Page 204 of Push

I shrugged. “She said the police had stopped by and warned her to stop sending you messages. She thought I was some criminal mastermind framing her. Any idea what that nutcase was going on about?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, maybe…” His grimace confirmed a yes.

“Tobes.” I stuck a hand on my hip and gave him a pointed look.

“I just assumed it was Kayleigh being, you know…Kayleigh.” He dug his phone out of his back pocket. Brows furrowed, he swiped through his messages and then turned his phone for meto see. “They come through on different numbers. I get ’em, and I send ’em straight to Wayne.”

Unknown

You owe me everything.

“What do you think, doll?”

“I think that’s Ian.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded, swiping to the other unknown number and reading the messages. “He said similar things to me when we were in the underpass.”

Toby’s eyes narrowed. “What else did he say to you down there?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing, my ass. We’re reporting what happened to you to the police.”

“Toby—”

“Nope. If these messages are from Ian, and he was prepared to attack you in broad daylight… Christ, Gwen! We’ve already reported him for the fraud. Won’t the cops want to know about the attack on you—bothof them—for the investigation? I bet Wayne noticed you’re all busted up. You wave him off like it was no big deal?” Toby raked his hand through his hair as he forced down a deep breath. “Why do we keep spinning our wheels like this? Why are you being so damn stubborn?”

My husband was a lot more switched on than I’d given him credit for. He wasn’t wrong aboutanyof it. Still… “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Like hell you are. Gwen, I know you’re brave. You’re fearless. But sometimes, being fearless is confronting that bad things can happen to you, too.”

“Toby—”

“You don’t want Wayne and all your old cop buddies to realize you aren’t invincible? Well, too damn bad. Put on your big girl pants, doll, because we’re taking a trip back to the police station.”

“You’re not going to budge on this, are you?”

“Nope.”

With a suggestive smile, I yanked the front of his dental coat and pulled him closer. “What about if I—”

“Nope.” He grinned before he snuck a quick kiss. “Don’t think your wicked ways don’t tempt me, my fair lady, but this is the right thing to do. You know it. I know it.” His smile faded. “Gwen, I’m so sorry for all of this.” He puffed out a breath. “My family. Me. God, all this drama still hanging over our heads.”

I pressed a gentle finger on his lips. “We’re going to get through this.” After he pecked a kiss on my fingertip, I traced a line over his cheek and cupped my hand around his jaw. “I’m working hard with my therapist, and so are you. We’re both still a work in progress about being fully honest with each other, but we’ll figure that out, too.”

“But I’m not doingenough.”

“Tobes, come here.” He sulked, refusing with a quick shake of his head. Too bad. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. “Remember the day we had our picnic? I meant what I said. I’m not expecting you to rewrite history; I only want you to learn from it. Listening, being there for me—that’s everything, and it’sdefinitelyenough. The noise everyone’s making will quiet down with time, and we’re going to be stronger than ever. No one will ever shake us again.”

His frown didn’t budge. “I hope so.”

“I know so.”

“Promise me one thing, okay? When all this crap is over, I want us to take a vacation in Vanuatu or Hawaii or something.Just you, me, and Noah soaking up some sun.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And I’ll make all the bookings.”

“Allthe bookings?” I fanned myself. “You know how to get a girl all hot and bothered.”

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