“No, I haven’t given up,” she said in a soft voice. “Sure, I might have some trust issues now, thanks to my ex, but I’m working through those. You know, trying to understand why I didn’t see the signs, why I let him manipulate me so completely. But I still think love can be a good thing, if you find the right person.”
Caleb absorbed everything she’d just said. Love. It was such a foreign concept to him, since growing up he hadn’t had any of it. He’d never known his father, and his mother had decided drugs were more important than her five-year-old son. In a sense, his first relationship with a woman ended up with him finding his mom’s overdosed body on the living-room carpet.
Could love be a good thing? To him, the answer was a big fat no. What was the point in opening yourself up to another person when they would only kick you aside sooner or later?
He scraped back his chair, discomfort gathering in his gut. This was too…intimate. He was getting too close to sharing a very private part of himself with this woman, and he couldn’t do that. It made him uneasy.
“We should get back to work,” he said.
Marley nodded. “I’m almost done with the wallpaper,” she replied, getting up to drag a small stepladder toward the wall. She climbed up on it, looking over at him and adding, “I just need to finish this part near the ceiling and then we can—” A yelp flew out of her mouth as she lost her balance.
Caleb reacted instantly, reaching the spot just in time for her to topple right into his arms. A flash of heat tore through his body as he found himself yet again cupping her firm bottom. His groin stirred and hardened. Her sweet scent assaulted him, mingling with the paint fumes in the air and making him light-headed with desire.
“What is it with you and ladders?” he asked roughly.
She stared up at him, amusement dancing in her eyes. “I never claimed to be graceful, okay?”
He choked back a laugh. “Good, because you’re not.”
They stared at each other for a moment and some thing in the air shifted. She had one arm around his shoulder, the other pressed against his chest and her touch seared through the material of his shirt and heated his flesh. The room grew thick with tension, heavy with attraction. He wanted to taste her again. To drag his hands over that exquisite body, kiss her, touch her, until she cried out with pleasure.
Suddenly he couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. He knew he should let her down, but his arms refused to cooperate. They just held her tighter, pulled her closer.
“Um, so…” Her voice came out husky. She stopped talking, the tip of her tongue darting out to moisten her lips.
“Don’t do that,” he burst out.
She froze. “Do what?”
“Lick your lips like that.” Despite himself, he reached out to rub the bare flesh of her arm.
Marley’s breath hitched. “Why not?”
He ran his hand up and down her hot skin. “Because it’s already hard enough.”
“What’s hard enough?” she whispered.
“Trying not to kiss you again.”
Those big brown eyes glimmered with heat. His cock swelled as her gaze moved to his mouth. For God’s sake, didn’t she realize he only wanted to kiss her more when she looked at him like that?
“You know what I think?” she said, her soft voice sliding over him like a sensual caress.
“What?”
She rubbed her palm against his chest in a feather-light stroke, then twined both arms around his neck and murmured, “I think you should just go for it.”
With her head slanted up toward him and her lush lips pursed, Caleb knew there was no way he could resist her. He wanted this. No, he needed this.
He slowly lowered his head. Their lips were inches apart, so close. Not close enough. An unsteady breath left his mouth. He shouldn’t do this. His lips moved closer, nearly touching hers. He really, really shouldn’t do—
A loud chime rang through the kitchen, startling them both. Their heads moved apart, and Caleb nearly lost his grip on the sexy woman in his arms.
“An email just came in,” she murmured in explanation.
The annoying chime sounded again, and Caleb traced it to the open laptop sitting on the counter.
“Ignore it,” she said, sounding a little breathless. “It’s probably just my brother. He’s supposed to send me pictures of tiles.”
But the moment had passed, and the interruption had been much needed. Saved by email. Caleb’s entire body shrieked in protest as he gently set Marley on her feet. His pulse was still racing, his cock stiffer than a two-by-four, but he knew his body would forgive him. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to forgive himself if things went any further.
