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16
Jessica
“Idon’t get it. Nothing is missing.” Jessica nudged an open book that had been thrown on the floor with its spine up. Her coffee table had been overturned, the stuffing was missing from her couch cushions, and the whole place looked like a tornado had ripped through it.
“Are you sure?” Ian stood in front of her with his arms folded. He looked livid. His brows were pulled low and his jaw was set so rigid that it must be aching.
“No, but nothingvaluablewas stolen.” Jessica motioned to her small flat-screen television still hanging on the wall. “The TV, jewelry, even some money I had hidden under my mattress is all there. Whatever they were looking for, I didn’t know about it.” She met his gaze, and something passed between them.
They were both thinking it. Tuckerhadused her place to stash something.
“I don’t want to spend much time here. Go pack up what you want.” Sean stood by the door, his body stiff. He’d been fidgeting since he called her inside.
Jessica wandered to her room and grabbed an old, ragged duffle from her closet. Without thinking, she threw random clothes inside. Her head was spinning. The more she found out about Tucker and what he was involved in, the more violated she felt. What had he stashed at her place that would make these people come after her?
Her blood ran cold. What if she hadn’t been working? They could have killed Tucker then come over to her place and…
Her stomach roiled. Holding a hand to her mouth, she ran for the bathroom. After losing the contents of her stomach, she glanced up to see Ian standing in the doorway, a frown on his face.
“Are you okay?”
Jessica wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and offered an embarrassed smile. She got to her feet and moved to the sink to splash water on her face and rinse out her mouth. Her palms rested on the edge of the countertop as she hung her head. “If you hadn’t brought me to the ranch, I might have been here when they—” She shook her head, forcing the nausea to settle. “No. I’m not okay.” Jessica lifted her head and turned to face him. Emotion caught in her throat. “Can we leave now?” Her voice shook more than she wanted it to.
Ian nodded. He stepped forward and gathered her into his arms, pulling her close to him. She could feel the steady beat of his heart through his shirt. His clean scent brought additional comfort to her trembling disposition. She moved to pull away from him, but he gently pulled her back in. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Jessica pulled her head back just far enough to meet his gaze. “Why are you being so good to me?”
His forehead creased as he tilted his head to the side. “What kind of question is that?”
She shrugged, breaking eye contact with him. “Tucker never—”
“Tucker didn’t deserve to date you, let alone breathe the same air as you. I care about you.” He hooked his finger under her chin, tilting her face to meet his gaze. “You’re worth it.”
Warmth spread through her whole body. Her insides prickled in reaction to the tension between them. Ian was handsome, strong, a good guy, and for some strange reason, he was showing an interest in her. Jessica took in a deep, shuddering breath. Anything she could say to that would sound trite. Instead of speaking, she nodded.
Ian dropped his hands and moved to the side of the doorway, gesturing for her to leave first. She slipped past him, her arm brushing against him. Goosebumps trailed along her arms, raising the fine hairs there. With every step he took behind her, she became increasingly more attuned to his position. Her whole body was on alert.
She grabbed the cash she had on hand, toiletries from the bathroom, and a few books, shoving them into a backpack that had been thrown to the ground. Her eyes trailed over the mess that her home had become. A small part of her itched to clean up before she left, but there wasn’t time. Not to mention, whoever had come by to search the place could come back at any moment and make things worse. Her safest bet would be to return to Ian’s ranch.
Ian grabbed her backpack, then slung the duffle strap over his shoulder. He lightly pressed his fingers against the small of her back and guided her out into the living room. Brock and Sean spoke quietly near the door. Every so often Brock would poke his head out into the hallway.
They arrived in the kitchen, and Brock and Sean glanced at her for only a moment before heading out the door. Without a word, they made their way down the hall toward the stairs. The stairwell echoed with each step they took. The concrete didn’t dampen the sounds whatsoever.
By the time they made it back to the truck, Jessica’s nerves had settled into something a little more tolerable. The urge to look out the back window to make sure they weren’t being followed lessened with each mile they put behind them.
The whole ride back to the ranch, Ian held her hand. His thumb trailed over hers, back and forth, as if he was trying to take any grief she might be experiencing. Each time she looked in his direction, she found him staring at her and he’d squeeze her hand as if telling her everything would be okay.
Though that was an impossibility. The men who were at the diner were still on the loose, and at any moment they might figure out who Ian was. What would the Baker men do if the killers showed up on their property?
She shoved the thought down as deep as she could. Ian had insisted on letting her stay with them. He knew the risks when he did so. She rested her head on his shoulder and allowed her eyes to drift closed. The low rumble of the truck on the freeway lulled her to sleep.
* * *
“This goes deeperthan we thought, Ian.”
“Are you saying she can’t stay?”
“I didn’t say that. The evidence at her place was enough to set anyone on edge. Whoever these people are, they mean business. And to make things worse, they want something, but we have no idea what that is.”
