Page 41 of Until You Found Me

“Couldn’t tell who it was. Gotta call the cops and let ‘em know.”

He’s got an armful of her a second later, her face buried in the curve of his neck and her grip tight. “Don’t do that again. Please don’t go running off like that. He could have—”

“I won’t. He’s gone. It’s just us now. You stay here tonight, okay?”

“Okay.”

Only one person would go through all this trouble to peek into Tessa’s new home. The cops won’t do anything now that he’s gone, can’t track someone hours later and it takes them forever to respond to calls. Can’t do much when she doesn’t remember his name or his face.

Logan can do something though. He can teach her how to defend herself. If her piece of shit ex shows up to finish the job, she’ll be ready.

Chapter 10

“It has to be him.” Tessa paces the trailer from one end to the next, counting her steps as she goes. Exactly eight from the closed bedroom door to the other side. “Who else would it be? Why would he come here? Why would he risk being seen? Do you think he’s trying to…finish it? Finish me?”

Logan’s eyes darken from where he sits at the table. “If he tries, I’ll put a bullet in him before he can.”

“Then you’ll end up in jail because of me.”

“Tessa—”

“You just met me. You can’t throw away your whole life. It’s not fair.”

“Listen…”

“If something happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself. You know what he’s capable of, you could get hurt.”

He gets up to block her path, cutting off her incessant pacing until she’s faced with the wide expanse of his chest. “Hey, it’s not me we’re worried about here, okay? Keeping you safe is what’s important.”

She deflates, shoulders sagging. All she wants is to fold into his arms, but her racing brain won’t allow it. “He was that guy I bumped into in town, right? Then at the marina. Then he followed us around until we led him back here?”

“Probably. Maybe. Carl’s checking the cameras in town, got a car patrolling the street, we’re good for now.”

The cops were here for an hour asking questions and dusting for fingerprints, taking it all very seriously. Her constant dramas must be all they talk about. Even the most bored officer tends to wake up when someone crawls out of a shallow grave, she supposes.

“I bet I’m the most exciting thing that’s happened to them in a long time,” she says bitterly.

“Wish that wasn’t true, but you ain’t wrong. Not much happens around here. Good thing is you got their attention. Usually can’t get them away from the coffee shop for anything other than a traffic ticket.”

“Well, I feel special.”

“You are,” he says, in a matter-of-fact tone that cuts through her anxiety.

That’s when she remembers that they were kissing before this all went to shit. Despite her desire to initiate a round two and reclaim what was taken, she talks herself out of it. He deserves more than an angry attempt at forcing the shadow of her ex out from between them.

“He takes everything, doesn’t he?” she scowls. “Fuck him for this. I was starting to feel safe here. Everything was calming down. I felt like I fit somewhere and then there’s you…us…and I just…fuck him for showing up like this and blowing it all up.”

“He didn’t blow anything up. You’re still safe here. Come on.” He reaches down to lace their fingers together, leading her back toward the bedroom.

“I dunno that sex will fix it,” she teases, unsurprised that it falls flat.

Her adrenaline is sky-high, but he urges her into bed and she reluctantly obliges. “Tea? Hot chocolate? Coffee?” he offers. “Probably not coffee, need less energy, not more.”

“None of that.” Her hand catches his as he turns for the kitchen. “Just you. I can’t sleep, anyway. Lay here with me?”

He nods, chewing on the bottom lip she wants to kiss. Their impending closeness hasn’t become routine yet and his nerves are obvious.

“Wait, did you lock the door?”

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