Chapter 6

T he next morning, Kara couldn't shake the feeling something bad would soon happen. The meeting last night with Jace had brought up all kinds of mixed feelings. Regret that they had broken it off badly. Wistfulness for what they'd lost. Anger he'd changed into a motorcycle fanatic and joined a gang.

Most disturbing was the desire he still managed to kindle inside her, the feeling of being alive and excited about life again.

Forget Jace. She had bigger worries.

A twinge of guilt shot through her. Although it was Saturday, she had asked Dylan to work a couple of hours, promising overtime. Dylan had left his phone lying on the counter when he went out back to toss out boxes. Kara had scrolled through it. Worry propelled her, but still, it was wrong. Even if she did it for the right reasons—to protect Dylan.

Nothing suspicious. Dylan was careful, with messages written in popular teen text lingo she couldn't decipher. Still, she found a text regarding a party at a clubhouse. Kara made a mental note of the clubhouse address and replaced his phone.

A couple of hours later, Dylan was gone, using the excuse he needed to leave early to check on his mother. Kara finished locking up her store, checking the front and back doors twice. Gripping the keys so hard they left marks in her palm, she hesitated walking to her car, which was parked out front.

Maybe I should stay here tonight. I've got plenty of paperwork.

She'd locked up the Vandermeers' jewelry in the store safe and it was secure. As a precaution, she'd locked up some of the other jewelry as well.

The rest she wore. Sunlight glinted on the ruby teardrop around her neck, the six rings on her fingers and the pearl-drop earrings with rubies snug against her earlobes.

Kara never took home her store inventory. But she couldn't ignore the niggling feeling she needed to split her stock.

Her home security system wasn't as efficient as the store's, but still, her house wasn't as visible.

Jace knew.

Well, who cares about him? He's changed.

Not that she cared. No, the tiny sting of hurt upon seeing him wasn't regret. They were finished. Over. In retrospect, she'd made a good decision.

Jace would never know her terror with regard to motorcycles. Judging from how he acted now, hanging with a dangerous biker gang, bikes did mean more to him than anything else.

Kara drove slowly away from her shop downtown, toward her home. As she pulled into the driveway of her house, something in her chest eased.

The three-bedroom, two-bath modest ranch house blended with the other homes on the street. Here was her sanctuary. Few people knew she lived here. She'd searched for a home in a good neighborhood just before she and Jace broke up. The community was a far cry from her parents' house in a waterfront country-club community.

The key slid smoothly into the lock as she opened the front door. Tierra Woods was a nongated community, where all the homes didn't look as if they were stamped from a cookie cutter. Most of her neighbors were strictly middle-class with families, a few single professionals and retirees, with a mix of Black and Latino households. They all looked out for each other.

She'd bought here on Jace's advice just after their painful breakup.

"I promised you I'd help you find a good home in a great neighborhood and I don't back away from my promises," he'd said. "I want you to be safe, Kara. Even though we're no longer together," he'd said, his blue eyes serious.

Jace had heard it through the computer department at his work that it was an up-and-coming neighborhood.

"Little crime in that area. Lots of cops," he'd told her.

Kara loved it. After she'd moved in, neighbors had greeted her with food, offers of help to fix the broken porch railing and knowledge of reliable electricians, plumbers and contractors.

She'd barely walked inside, keyed the alarm code and set down her purse when the doorbell rang. She glanced at her phone. The security camera showed Maria Michaels, her neighbor from across the street and a good friend. Her husband, Hank, worked at the city's police department as a detective.

"Maria, come on in." Kara opened the door wide.

Maria waved a hand. "Dinner's in the oven. I only have a minute. Wanted to remind you about the potluck party tomorrow."

"Ah, sorry. I have plans. Rain check."

Maria's bright, inquisitive gaze traveled over Kara's body. "Nice bling you're wearing, sweetie. You going to another one of those hoity-toity black-tie galas? A little much, huh?"