He was lying to her about who he was, for God’s sake. Getting involved with Marley would be a terrible mistake. Not to mention unbelievably callous.
“You should check it,” he said, taking a step backward.
The disappointment flashing across her face tore at him. You don’t want me, he wanted to tell her. You don’t know me. But he kept his mouth shut, and after a moment, she walked over to the counter.
He used the distance between them to collect his composure, to steady himself and will away his massive erection. Marley was bent over the laptop, clicking away. She waited for a page to load, clicked again and then all the color rapidly drained from her face.
“Everything okay?” he called warily.
She didn’t answer. Just remained glued to the screen, her face growing impossibly paler.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered.
Caleb took brisk strides toward the counter, but Marley was shielding the computer screen from his view. “What’s going on?” he demanded.
Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at him. The terror and confusion he saw in her gaze raised every warning flag he had.
“It’s him.” She shuddered. “Why won’t he leave me alone? Why can’t he just—” Her breath was quick and shallow. “Oh, God. I have to call the police.”
5
“MARLEY, YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN and tell me what’s going on,” Caleb said in a firm tone.
But she was already marching over to the phone, mumbling unintelligible things. As she dialed, Caleb leaned forward to examine the page on the laptop, the message that had just shaken Marley’s entire world. He hissed in a breath as he read the words on the screen.
I miss you, sweet pea. Stay strong. I’ll see you soon.
Caleb’s body hardened with icy fury. Grier. That son of a bitch had contacted Marley, just as Caleb had known he would.
“Detective Hernandez,” he heard Marley stammer from behind him. “Yes…please…tell him it’s urgent.”
Caleb read Grier’s message again. Short, but sweet. Each word was branded into his brain, the last four bringing a wave of satisfaction and a jolt of adrenaline. Grier was coming for her. Caleb had known Grier wouldn’t be able to stay away. Yet along with the gratification of knowing that his hunch had been right, a knot of fear twined around his insides as he realized precisely how much danger Marley was in.
Grier’s saccharine words rang of love, not hate, but when you were dealing with sociopaths there wasn’t always a clear line between the two. Grier could turn on Marley any second. Hell, he could decide to strangle her to death if he didn’t like the way she prepared his coffee. The knowledge of what had happened to the last woman Grier was involved with wasn’t lost on Caleb. They’d never been able to conclusively tie him to her murder, but the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming. With nothing concrete to charge him with, the case had gone cold. Still, everyone involved felt Grier was their man.
Shit. He needed to call his supervisor and arrange for more agents to watch Marley, maybe get the local cops to patrol the neighborhood. Even Hernandez would have to agree this email spelled danger.
Hernandez. Damn. Marley was speaking to him at this very moment, her voice shaky as she told him about the message.
He had to get out of here. And fast. The local pol
ice detective knew about the stakeout, but not that Caleb had made contact. Which meant that his cover could be blown the moment the detective walked into the house and saw Caleb there.
“The detective in charge of the case is on his way over.”
Marley’s voice pulled him from his panicked thoughts. He turned to face her, glad to see some color returning to her face.
She gave him a rueful look. “I guess I have some explaining to do, huh?”
Caleb faltered. Explaining? Why would she need to—because he wasn’t supposed to know about any of this… She wasn’t aware that he knew about Grier, that he’d been hunting the guy for three months. That his best friend and partner had been killed because of her ex.
“Yeah,” he said, finding his voice. “That might be helpful.” He gestured to the laptop. “I’m sorry, I read the email. You were so upset, and I wanted to see—”
“It’s fine,” she interrupted. “Come on, let’s sit.”
He followed her back to the table, but even after they were seated, Marley didn’t continue. She suddenly seemed lost, turmoil and anger roiling in her brown eyes.
“Who was the message from?” he asked.
“My ex,” she said flatly. “Who made it pretty clear he’s coming after me.”
“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand.”
