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“At the corner of Tate’s street. Hold on.” She heard the squeal of tires on pavement, Lane muttering something under his breath that sounded like a string of curse words. Why in the world was he so close? It made no sense.
She heard the squeal of tires again, both over the phone and right outside. Reaching out, she pulled the curtain back to see another plain sedan pull up behind the first one. Lane leapt out of the driver’s side and ran toward Tate’s front yard. He tackled the guy as he approached the porch, taking him down onto the ground with a muffled grunt.
That she managed to hear, because somehow Lane still had the phone in his hand.
Unlocking and throwing open the door, she flicked on the light and went onto the front porch, watching in disbelief as Lane struggled with the stranger. The man had his arms bent in front of his face as if to protect himself, and he wore a pair of crisp khaki shorts and a white polo shirt.
Realization dawned, and Wren placed trembling fingers over her mouth. She knew exactly who that was.
“Lane! Get off him! It’s Levi!”
Lane whipped his head toward her, his expression fierce. “Get back inside,” he practically growled as he straddled Levi like he was about to choke him out.
“No!” She ran across the porch and down the steps, tugging at Lane’s shoulder. He wasn’t even in uniform. So what the hell was he doing patrolling around here? “Lane, come on. It’s my old high school boyfriend. Stop trying to beat him up.”
Her oldest brother paused, squinting down at Levi, who still covered his face with his arms. “Look at me,” he demanded, shaking Levi’s shoulders.
Levi slowly dropped his arms, the pure terror on his face obvious. “I wasn’t going to hurt her. I just wanted to talk,” he said feebly.
“Jesus,” Lane muttered, grabbing hold of Levi’s shirt and giving him a shove before he stood. He turned to look at Wren. “He’s been following you for hours.”
She gaped at Lane. “How do you know?”
“Because I’ve been following you for hours.” He glared at Levi as he drew himself to his feet, brushing off the front of his pristine shirt and shorts. “What the hell are you doing back in town anyway?”
“I wanted to talk to you,” Levi said to her, ignoring Lane. “But you haven’t answered my calls.”
Wren glanced down at her notification-less phone. “You haven’t called me.”
“I have too.”
“You should’ve texted me.”
“I’ve done that as well.”
She held her phone out to him. “Hate to tell you this then, but maybe you’ve been texting and calling the wrong number?”
Lane approached them, pushing his hair out of his face. “Are you sure you’re all right with this joker being here?” He jerked his thumb in Levi’s direction.
“Hold on,” she told Levi before dragging Lane a few feet away, out into the yard. “Explain exactly why you’ve been following me.”
“It’s a long story,” he said with a sigh.
“Oh, trust me. I have all night.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, forgetting all about her hunger and the delicious cheeseburger and fries she had waiting for her inside. “Fess up.” She reached out and poked him in the chest with her index finger, making him back up a step. “Now.”
Shaking his head, Lane exhaled loudly. “It’s nothing, Wren, I swear. I just . . . wanted to make sure you were safe.”
“Why? Am I in danger?” A sense of foreboding sent a shiver down her spine.
“Listen, Wren. I have to go.” Levi was suddenly there, his hand on her arm as he stepped in between her and Lane. She could feel her big brother glaring at him, but Levi acted completely unfazed. Probably didn’t even notice Lane’s potent anger. So typical. “But I want to talk to you first.”
“We were already talking, asshole,” Lane muttered, and Wren glared at him.
“Stop, Lane. Give us a minute,” she told her brother before she walked back toward the house with Levi. “What’s going on?” she asked him.
“I’m such an idiot. I followed you around this afternoon, trying to work up the nerve to talk to you, but I never could.” He smoothed his hand over his jaw, wincing when he touched a particular spot.
“And when I finally did work up the nerve, your brother jumps out of his car like some sort of renegade cop and tackles me to the ground,” Levi muttered, brushing off the front of his very clean polo shirt one more time.
