Was she being ridiculous? Was she letting fear rule her life?
She had no idea. All she knew was that she was scared because Jace had the power to hurt her like no one else.
She passed Meridian, her gaze lingering on the spot where she’d parked last night. The place where she’d word-vomited to Jace every fear that lived inside her. Every pain and heartache. A part of her had been wondering if he’d text or call today. So farhe hadn’t, and she wasn’t sure if she was happy or disappointed by that.
When a car drove past, she frowned, only noticing it because it drove so slowly. Her gaze caught on the man behind the wheel. He was bald with a sleeve of tattoos down both arms, as well as what looked like a snake tattoo on the side of his head—and he was looking directly at her.
She dragged her gaze away, ignoring the uncomfortable pit in her belly.
She’d taken a few more steps when the car pulled over to the side of the road a block ahead.
Her steps slowed as the man opened the door. She wasn’t generally a scared person, but right now, there were alarm bells going off inside her head. Because he looked a bit rough? Or because of the way he’d been looking at her? She wasn’t sure, but an inner voiceyelledat her to turn and run.
He rose from his car and shut the door, his gaze flashing to hers again, only for a second, before he shoved his hands into his pockets and started directly toward her.
Screw it. She spun around and moved, almost running toward Meridian before pushing against the door handle.
Shit. It was locked.
She pounded her fists against the wood, probably looking like a psychopath to anyone who saw her but not caring. The panic was alive inside her as every second brought the man closer.
“Cody? Harper? Hello? Is anyone there?”
They might not be. They didn’t live above the bar anymore, and the place was closed on Mondays.
The man was only a few yards away, a couple more steps and—
The door opened and she all but fell into Cody’s arms, just as the guy passed the bar. Just strolled on past without even looking at her.
He wasn’t after her. He didn’t even care about her.
Cody frowned. “Hey. Are you okay?”
She blew out a long breath. Insane. She was totally and completely insane. “No. I don’t think I am.”
CHAPTER 14
Jace rose to his feet, Eastern doing the same from the other side of the desk. He’d stayed at the station to have a coffee with his brother. It tasted like shit, but the company helped him feel semi-okay, which was a far cry from when he’d stepped into the station.
“You heard from Lock lately?” Eastern asked as they walked toward the door.
“Nope. Why? Have you?” Kayden had asked the same thing not too long ago.
Eastern rubbed his chin. “Nah, I haven’t heard from him either. I know he doesn’t check in a lot, but this feels like the longest he’s gone radio silent.”
“You worried about him?”
“A bit. But then I remind myself the guy knows fifty ways to kill someone with his pinkie, so he should be okay.”
Jace laughed. There was never a truer statement than that one. But then, they all had special ops backgrounds, so defending themselves was second nature. The problem was, the toughest soldiers went into the most dangerous terrain, and they didn’t always make it out unscathed.
Jace stopped at the door and was about to say goodbye when Eastern’s cell rang.
He tugged it out, frowning before pressing it to his ear. “Cody. What’s going on?” A second passed and Eastern’s eyes narrowed, his gaze moving to Jace. “Is she okay?”
Who was he talking about? Harper?
“No. I’m glad you called. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially if she’s shaken up. I’ll come down and talk to her.”
