“Sometimes you’re no fun,” I groused. In fact, he wasrarelyfun. Maybe whoever he was dating could get the guy to lighten up. I sobered. “It’s possible Jareth Davey is finally making a move. I’ve tried to find him, Aiden has tried, and so has the prosecuting attorney’s office. Nobody has found him.”
Pierce nodded. “I’m aware. I also know he mailed you a card earlier this year at your home, which means he discovered where you live. Since we don’t know what any of this means as of yet, you need to proceed as if this is a threat to you, either from Davey or from another enemy. If it turns out you just have a dorky admirer, then great. If not, then you need to be prepared.”
I’d been preparing to take out Jareth Davey since the first moment I’d learned to shoot a gun after being kidnapped by him. “I am prepared.” As much as possible, anyway. How could I prepare to meet up with a psychopath who starred in my nightmares? Well, most of them. “The flowers are one thing, but the heart and whistle in the middle of the night were meant to scare me. If I combine them, then it’s a little more than scary. Unless…it’s dorky,” I murmured.
Pierce sighed, and the sound was heavy with sarcasm.
I dropped my chin. “You know, only you could make air sound sarcastic.”
“Your luck doesn’t lend itself to dorky,” he retorted.
Fair. Sad, but fair. “Wait a minute. This isn’t my fault,” I countered, remembering at the last second to stand up for myself.
“Didn’t say it was,” he agreed. “In fact, I’d argue that none of this is your fault. But haven’t you noticed how trouble follows you?” His green eyes narrowed on my face. “It’s like you’re one of those energy suck fields, like a black hole, that somehow attracts danger. There’s probably a quantum mechanical theory out there that hasn’t been discovered yet that could describe your energy field.”
Had Pierce just likened me to a black hole? I snorted and then laughed, happy when he joined me. The guy had a great laugh—maybe this new romance of his would bring out more of this side of him. “You do have a way with words.”
“Yeah.” He lost the amusement as the techs began filing out. “Have you thought about getting a dog? Maybe a big one with a frightening bark?”
I had. More than once. “With my work schedule, it wouldn’t be fair to a pet,” I admitted. However, I did now have my own law firm, so I could probably do what I wanted. Killer the attack dog could attend work with me. It was something to think about, and it’d be fun to have a pet. When Aiden was out of town, it did get lonely. Not that we lived together, because technically, we did not.
“Albertini? I lost you. Where did you go?” Pierce asked.
I blinked. “Just thinking about getting a dog and how I’d make it work.” And how I now had the man of my dreams, kind of had him, and wasn’t sure I could keep him. Men and dogs. There was a joke in there, but right now, I wasn’t seeing the humor. Did Aiden want to make a change? Our entire relationship was built on challenges, gunfights, and explosions. How could I make that work? He was sexy and dangerous and fun…but not around that much. Was that part of the appeal? Would we just fall apart as a couple if he hung around?
Pierce cleared his throat. “Again…you’re gone. Did you hit your head or something?”
I forced my attention back to the moment. “Just thinking. It’s late, Pierce. Give me a break.”
He studied me and then his gaze slid away while his shoulders rolled. “Want to talk about it?” The words came out garbled as if it hurt his throat to say them.
I grinned. “That’s a kind offer.”
“You have no idea,” he huffed. He tapped his pen against his other wrist as if he really wanted to get the heck out of there. “If you don’t want to talk, do you want me to take you to one of your sister’s homes for the rest of the night?”
“No, but thanks.” If I ran to my sisters every time something went wrong, I’d never be at my place.
He moved toward the door. “Fair enough, but lock up behind me. I had officers scout the surrounding areas, even down by the lake, and nobody is around. Right now, anyway.”
“Thanks.” I followed him to the door and dutifully locked up after he’d left, making a mental note to buy materials the next day to fix the side of the garage. Then I moved to the sofa and watched Pierce disappear down the walkway to his car, and his headlights shone brightly into my living room as he backed out of my driveway. He turned at the main road, his tires skidding across the ice before he regained control and drove sedately away.
Then silence. Only a quiet night with the snow serenely falling to cover the footprints of everyone who’d visited my house, including the person with the can of spray paint.
I watched the snow fall for a while, keeping an eye on the tree line on the other side of my cottage. Nothing moved, and I didn’t get the sense that anybody was near. Whoever had painted the heart was long gone—at least for the night.
Letting the curtains fall back into place, I turned and moved to the middle of my living room. Since I was already wearing yoga pants and a loose top, there was no need to change before I began stretching and methodically running through the defense moves Aiden had been teaching me. Oh, I always had a gun handy.
That might not be enough when Davey came at me.
But I was.I was more than enough.
Something told me that Davey would be learning that soon. I pivoted quickly with a roundhouse kick and followed up with a series of punches in the air that I tried to make faster each time.
In the far distance, I heard a whistle. Or maybe a cry from a wolf or coyote. It was high-pitched and rode the wind, the sound both mournful and a warning. Could’ve been anything—including a whistle from a man. I shivered but kept moving, my ears alert for any other sound.
Only the wind and ice breaking from the trees wound through the silence of the night.
I dropped and rolled, coming up into a fighting stance. “I’m ready, asshole,” I whispered. Then my phone rang and I yelped, ducking beside the sofa.
