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“I thought it was just a feeling, until tonight.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the windshield note. I jumped out of my car at a stop sign several blocks away from the office and grabbed it before the wind could blow it off. “I heard someone following me in the parking garage when I left the office, and then I saw this on my windshield.”
“You’ve been warned. . . warned about what? What else has happened, Juliette?” Jameson’s serious tone makes me nervous, confirming the fears I had that I wasn’t just imagining things.
“Uh, well, I had a slashed tire a while back, but I thought it was maybe kids in the neighborhood since I have street parking. You know how there will be a rash of stuff like that happen. Then I got a weird package delivered. It was small, like a ring box wrapped in brown paper with a red ribbon.”
“What was in it?” he asks.
“Nothing.” I shrug. “That’s why I didn’t think it was pertinent, I guess. I thought maybe someone had dropped it by my door in passing.”
“Jules, this is serious,” Blaire says, looking at me then at her husband. “How long has this been going on?”
“I think it started a few weeks after I really started digging into the case—interviewing the victims and chasing down leads. If I’m honest, I half expected silly stuff like this considering the firm that represents both Delmore and the insurance company has a reputation for being a bully. My guess is that’s what it is: nothing serious, just intimidation tactics, but I can’t take that risk with her.” I nod toward Chloe, who is curled up on the couch, deep into her dystopian YA novel. “I thought I’d ask your opinion on it to see if I should get a security system at my place.”
“You don’t have one?” I shake my head. “Yes, that’s the first thing you should do. I’ll have my guy come out to your house tomorrow to do an assessment and see what kind of system you need, how many cameras, etc. That being said, I think coming to me was the right thing to do.” He crosses his muscular arms over his chest, reaching his hand up to rub it over his jaw as he thinks. “But truthfully, and I don’t say this to scare you, I think you’re downplaying things more than you should. I think it’s probably best I get one of my guys to follow you for a bit.”
“Seriously? Can’t you guys just sniff around and find out who sent the threats and intimidate them with legal action?” That’s not what I was expecting, and it’s kind of the last thing I want. As much as I appreciate Jameson and the men of Four Forces Security, I really don’t need some macho, alpha man bossing me around at the moment. “My schedule is pretty crazy right now. Don’t you think the security system is good enough?”
“I don’t, and you don’t want to take a risk with Chloe either. I’ve been in this line of work long enough to know that even if these threats are idle, they can cause some serious trauma for you and her. I’m going to give Alex a call and fill him in, then he’ll reach out to you.
“Alex? The playboy one?” I ask, rolling my eyes. I’ve heard enough stories from Blaire and Harper about Alex to fill a novel. The man’s probably had more one-night stands than a frat house.
“He’s notthatbad.” Blaire smiles at me. “Besides, he’s super professional. He’d never cross a line with a client, and I’m pretty sure he knows not to with you if he values his manhood.” She laughs.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, confused. I mean, I know I’m not exactly one of those easygoing cool girls. I lost that privilege when I became a mother, plus I have a job I take seriously. But I managed to date Josh for almost two years after my marriage fell apart . . . then again, he did tell me one of his reasons for leaving was because he felt like I was merely his roommate.
“In the meantime, you guys should stay here tonight,” Jameson says, pulling my attention back to our conversation.
“What?No,”I say a little louder than necessary. I see Chloe peek over her book toward us. “No,” I say a little softer. “I don’t want to concern her. In fact, I want this to stay between us. We’ll be okay tonight. Just let me know when the security guy is coming tomorrow and I’ll make sure I’m home. I seriously appreciate this.” I give both of them a hug then turn to Chloe to tell her to gather her things so we can head home.
By the time Chloe is in bed and I’ve showered, it’s nearing 11 and I’m exhausted. I contemplate a glass of wine but don’t need the headache. Instead, I make some tea, walking around to make sure all of the windows are locked.
When I reach my bedroom windows, I pull back the curtains and look out to see a dark sedan parked across the street from my townhome. My heart thuds, flooding my ears as I panic and reach for my cell phone just as a number I don’t recognize flashes across the screen.
“Hello?” I say nervously as I answer it.
“Evening, Miss Pierce. No need to be alarmed. It’s just me, Alex.” I watch as the tinted car window lowers a few inches and his eyes gaze across the top of the glass toward where I’m standing in the window. His voice is deep and raspy, sending a shiver through me.
I’ve met Alex before, maybe two or three times very briefly. We don’t exactly run in the same circles. Of the four men, his reputation is that of the playboy, which is all I need to know . . . not to mention the tattoos, imposing figure, and muscles aren’t exactly my type.
My type?Why the hell did that even come into my head?
“Evening, Alex,” I say around a dry throat. “I see telling Jameson I didn’t need you here didn’t make a difference.”
His throaty chuckle is deep. “Nah, you know how Jimmy is. I figured we should schedule a time to speak tomorrow if that works for you?”
I rub my forehead in frustration, not loving the idea of trying to squeeze in another unplanned meeting into my already-thinly-stretched schedule. “Okay, let’s do 7 a.m. My daughter leaves for school at 6:50, and I don’t need her worried about all of this.”
“Sounds good. We’ll talk tomorrow morning, but in the meantime, sleep well knowing I’ll be out here all evening. Good night.”
2
ALEX
“Juliette Morgan Pierce.”
I say her name aloud to myself as I flip through her file. I chew on a bite of my bagel, reading over the dossier Jimmy sent over so I could get up to speed prior to meeting with her.
I know Juliette, or at least I knowofher. I’ve met her a time or two when she was out with her girlfriends and her best friend Blaire was messing around with Jimmy before they got married. She’s a total knockout, that’s for sure. We’re talking a 10 out of 10 smoke show. Blonde hair and big blue eyes, full hips you want to grip while you pull her back onto you, and lips that would look so damn good wrapped around my dick . . . my kryptonite.