She inhaled slowly. “Remember I told you he wasn’t who he said he was? Well, what I found out that he was a drug dealer.”
Without preamble, she told him everything. She skimmed over the romance, but spoke in detail about the day she’d found out from the police who Patrick was, the investigation that followed, the shame and horror she’d felt when she learned the truth.
Each word made his temples throb. The disbelief dripping from her voice was unmistakable. So was the disgust in her eyes. AJ was wrong. There was now no doubt in Caleb’s mind that Marley had been completely ignorant of her fiancé’s criminal dealings. Nobody could act that well. Nobody could fake the horror conveyed in each word she spoke.
“And now he emails me?” she finished, looking at him with wide eyes. “God, Caleb, what if he shows up here?”
Then I’ll catch him.
He bit back the words, instead leaning forward in the chair and resting his elbows on the table. “I’m sure the police will do everything they can to protect you, Marley. They won’t just let a murderer waltz into your home.”
“Hernandez might,” she said bitterly. “That man hates me. He thinks I knew about Patrick all along and that I’m somehow helping him now.”
“Why the heck would he think that?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head in anger. “He has it in for me, and I’ve never done a single thing to the man. And now he’s coming over, and he’ll probably grill me again and accuse me of sending the email myself.”
Caleb stifled a sigh. Yeah, with Hernandez, some grilling would definitely be involved. He didn’t understand what Hernandez had against Marley, but he made a mental note to ask AJ to get his hands on the detective’s file. Caleb couldn’t afford to lose Grier because of some stupid vendetta.
“Maybe he’ll be more receptive this time,” Caleb said, trying to sound positive. “He must be getting anxious, trying to find your ex, and this could be a big break in the case.”
Marley didn’t look convinced. “Will you stay while he questions me? I know this doesn’t really involve you, but…” She exhaled. “I’d feel better if I had someone on my side for this.”
How on earth was he supposed to say no to that?
Reluctance welled up in his chest. He couldn’t stick around. Hernandez might slip up when he saw him, do something dim-witted like call Caleb “Agent Ford.” If Marley found out who he really was, she would be furious. Most likely she’d throw him out and refuse to have any further contact with him. Then again, she was an intelligent woman; she might see the benefit of having a cop close by.
But he couldn’t take the chance that fury might cloud her judgment. AJ had persuaded him to befriend Marley so he could gain information, but now that Grier had contacted her, Caleb had an even more important reason to stay by her side. He’d never be able to forgive himself if Grier hurt Marley—if he killed her, the way he’d killed Russ.
Caleb’s blood pressure spiked. Marley was still waiting for his answer, and for the life of him, he couldn’t leave her right now. “Let’s sit in the living room,” he said with a small sigh.
They walked into the spacious room, which contained a comfortable brown couch, a huge bookshelf crammed with novels, and a large window overlooking the front yard. As Marley sank down onto the couch, Caleb went to the window, fixing his gaze on the driveway.
How was he going to get out of this? Detective Hernandez would arrive any freaking second. Caleb needed to intercept the man before he entered the house.
Behind him, Marley sat with her back ramrod straight. Caleb wanted nothing more than to draw her into his arms and offer words of comfort, but he couldn’t. Not until he figured out how to get Hernandez alone before the man questioned Marley.
Tension coiled into a tight knot in his gut as he spotted an unmarked black sedan pulling into the driveway. He started for the front door. Marley followed him, but he placed a hand on her arm before she could reach for the doorknob.
“I want to go out there and talk to him first,” he said.
She blinked. “Why?”
“To make a few things clear to him before he comes in here and starts treating you like a suspect,” he improvised.
“Caleb, don’t—”
Before she could object further, he darted out the door and descended the porch just as Hernandez stepped onto Marley’s driveway. The detective was short and stocky, with a head of black hair streaked with gray, and dark eyes that widened at the sight of Caleb. “Agent Ford?” Hernandez said.
