Chapter Thirteen

Shock Waves

Ella

“How the hell was this possible, Ewan?” Tucker’s fist tightened as he slammed it down onto the kitchen island.

The sleek monochrome clock on the wall suggested it was only nine in the morning, but the hours she’d already been awake listening to Tucker suggested it should be much later.

“We’re looking into it, Mr. Bowman.” Ewan, the head of security, pressed his lips together. The poor guy didn’t look much older than Ella and seemed totally unprepared for the roasting Tucker was giving him. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, even though she accepted it was his job to know what was happening in Tucker’s building. “All I can do is apologize.”

“Apologize?” Tucker’s voice trembled with fury.

He’d been over and over the intruder’s means of entry, first with her when she’d woken to find Tucker pacing the floor in the kitchen, then again with Ewan more than a dozen times. No matter how many times she heard the story, she never felt any better about it.

Based on what Tucker said, someone had gotten in—apparently, via the window, although God only knew how they’d achieved it or who would have been willing to put their life on the line that way. Worse, they’d seen fit to decapitate her wonderful roses, as though beheading them would achieve anything except ratchet up their dread. She supposed that was the point.

“We could have been killed!” Tucker’s gaze slid fleetingly to Ella, as though he regretted the admission, but the worry in his eyes told her it was true. She couldn’t recall ever seeing him this concerned before… not even when Tucker had called to tell security about the cabin.

“I want the whole system overhauled.” He rose from his stool, towering over Ewan as he hollered. “And get someone in here to secure all the windows in the apartment.”

“Yes, sir.” Ewan scribbled down Tucker’s latest instructions. “Shall I contact the police for you?”

“This site is covered in closed-circuit television. I want footage of the intruder in my inbox by five o’clock.” Tucker closed his eyes. “After that, I’ll decide whether to contact the police.”

Ewan nodded. “Anything else, sir?”

“I’ll let you know.” Tucker pulled in a deep breath. “I need some time to talk to Miss Bennett in private first. I’ll call you later.”

She gripped her coffee cup as she offered Ewan a small smile. The poor guy looked completely stunned.

“As you wish, sir.” Ewan glanced in her direction. “Goodbye, Miss Bennett.”

“Bye,” she managed, watching as the younger man scurried from his stool.

Tucker accompanied him to the elevator. No doubt because there was something else he wanted to say when she wasn’t in earshot, and likely because he wanted to make sure the elevator was secure. Tucker had believed that security would keep them safe, so last night’s intrusion was all the more horrifying for him.

“Can I get you another coffee, sir?” She gestured to his empty cup as he stalked back into the room.

“If I drink any more, I’ll be flying, little girl.” He fell wearily onto his stool as if the weight of the entire world was bearing down on him.

“How about a hot shower, then?”

She understood his concerns and realized he’d been awake for hours, but surely the idea of sharing a shower with her would be enough to distract him for an hour.

“Nice idea.” He sighed. “But not right now. I have to think.”

Her brows knitted. She’d never known Tucker to refuse to shower with her before.

“Are you okay?” She reached for his large hand. “Apart from the obvious, I mean.”

“No.” He lifted his face to the ceiling. “I think maybe we ought to move until I know this place is secure.”

“Move?” Anxiety knotted in her tummy. “Move where, sir?”

Ella had just gotten used to the apartment and liked what she’d gotten to know. Sure, she was disconcerted that someone had broken in and attacked her flowers, but she and her mum had experienced break-ins before. It took time, but they’d get over the sense of violation, and ultimately, neither of them had been hurt. Tucker seemed to be overreacting.

“To one of my other places.” He glanced at the window. “But then, maybe that wouldn’t help.”

“Sir.” Her voice was firmer this time, though her heart was beating so loudly, she was surprised he couldn’t hear it. “I know what happened is shocking, but we’re okay. Ewan will take care of security, and while I loved my flowers, they were the only things that were hurt. It could have been much worse.”

“Hmmm.” He didn’t sound convinced, but gratitude flashed in his blue eyes. “You’re right, little girl, but—”

“But what?” she interrupted, abruptly aware of the heat spreading to her face as she countered him. He’d thrown her over his lap for less impertinence, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was holding back from her.

“Tucker.” Their eyes met as she employed his name. Ella knew he loathed her using it, but desperate times called for desperate measures. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

He’d been agitated and distracted since she’d found him this morning, and initially, she’d put that down to the break-in, but the more time crawled past, the more she wondered if things were worse than he was letting on. The way his stare drilled into her did little to quell her rising apprehension.

“I need to talk to you about that.” His voice was quiet—unusually quiet for Tucker—and the fact he hadn’t chastised her for using his name was also troubling.

“Okay.” She squeezed his fingers, pulling in air. “I’m listening, sir.”

His gaze darted to the marble countertop as though the ornate design would help him find the right words. “There was something else.”

“Something else?”

