His arms slid around my waist, and he leaned down to kiss me. “That’s my girl.”
My belly fluttered.
He pulled out his phone, went to his photo app, and clicked on an image before enlarging it. Then, he held the phone up for me to see.
I peered closer. “Is that a funeral wreath?”
He nodded.
My chest tightened. “Is that his way of threatening to kill me?”
“No, baby. Look.” He pinched his fingers onto his phone screen and enlarged the photo even more.
My eyes went straight to the writing on the ‘in sympathy’ card accompanying the flowers, which read,
Saint,
Sorry for your loss.
My eyes narrowed on the image. “I don’t get it.”
“This came with it, too,” Jacob said, his voice lowering. He fiddled with his phone again and clicked on another image. That time, it was a photo of me and Jacob. We were walking hand in hand down the street. I recognized the clothes I wore from the day before when Jacob had taken me to the gym with him. We’d just finished working out and were heading back to the car. My face was turned toward Jacob’s, and I was laughing at something he said. Jake was looking ahead, no doubt scanning for threats, a small smile playing around his mouth.
But what chilled me to the bone was the fact that the stalker had completely blacked out Jake’s eyes, and a big red cross had been angrily scrawled over his face.
A cold shiver ran from the top of my spine to the bottom, and the strangled gasp that left me was loud enough that Catalina rushed toward me. “Santa.What’s wrong?”
I pointed to Jacob’s phone and demanded, “Show her!”
“Baby,” Jacob murmured, handing Cat his phone. “It’s fine. It’s good. It shows he doesn’t mean you any harm. Just me.”
My eyes slashed toward his, and I screeched, “Are you fucking crazy?”
His fingers wrapped around my nape. “I’d rather the target was on my back than yours, Saint. It’s my job to keep you safe.”
“No!” I snapped, watching Cat scroll through the pictures. “It’s not your job anymore. You’re more to me than that.”
“Saint,” he murmured more calmly. “I don’t mean it’s my job as your bodyguard; it’s my job as your man. What the fuck is this guy gonna do to me? I’m trained in every fighting discipline and every type of combat there is. I can fly planes, I can handle a car like a racing driver, and I can fight and shoot like a professional because that’s what I am. The goddamned government gave me a license to kill, and that’s what I’ll do, baby, no thought, no hesitation. I’m gonna be okay.”
My chest felt fractured inside, like somebody had split me open and scooped out the contents. “If anything ever happened to you?—”
His fingers squeezed the back of my neck. “Shh. Nothing’s gonna happen. I’ll wear a vest and take extra precautions. We’re going to Virginia tomorrow. The club’s got better security than Fort Knox, and the town’s so small that any stranger who shows his face will stand out. Colt’s team is putting together a completed profile, and we’re getting close. In a way, I hope he does show so I can put a stop to his bullshit, and we can get on with doing everything we talked about.” He held my face in his hands, his icy eyes boring into mine. “It stopped being about the job for me the first night I was here. I wanna build a life withyou, and by doing so, I’ll protect and love you unconditionally. I’ll go to sleep lying next to you every night for the rest of my damned life, knowing our souls are tethered.”
“Jacob,” I whispered huskily, my eyes shining with all the emotions his words had brought out in me. “I’m gonna put that shit in a song.”
He busted out a laugh before resting his forehead against mine. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from my songbird.”
My heart melted. “What’s your MC like?”
He lifted his head from mine and cocked an eyebrow. “Fuckin’ crazy.”
I grinned and breathed, “Awesome.”
Catalina’s voice floated across the kitchen. “Are you hungry, Jacob?”
He reached around my body and picked up his coffee cup. “Well, I dunno, Cat. Depends if you’re making tamales.”
She beamed at him. “You’re a good boy who loves his food.”
