Page 77 of Protecting his Heart

While Evan filled his mother in on the gifts Owen had received, he stared at the photos, at least until Evan mentioned the second scarf.

“Mum, did you send that scarf to the charity shop?”

Sally shook her head. “I’ve kept things like that in the cupboard under the stairs. You know that. Whenever people came to visit, if they didn’t have something, I’d go digging in there to find a spare.”

“That’s what I was worried about,” he said.

Sally’s eyes widened. “They were in the house.”

Owen nodded. “You’ll be staying with us for the moment. At least until we get your house more secure.” He finallyremembered Brett was still on the line. “Brett, did you catch all that?”

“I did. We’ll get someone over to your mother’s house to check it out and see if we can get forensics.”

“Do you still have all the notes?”

“Yes, why?”

“The words in all capitals, what are they?”

Brett rustled around before coming back on clearer. “Year, Old, New, Enemy.”

“That’s not the order they were sent in, though, was it?” He tried to remember. “New was first. I got the calendar second, which meant year is next. Old related to the second scarf, and now enemy. Shit, Brett.New year, old enemy. Who the fuck is this?”

Brett cursed a storm down the line, and he heard him shout, “Get me everything about Dominic’s situation last year. EVERYTHING! Owen, we’ll figure this out, okay? We were already going back over what happened when we saw the number two, but this just points more towards that.”

“Send us everything, too. We can’t do much else except research for the moment,” Evan said.

“Will do.”

Brett hung up, and Owen stared down at the note still visible on the screen. “So if these two events are connected, that means they went after Dominic, and now they’re after me. Does that mean the situations connect us as bodyguards or friends?” He met Evan’s gaze, a wave of panic flowing through him. He couldn’t let anything happen to Evan. He couldn’t lose him again.

Evan cupped his face. “No matter what the answer is, we’re together. We’ll figure this out.” He dropped a kiss on his lips. “But first, I want to speak with Dr Wallis.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Evan?” Sally asked.

“I need to hear the story from his side, Sally. I’ll be able to tell if he’s being honest or was only in it for something else.”

She nodded slowly. “Don’t go on your own, though.”

Owen felt torn. He wanted to go with Evan, but he wanted to be with his mother in case something happened to her. In the end, he called Brett back and asked for someone to stay with her while they went to Dr Wallis’s house. Nick turned up a little while later, holding a Chinese takeaway and a case of beer.

Owen raised his eyebrows, and Nick sighed. “She doesn’t drink beer?”

He snorted. “Oh, she does, but you only brought one case?” He clapped him on the shoulder and left. “Good luck, man.”

Nick would soon find out that his mother could hold her beer with the best of them, and no one had yet to drink her under the table, including him, Evan or Dominic.

They got a taxi to Dr Wallis’s house, neither of them fit enough to drive, and when it deposited them on the man’s driveway, Owen double-checked that Evan wanted to approach him now.

“Why not? It’s not going to make it any easier, is it?” Evan sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”

Owen slid his arm around Evan’s waist. “You don’t need to apologise. We’re all up and down at the moment. It’ll level out soon.” He kissed his cheek. “Ready?”

“No.” But he headed for the door.

When Dr Wallis opened it, his eyes immediately filled, and he swallowed hard, stepping back to allow them in. They entered the living room to find Anika sitting on the sofa with a blanket covering her. Her eyes widened initially, and then she jumped up and flung her arms around Owen. Owen froze for a second before returning the hold, unsure why he was the recipient, but more than happy to reassure her as much as she needed.

She stepped back, gripping his shirt. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

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