Page 20 of Fierce Hope
Jade stood on his porch, snow dusting her shoulders and catching in her dark hair. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, but her eyes were sharp, darting past him to scan the interior of his house. One hand clutched her purse tight against her side, the other wrapped around herself like armor.
“Come in,” he said, stepping back. The words came out rougher than he intended.
She hesitated for just a heartbeat before crossing his threshold. The moment felt weighted, significant—Jade Villanueva, walking into his personal space. Into his life.
“Can I take your coat?”
She shook her head, still standing just inside the door. “I won’t stay long.”
“At least warm up a bit.” He gestured toward the kitchen. “Coffee? Tea? I think DJ left some hot chocolate mix somewhere ...”
“Coffee would be nice,” she said softly, following him into the kitchen. Her boots clicked against the hardwood floors—precise, measured steps, like she was mapping escape routes.
He busied himself with the coffee maker, sneaking glances as she perched on the edge of a kitchen chair. Her shoulders were rigid, spine straight, but her hands trembled slightly as she finally set her purse down.
“Sugar? Cream?”
“Black is fine.”
The coffee maker’s gurgle filled the silence between them. Deke leaned against the counter, fighting the urge to move closer, to offer comfort. Something had spooked her badly enough to seek him out. The protective instinct that had been simmering for weeks roared to life.
But he waited, letting her find her words. The coffee finished brewing, and he set a mug in front of her, taking the seat across the table.
Jade wrapped her hands around the mug, staring into its depths like she might find answers there. When she finally looked up, the fear in her eyes made his chest ache.
“I need your help.”
“Another break-in?”
She shook her head and pulled a collection of folded notes from her coat pocket, smoothing them on the table between them. “I got one on my car today at the grocery store. One a couple days ago in the church parking lot, and the first one at work in a bouquet of flowers.”
Work, home and church. The three places she probably spent the most time.
Deke read the threatening messages, his jaw tightening. “What else has been going on?”
She took a shaky breath. “It all started about a month ago. My car was broken into in front of my condo. Nothing was taken, just things tossed around inside. I figured it was kids looking for valuables. But then, last week, it happened again in the church lot. There was nothing taken, just ... moved around enough so I’d know they’d been there. That’s when they left the first note.”
“Did you call the police?”
“The first time, when my car was ransacked. They took a report, but …”
“Yeah.” Deke liked the town’s chief, the officers he’d met, too. But they were a small department. Chief Frazer had to manage his limited resources. “This is escalating.”
She set down her coffee, barely touched. “That’s why I reached out.”
“I’m glad you did. My team and I will figure this out. That’s a promise.”
She smiled wanly. “I can pay?—”
“Don’t even go there. This is …” He almost said personal. Because it felt personal. Instead, he finished with: “You tutor my son. This is on me.”
Thankfully, she didn’t argue.
He studied her face, noting the shadows under her eyes, the tension in her shoulders. “Any ex-boyfriends I should know about? Angry clients? Someone at the firm with a grudge?”
She shook her head. “No exes in the picture. And no suspicious client activity. I’ve scoured my records. Twice. I even audited the church accounts, thinking maybe ...” She trailed off,then squared her shoulders. “Nothing suspicious anywhere I look.”
“What about?—”
