“What are you thinking?” Standing, the deputy hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.
“That coincidence is bullshit, and there’s no way the guy who attacked Eve last night just happened to be walking down the street when she got a flat tire.”
Eve returned to her guarded position—arms crossed over her stomach, shoulders hunched, deep frown. “I hate to say it, but I had the same thought. What does that mean?”
“Means we need to pull security video from more than just the people on this street,” Reid said, dipping his chin toward the houses across the road. “I want to check any security cameras from the businesses near where you were parked. You were right in front of Sunrise Security. We should have a camera that gives us a good view of your vehicle.”
“You think this man put a hole in the tire then pursued on foot?” the deputy asked.
A strangled sound escaped from Eve’s lips, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
“It’s a possibility.” One that made a lot more sense in Reid’s mind than a random string of bad luck.
The deputy nodded. “I agree. I’ll get on it right away.”
“I’ll secure the footage from our office,” Reid said. “I want to look at it. Meet me at Sunrise Security’s office in thirty minutes.”
“Ms. Tilly, I’ll be in touch.” The young deputy spoke into the communicator attached to his shoulder as he made his way back to his cruiser.
Eve stared at Reid with a world of uncertainty dancing in her eyes. “What do I do now?”
He hated the smallness of her voice, the way she shrank as if trying to hide away from the man who’d stormed into her life and turned it upside down. The need to spring into action pulsed through his body with every beat of his heart, but instead he rushed to her and pulled her into his arms.
Unable to stop himself, he placed a kiss on the top of her head. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
“I have a life to live. Things to do. How do I just head to work and act like everything’s all right when I feel this guy’s eyes on me? When I’m constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for his next move?”
The truth of what he needed to do smashed him upside the head. “You act the same way you always would, because I’ll be right by your side until this guy is caught.”
Pulling back, she stared up at him. “Seriously?”
Screw it. Madden needed him to help with the case they’d just signed onto with the sheriff’s department, but there was no way he could leave Eve’s side. No way he could let her face the unknown alone.
“Yes, seriously. I’m with you for as long as you want me.”
As he said the words, something shifted inside him. A part of him wanted to be with Eve long after the asshole who was after her was caught and behind bars. But that was a part of him that he needed to ignore at all costs.
Chapter 8
The crystal-clear images playing on the computer monitor in Reid’s office tightened the muscles in Eve’s stomach. She sat in the soft leather bucket seat, Reid and Madden standing beside her, with her hands clenched in her lap.
“There,” Reid said, jabbing his index finger toward the screen. “That son of a bitch walked right up to her car, stabbed something into the tire, then walked away.”
“Man’s got balls,” Madden said, his voice as rigid as his wide-legged stance.
Nausea sloshed in her gut. This man had followed her into town, knew which car was hers, then made sure she’d be stranded with him close by. “I can’t believe it. Why? Why is he doing this?”
Reid and Madden shared a look before Reid knelt down so they were eye to eye. “He’s doing this because he’s a bad person. He’s sick and taking all of his ugliness out on you. His boldness tells me this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this. But I’ll keep you safe. We’ll find him.”
“We’ll do whatever we can to make sure this guy doesn’t bother you anymore,” Madden said, echoing Reid’s sentiments. A phone rang from Madden’s pocket, and he snagged it to look at the screen. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”
Once Madden was out of the room, Eve refocused on Reid still in front of her. “None of this feels real, but in a blink of an eye my life is in jeopardy and I’m forced to constantly keep looking over my shoulder. I can’t just hole up in my house until this guy’scaught.” Panic constricted her chest until her words came out high and tight.
Reid latched onto her hands with his. “You don’t have to. Where you go, I go. I won’t let him get anywhere near you.”
The idea of Reid staying so close to her during all hours of the day and night created a heat flash so intense she thought she was in menopause. She swallowed hard, hating the tiny flutter of excitement stirring inside her.
“Thank you,” she said, shoving aside ideas of how she and Reid could occupy their time.
