She blushed and looked down at the floor. “It’s okay.”
Jonas’s lips thinned. When he stepped closer and cupped her chin in his palm, coaxing her to look at him, Wade wanted to protest. Seeing another man’s hands on Gracie set him on edge. Knowing they both needed to get past the embarrassment was the only thing keeping him from leaping between the two.
“Gracie, I’m not going to lie and tel you I didn’t see anything, but I would never do anything to embarrass you intentional y.”
Gracie’s head came up, her gaze connecting with Jonas’s. “Of course you wouldn’t. I know that.”
Jonas relaxed and held his hands in the air. “Believe me when I say it won’t happen again.”
“No, it won’t,” Wade gritted out as he pul ed Gracie in tight against his side. Gracie elbowed him in the ribs and glared up at him. Wade wouldn’t be swayed. One slipup was al Jonas would be al owed. Next time he’d find himself on the floor nursing a broken nose.
She rol ed her eyes and shook her head. “Whatever. You have something to show me, remember?”
Wade handed her the plastic baggie. “We need to get this to Detective Henderson. I doubt they’l get anything off it, but it’s stil evidence.”
Gracie began reading the note aloud. “ ‘ Did you like the gift I left? Soon, Gracie Lynn. We’ll be together soon, my love. Yours Forever.’ ”
She frowned and handed it back to him. “He’s talking about the black rose he left on my kitchen table.”
Rage threatened to consume Wade. He knew better than anyone that getting emotional could cloud his judgment,
but knowing Gracie was trying to be strong, trying not to let it eat her up inside, tore at his gut. He wanted this over already.
Wade shoved a hand through his hair. “Yeah. That’s not why he left the note, though.”
“Then what is it about, Wade?” Gracie asked, her voice rising in anger. “I’m so sick of the mind games with this jerk.”
Gracie stepped away. Distance, emotional as wel as physical. He knew what she was doing, and it made Wade want to put a fist into the wal . Better yet, into her stalker’s damn face. Christ, did she think that a few inches of carpet between them would keep him from knowing that she needed him? Hel , no. When would she learn that she wasn’t in this alone anymore? He wasn’t about to let her erect her little wal s. Hel , he’d just barely penetrated a few of her barriers; backtracking now wasn’t an option.
Wade tamped down the instinct to drag her close, to know she was safe and prove to her that she could lean on him, that he wouldn’t bend under the pressure, and focused instead on the threat. Pointing to the computer monitor, Wade said, “He came straight to the front door, even after trashing your place. He’s playing with us. He knows we’re watching, but it didn’t scare him off. He’s trying to prove how smart he is.
Preening for you.”
Jonas shoved his hands in his front pockets, as if he too had a hard time watching Gracie stand there, separate, alone. “The cops are driving by regularly, and we’ve got your apartment wired. Yet he stil couldn’t resist leaving the note.”
Fuck this. Wade wrapped a hand around her nape and pul ed her close. “This wil end soon. I promise you.”
Gracie shook her head, equal amounts of anger and fear chasing across her expressive face. “You can’t make a promise like that, Wade.
This could go on for weeks. Months even. We’re completely at his mercy.”
“No, we aren’t,” he ground out. “We stil have those e-mails.” He kissed her, hard. The flavor of her lips was a subtle seduction that he ached to explore further. Remembering they weren’t alone—and that they had a job to do—Wade pul ed back and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s get to work.”
She took his hand, but didn’t budge. “The police have been through the e-mails, Wade. I’ve read them until I’m blue in the face. You’ve even gone through them. I just don’t see what else we could learn from them.”
“Jonas and I skimmed them, but we didn’t go through them thoroughly. We were more concerned with learning their origin then. And the police may have gone through them, but I’m not sure they were looking too closely.”
“Could it real y hurt at this point?” Jonas added.
Gracie sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”
Wade tugged. She relented final y and al owed him to pul her into his adjoining home. He placed a kiss to the silk of her hair and released her. “Want to boot up while I make us some lunch?”
At the reminder of what they’d been about to do before he’d gotten distracted by seeing her ass up in the air, a temptation he hadn’t bothered to deny, Gracie blushed. “Uh, yeah.”
Jonas cleared his throat and pul ed out a chair. “If you’re making lunch, I want chicken parmesan.” Jonas looked over at Gracie. She’d already sat down at the table and was tapping the keys of her laptop. “You haven’t tasted heaven until you’ve had Wade’s chicken parmesan.”
“He made cannel oni yesterday. It was delicious.” Gracie grinned up at him, and it was al Wade could do to keep from slinging her over his shoulder and dragging her sexy ass right up the stairs.