Her phone buzzed, and she took a moment to read a text, biting down on her plump bottom lip. The habit was so Felicity when she was deep in thought that it made him want to ravish those lips again.
“It’s from my bookshop girls—Rina and Mina. Daily check-in.”
“Everything okay?” He drifted closer.
“Yes. They called early this morning. They passed by the window and saw the wreck inside and they were so upset. I told them everything.”
He touched her elbow, just a graze of his fingers, but she seemed to relax a little.
“Come on. If I’m crying, it’s going to be over a cheeseburger.”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
As they reached the back door to leave for lunch, she smoothed her shirt again. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You look perfect.” He meant it. Hell, he meant every word he said to her. That alone should’ve scared him.
What scared him more was how she lit up when he said it.
They stepped out of the shop…and stopped.
Her car door was slightly ajar. Not wide, but obvious. All wrong. His instincts locked in.
He stepped in front of her, shielding her although there didn’t appear to be any threat in sight. “Stay here.”
She didn’t listen. Rushing past him, she reached the car and whipped the door open all the way.
“The journal! Gabe, it’s gone!”
Pain rang in her voice.
He moved up beside her. “You left it on the seat?” He scanned the nearby alley, the dumpster…the shadows.
“Yes. I never lock the car. This is a small town. Nobody would steal a worthless journal!”
He had to agree. Unless it wasn’t worthless.
He slipped a hand to the small of her back. “Call the cops. I’ll take a look around in case they ditched the journal.”
Her fingers trembled as she pulled out her phone. He checked again to ensure she was safe while he prowled the parking lot, searching for the journal. Under the faint whistle of the wind and a few cars whirring by on Main Street, he heard Felicity trying to sound calm for the dispatcher.
It made his chest coil with fierce protectiveness. She shouldn’t have to be calm. She should get to be as upset as she wanted.
The fact that just half an hour ago, they’d been lost in each other while just outside someone broke into her car made his fists curl.
Unable to spot more than a few pieces of litter blown in from the street, he returned to her side.
She gripped her phone in her hand, waiting. The police station was a mere three blocks away. But no sirens blared.
The alley ran behind Felicity’s shop and several others, all the way to the police station. Their parking lot was full of cruisers. Not one was out on patrol.
His jaw flexed.
“Call them again.”
Her blue eyes flicked up to his and she gave a jerky nod before dialing a second time.
Again, she conveyed her information to the dispatcher, her tone edged with impatience. “What’s the holdup? I’m three blocks away.”
Gabe growled. “Tell them to put down the donuts. We know they’re not busy locking up criminals.”
