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“Who’s he?”
“Not supposed to say,” the man told her. “Just said it was an important message for you to hear.” His eyes flicked over her again, and he sucked his teeth. The sound made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Then, he recited: “‘Not for just an hour. Not for just a day. Not just for a year, but always..’” Rita flinched as if he’d hit her, and the man dipped his head, as if to signify that he’d done what he’d come for, and then he was hauling ass to get away from her. Rita all but dragged Casey back to the mobile office and barricaded the door; it was reminiscent of when she would do this at home.
The thought ofhomemade her gag, and she slumped to the floor of her office, crying. Tuck knew where she was; Tuck was here for her.
* * *
As Jared was driving home, he had a thought about a secluded picnic instead of a restaurant. There was a lot to celebrate tonight, and Jared didn’t feel like sharing Rita and Casey with the public. Reaching for his headset, Jared realized that he didn’t have his phone. He glanced into the backseat—his tool belt was missing too.Must have left it.Sighing, Jared made a U-turn and headed back to the site.
Hopefully Rita and Casey are still there, he thought.Then, I can just ask Rita in person.Who knows, maybe they could have another round in the office before it was moved to the next project site. He chuckled to himself when he remembered how much Rita blushed the first couple of days after their activities in the office. She had been quite noisy, but if anyone had heard them, no one let on. Maybe it was little mean, but he loved that he could embarrass Rita so easily. He enjoyed watching her blush, especially when it got her all hot and bothered at the same time.
As Jared headed toward the site, he noticed Rita’s car.Awesome. He parked beside her and jumped out. Immediately, he knew something was wrong: he could hear Rita sobbing from the parking lot. He took off to the office at a run. When he tried the handle to the office, she screamed. “Go away!”
“Rita!” he called back. “It’s me, baby, open the door.” There was some scrambling inside the trailer, and then the door flung open. A moment later, his arms were full of a trembling, terrified woman. He rubbed at her back and shushed her gently. “What’s going on? What happened?”
She hiccupped out a sob. “He found me.”
Jared helped her over to the couch in the mobile office. “Who found you?”
“Tuck.”
His blood froze into a solid chunk of ice. “He was here?”
Rita shook her head. “He sent someone with a message. He quoted a line from ‘Always’ It was his way of telling me that he knows where I am…he’s an asshole like that.”
“How could he have not known where you are? The divorce papers would have at least a San Diego PO box on it, and it’s not the biggest city in the world. So if he knew all along, why act now?”
A strange, pinched expression formed on her face. “I…I need to tell you something,” she said, ducking her head. “You’re going to be mad.”
After seeing her so devastated, Jared knew for sure that wasn’t true. “Tell me.”
Rita sighed. “Tuck and I aren’t actually divorced,” she said. “When I told you that I left, that’s because that’s what I did. I packed up my stuff, and Casey and I hit the road.”
Okay, so that’s not at all what I expected to hear. Rita had been right; he was mad, but more so at the situation than at her. “Why didn’t you file for divorce after you were somewhere safe?”
She flailed her arms. “You don’t understand,” she said, fresh tears wetting her eyes. “Tucktormentedme for years. He was never going to agree to a divorce; he would rather see me dead.” She looked at Jared. “I’m not exaggerating. He has said those exact words to my face.”
And now he was here in San Diego.Fucking great. “Okay, so you’re going to call Keanie and tell her to go stay with Chad for a few days,” he said. “Then, we’ll go to your apartment and get your and Casey’s things.”
“Where are we going?”
“My house,” he said in aduhkind of way. “You’ll stay with me until we figure out what to do about Tuck.”
“There’s nothing to be done,” she argued.
“Says you,” Jared argued right back. “But, at least, if you’re at my place, I will sleep better knowing that you’re the safest place you could possibly be.”
He waited for her to argue, but he was pleased when she nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Okay, let’s do it.”
11
Jared carried Rita over the threshold of his house and didn’t set her down until they were in his bathroom. He grabbed a washcloth and gently wiped at the few stray tears that had streaked down her face. He smiled at her. “Don’t move.”
As Rita waited, Jared turned on the hot water and began filling the tub. He didn’t get a chance to use it very often, but he was stockpiled with supplies for when he did get the chance. He opened the linen closet and grabbed some vanilla bath salts and some lavender-scented oil and set the containers down by the tub. Then, he turned back to Rita. He held out a hand and waited for her to take it. When she did, he pulled her toward the center of the room.
Kneeling in front of her, he untied and removed her boots, followed quickly by her socks. Tapping her left leg, Rita bent her knee as Jared put her foot on his shoulder. Slowly inspecting her foot and leg, Jared checked for any injuries, or even signs of soreness from standing for too long today. Rubbing the palm of his hand up her left leg, he wrapped his hand around her calf and squeezed gently; he pressed light kisses to the inside of her knee. Sliding both hands up her leg, he rubbed her thigh before setting her foot back down. Tapping her right leg, he repeated his inspection even as Rita groaned.
“Jared, I’m not injured. The guy never even touched me; he just scared me. This isn’t necessary,” Rita said breathlessly. Her eyes darted to the tub. “But…that tub sure looks inviting.”