Caleb closed the distance between them, glad the detective hadn’t spoken any louder. “Hey, Miguel.”
Hernandez’s thick black mustache curled as he drew his lips together in a frown. “What the hell are you doing in there with her? I thought Stevens had you next door.”
“He does, but I had to make contact.”
Hernandez looked suspicious. “Why?”
“It was necessary. Look, I’m undercover, Miguel. Kincaid thinks I’m her writer neighbor, and I need her to keep thinking that.”
The detective’s frown deepened. “The department still views her as a suspect, Ford.”
“The department might need to change that opinion then,” he retorted. “I don’t believe Kincaid had any knowledge of her fiancé’s previous or current crimes. But I do believe Grier will contact her again, especially after the message he sent twenty minutes ago.”
“The email she claims he sent,” Hernandez said.
“It’s real, Miguel. And before we go in there, I need your word that you’ll maintain my cover. We don’t know each other.”
Hernandez paused for a moment, looking both intrigued and wary. “We don’t know each other,” he finally agreed.
The two men crossed Marley’s lawn and climbed the porch. Marley was waiting at the door. The moment she saw Hernandez, her delicate mouth tightened in a thin line. “Detective Hernandez,” she said coolly, casting Caleb a suspicious look.
“Ms. Kincaid.” Hernandez’s nod of greeting was polite, but it was still obvious how he felt about Marley. He didn’t trust her.
“Let’s go into the kitchen,” Caleb suggested.
Unable to stop himself, he placed a possessive hand on the small of Marley’s back, ignored the slight raise of Hernandez’s fuzzy black eyebrows and headed for the kitchen.
MARLEY HAD TROUBLE CONTAINING her distaste as she watched Hernandez read the email. He’d slipped on a pair of latex gloves before handling the laptop, as if he expected Patrick’s fingerprints to be on it or something. Right, because she’d secretly met up with Patrick, let him use her computer so he could send her an email and then come home and called t
he police. Why did this man distrust her so much? She’d never been in trouble with the law, didn’t even have any outstanding parking tickets and yet here he was, treating her like a common criminal.
“Has anyone had access to this laptop other than the two of you?” Hernandez asked.
“No,” Marley replied. “I’m the only one who uses it.”
He stared at the screen again. “Do you recognize the email address the message came from?”
“No. Patrick’s address was the one on his domain name, for his web design company.”
“He most likely used one of those free email accounts,” Caleb spoke up, leaning against the counter. “He probably went to an internet café to do it.”
“Maybe,” the detective said, “but that’s for us to figure out. Why don’t you focus on—what is it you do, Mr. Ford? Writer?”
She noticed a muscle twitch in Caleb’s jaw. “Yes,” he muttered.
“Then focus on writing and let us do our job.”
The detective’s voice was so cold most people probably would’ve cowered and shut up, but not Caleb. To Marley’s amazement, he crossed his arms over his spectacular chest and said, “I’m sure you have a bunch of tech guys at the station who can locate the IP address of the computer the message was sent on. But what about Marley? I assume you’ll assign some officers to protect her.”
The detective spared a pithy look in Marley’s direction. “I’m afraid we don’t have the budget for that.”
Barely contained anger seethed in Caleb’s blue eyes. “Come on, Detective, you read the note. He’s obviously planning to make a move soon. I was under the impression you’ve been searching for this guy for some time.”
“We have been.” Hernandez let out a resigned breath. To Marley’s surprise, he caved in to Caleb’s request. “I’ll arrange some patrols around the neighborhood and talk to the captain about posting an officer outside the house.”
Marley glanced from Caleb to Hernandez. There was a strange ripple of tension between them, and neither man seemed to like the other very much. She understood, at least from Caleb’s perspective. She hadn’t liked Hernandez from the moment they’d met. What she did like, however, was how Caleb didn’t even flinch as he met the other man’s gaze head-on.