Page 18 of A Soldier's Destiny
“I know. I don’t get it either and she can’t think of anyone who would want to hurt her. After it went so well in the bakery, in other words, no trouble with broken windows or anything, I was surprised to see this out here. It makes me wonder if it’s the same person. The window was so blatant, but this is hidden behind the building. Not many people would see it. It’s definitely a more personal attack.”
“Agreed. How is Rori holding up?”
“She's shaken up. Scared but working hard to hide it. Apparently, there have been other issues besides what she told Lily about, and now this today. You were right to suggest a bodyguard. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Let me know if you need backup. Any of the guys at ESP will be happy to help out.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep you updated. I’m gonna give Alex a call later and see if he can do some digging, maybe his computer geekery will turn up something.”
“Good, I’ll give Ethan a call and have him talk to Anna. She and Rori were best friends in high school. Maybe she’ll remember someone who wasn’t a fan. She was always so quiet I can’t imagine it though.”
“Quiet? She sure as hell changed then, she’s one bossy woman now.” He’d heard her come down the stairs and figured a little provocation wouldn’t hurt. He enjoyed making her eyes flash, and her cheeks turn shades of pink. Who was he kidding, he couldn’t get enough of any part of her.
“I heard that.”
“What are you doing down here? You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I was hoping you’d be done. There’s a lot of prep to do for tomorrow still. And like you said I need my rest later.”
“It’s only been ten minutes, Angel.”
Chase laughed and raised an eyebrow, probably at his use of his nickname for Rori. But Jasper rolled his eyes. “I can stay with her in the bakery while you take care of what you have to.”
“You’ve got time for that?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you so much. I really need to get that croissant dough prepped, or there won’t be any for tomorrow.”
“Oh hell. We can’t have that. Willow Haven would be in an uproar.”
“There are a few leftover eclairs if you’re hungry.”
“Oh yeah, but only if you promise not to tell Faith. She’ll make me do an extra hour on the treadmill. I want to shoot that damn thing.”
“I’ll take one of those too if you’re offering.”
“Nope, none for you. Don’t you have work to do?” She’d told him, and he howled with laughter as Chase followed her into the bakery. She was everything he’d imagined and more. As much as he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he hoped that she wouldn’t push him away when it was over.
For now, he needed to get his “chores” done so he could take his stubborn angel to dinner.
* * *
“You two getting along okay?”
Rori gave Chase an assessing look. If it were Lily or Anna, she’d come clean about her feelings, but no way was she going there with Chase. She’d known him a long time and really liked his fiancé, Faith, but he was also Jasper’s boss. “Yeah, for the most part. When he’s not being a stubborn pig-headed man.”
“You mean like all of us?” He was right, Anna complained about the same thing with Ethan and Rori laughed, really laughed for the first time in a while. That’s when she realized how worried she’d been about everything. Today, except for being exhausted from lack of sleep, had been a good day, and fun with Jasper, until they’d found the mess on her door.
“I guess so. But did you have to find the worst of the worst for my bodyguard?”
“Hey, he was available. You have to take what you can get,” Chase said with a laugh. “Now how about one of those eclairs?”
“You got it, and I’ll pack up a couple for you to take home to Faith.”
“I have to share? That’s just not right.”
Rori turned to answer and laughed when she saw his chocolate mustache. “Don’t even go there. Not if you know what’s good for you. And if you don’t wipe your face, she’s sure to figure it out anyway.”
