Page 45 of Stolen Hearts

He stalked to the bedroom to see her sitting on the edge of the bed, Navy clutched to her chest. Her dresser drawers hung open, and garments dangled out.

The sight punched him in the gut.

“What the hell, Rhae?” He kept his voice low, trying to keep the edge of panic from creeping in. He scanned her taut face. “Where are you going?”

She looked up at him. The moment their gazes met, he saw it—panic, raw and deep. Her breath came fast and shallow.

“He found me.”

Her panic latched on to him too, crawling under his skin. His hand twitched toward his spine, reaching for his sidearm.

“Who?” He already knew the answer—he just needed to confirm his target.

“Robert.” Her voice cracked. Picking up on her mother’s distress, Navy began to whine. “He sent me flowers.”

“Where are they?”

“In my office.”

“You’re sure they’re from him?”

Her blue eyes liquified. “He signed the card.”

A cold dread settled in his chest. “You didn’t get rid of them?”

She quickly shook her head. “I was too freaked out to think about tossing them in the trash. I didn’t touch anything after I read the note. I just came straight here.”

“And started packing. Fuck!”

The baby began to whimper now, her bright eyes darting between him and her mother, responding to the tension in the air.

“Let me take her.” He held out his arms, and Rhae passed the baby to him without hesitation.

He cradled Navy in one arm and wrapped the other around Rhae. His woman.

“I can’t stay here, Denver. He knows where I’m at!”

He cupped her face in one hand. “Rhae, look at me.”

She did, eyes wide and shiny with fear.

“You’re safe here. You and Navy both. Iswearto you. You’re surrounded by a fortress full of men who know how to shoot to kill, who live for this kind of threat. I’m no slacker either. And believe me, no one will take you or Navy from me.Ever.”

“But the card. He knows where I am!”

“And he made the mistake of revealing that.” He’d already guessed Ravencroft was a cocky motherfucker. Just going after the daughter of his former business colleague, one much, much younger than him, was enough of a sign. But now his inflated ego had put him in the line of fire.

“I’ll have my brothers run forensics on the flowers and the card. First, we’ll track the flowers to find out who delivered them and when. We’ll check the security cameras too. If there’sanything on the flowers or card—fingerprints, DNA—we’ll find it.”

She stared at him in silence. He saw the small glimmer of hope in her eyes, but she got up to pace, shoving her hands in her pockets. “You think that’s enough to stop him? I don’t.”

“No. But I don’t think he’s stupid enough to be in the area.” He’d seen men like this before—guys who hid behind the screen, tried to control people from afar.

Denver was here to tell the bastard that he was dead…fucking…wrong.

She shook her head. “Even if I stay…”

“Youarestaying, Rhae. You and Navy are in the safest place.” He had to prove to her she was safe. The best way to do that was to go ahead with their dinner plans.

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