Time was moving in the same strange pockets it had applied during her stay in the cabin. It felt as though the kitchen was swirling around her, yet she knew she was sitting on the stool at the marble island.

“Apart from the roses.” He scowled. “The bastard left a message on the card that came with your flowers.”

“Oh.” She glanced at what remained of her bouquet, eyeing the one remaining rose. She’d transferred it to a smaller vase and cleared away the remnants of the others but hadn’t spotted the small card that had been sent with them. “I didn’t see that this morning.”

“That’s because I have it.” He reached into his shirt pocket and tugged out the pristine card. Tucker had insisted on changing into the more formal attire before Ewan arrived. “I held back from telling you because I didn’t want you to worry, but…” He hesitated. “I don’t like keeping things from you, little girl.” He placed the card down and slid it across the counter to her.

“Thanks.” Her attention fell to the red ink that had graffitied her love note, her stomach churning as she read the words.

I’M BACK, BOWMAN. C.

Shit.

Ella didn’t know who’d written the menacing missive, but the creepy scrawl, added to the sinister circumstances, made it clear the culprit knew who Tucker was and didn’t have his best intentions at heart.

“Do you know who wrote it?” She pressed her palm onto the cool marble.

“I have a good idea.” His jaw tightened.

“Care to share, sir?”

“Yes.” His pained expression said otherwise, but Ella appreciated his willingness to disclose the information, regardless. “It’s all rooted in my shadowy past, Ella, and I’m afraid some of it might not be easy to hear.”

“Is it about my dad?” A new wave of unease twisted inside her.

“Not this time.” He chuckled, as though Alexander’s potential involvement was in any way amusing. “At least, I don’t think so. His name doesn’t start with ‘C’, and anyway, the Bennett I know wouldn’t have the balls to do this.”

It was difficult to disagree. The man who’d turned out to be her father was far from brave or heroic.

“Who then?” she pressed.

“Another jerk from my past, this time from the military.” Tucker scowled, gesturing to the card. “I’m pretty sure he tried to kill me once and fucked it up, and I have the distinct impression that this latest message is supposed to scare me.”

Based on what Ella had witnessed, the unknown perpetrator had succeeded. She’d never known Tucker so shaken up before.

“Why?” She shook her head. “Why does he want to kill you, sir?”

“I never figured that part out.” The anguish in his eyes conveyed how torturous Tucker had found that experience. “I was discharged from service and never saw the cretin again.”

“Why do you think it’s him, then?” Perhaps Ella couldn’t see the full picture, but she couldn’t see how the break-in and albeit ominous message confirmed the culprit’s identity. “Is he ‘C’?”

“Yes. His name is Collins.” He shrugged. “But I suspect another of my old foes is really behind this break-in.”

“Kenner?” Apprehension furled in her tummy at the thought that the man who’d killed his mum could now be after him.

“Maybe.” His blue eyes bored into her. “Yes.”

“Shit.”

“I will keep you safe.” His vow echoed across the counter to her.

“I know, sir.” She hadn’t even stopped to think about her safety. She was too consumed with Tucker’s obvious upset.

“I mean it.” He grasped her fingers. “My age means I have a litany of enemies, but you shouldn’t have to suffer for that.”

“Don’t be silly, sir.” She laughed at his derogatory self-talk, dismissing it out of hand. Her feelings for Tucker weren’t based on his age or lurid background, or if they were, it was only that those experiences had helped to shape him into the man she’d fallen for. “Those complications are a part of you, and you’re the one I want to be with.”

His lips curled at her answer. “Say that again.”

“What?” His firmer tone had caught her off guard.

“Say. That. Again.” He leaned closer, that knowing gleam in his eyes spiking her pulse once more.

“You’re the one I want to be with.” She exhaled the words in one long rush of air.

“Thank you.” His smile grew as he wrapped his fingers around hers. “You have no idea how much that means to me, little girl.”

“Oh, I think I might, sir.”

Suddenly, it didn’t matter that there was some kind of psychotic maniac on the loose who’d already contrived a way past Tucker’s security and had damaged the blooms he’d bought her. Staring at him, the only thing that mattered was the incessant intensity they shared and all the possibilities it could bring.

“I’m here for you.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. “Remember that. I didn’t have a choice in the woods, but I have one now, and I’m choosing to be here with you. Whoever these madmen are, they won’t break us.”

“I love your spirit, but not as much as I fucking love you.”

His sandalwood scent washed over her, igniting that all too familiar fire inside. Pressing her weight onto her forearm, she rested her temple gently against his forehead.

“Did you just tell me that you loved me, sir?” Her head whirled as she registered the words.

No man had ever told her that before, not even the ones who’d promised her the moon and stars. Hypnotized by his gaze, she was grateful they hadn’t, glad this first time was with him.

“You heard me, little girl.” The smirk that lit up his handsome face was far more like the swine who’d captured and bound her and far less like the rattled one who’d summoned Ewan. “Yes, I love you, and I’ll forever be thankful that you chose me.”