Once I’d made the decision to take him up on his offer, Ruby had suggested she come by tonight too, just to make things more comfortable. I appreciated the sentiment, but stepping into Reid’s house wasn’t nearly as unsettling as I’d expected it to be. There was a sense of ease between us, a kind of quiet solace I didn’t usually find so quickly with people. Plus, I liked spending time with Reid. A lot.
“This all you brought?” he asked, eyeing my backpack.
“My bigger suitcase is in the car. I was hoping you could grab it for me.” I blinked up at him.