Her hand dropped to the necklace. "Safekeeping. I don't have the security system on the new shop yet."

"Better lock them up. My Larry would love those. He keeps raiding my jewelry box for ways to decorate his new train."

The thought of her friend's toddler gluing nearly six figures in jewels on a plastic toy train made her smile. "No worries. They'll be safe from his sticky little hands. Have a good night."

As she started to close the door, Maria stopped her, her expression serious now. "The potluck isn't the real reason I came over. I wanted to let you know in person instead of calling. There was a guy riding up and down the street earlier. Cute guy, dressed in black leather, on a motorcycle."

Her heart dropped to her chest. "Was the motorcycle red and the guy had long, dark hair?"

Maria seemed to consider. "Yeah. He stopped in front of your house for a couple of minutes, pulled off his helmet. I saw his face for a minute—he was cute, and I thought for a minute maybe he was your new boyfriend."

Ex-boyfriend. Her heart sank. Jace had gone to her house. But why?

"When was this?"

"Around one or two." Her friend studied her. "You're pale, hon. You okay?"

No, but I will be . She'd trusted her instincts in the past, ever since the accident, and wasn't about to stop now. Since Jace knew where she lived...maybe he'd been sent to scout out her home to ensure she was home so he could break into her shop.

Had he sunk that far? It was so unlike him, but again, so was the long hair and the beard.

"Did he say anything?"

"No, he drove off before I could ask him what he wanted."

"It's okay. I think I know who he is, but thank you for letting me know. His name is Jace and he's an old boyfriend."

"Maybe you should turn him into a new boyfriend." Maria winked. "As far as anyone hanging around your house, no worries. You know we always look out for you and Hank thinks of you like a sister. Need me to do a little digging on this Jace for you?"

Maria did some government contract work with computers, Kara remembered. She was supposed to be a cyber whiz.

"No. It's okay. He's harmless."

I hope he is.

"You need us, any time of day or night, call." Maria gave her a quick hug and then walked away as Kara closed and locked the door.

Kara wondered why Jace was casing her home. Why now?

Filled with worry about the jewels she'd purchased, Kara headed into the bedroom, removed the jewelry and locked all of it in the safe in her bedroom closet. The safe had an alarm rigged to it.

She slipped out of her business suit and took a quick shower, rinsing off the day's tension. After dressing in a pale peach sweater, jeans and sneakers, she fished through the refrigerator and settled on a quick leftover salad.

Kara kept glancing at the kitchen clock as she ate at the counter. When she finished, she dumped the dishes into the sink and called her parents. The brief call reassured them she was fine, only tired.

The roar of a motorcycle outside made her jump. Kara pushed back from the table and ran to the window, peeking outside. Dread and a trill of delight rushed down her spine as a tall man dismounted from the bike parked on her driveway. The late-afternoon sunshine picked out gold streaks among the dark brown strands of long hair spilling down to the collar of his brown leather jacket.

Jace.

At least he had the courtesy to show up instead of stalking her neighborhood.

She flung the door open as he sauntered up the walkway. "You'd better have a terrific reason for coming here. This can't be a social call."

"Maybe it is a social call."

His expression gave away nothing. Jace always did play it close to the vest. Kara almost didn't let him enter, but out of a sense of curiosity, she stepped back and closed the door behind him. Jace strode into the living room as if he belonged here.

"Why are you here?"

He looked incongruous standing there, larger than life, as out of place as the statue of David displayed in a garbage dump. The delicate silk-covered chair by the window looked too fragile to support his muscled weight, while his biker boots would leave marks if he propped them up on her glass coffee table.

He looked around the room. "Place looks nice."

"It's an investment in a home in a nice neighborhood. I'm thinking of my future, something I once thought you did as well."

Those wide shoulders lifted as he raked a hand through his long hair, making the curls messier and somewhat endearing. Do not go there, she cautioned herself.

"Got bored with planning a future."

Jace glanced around, his blue gaze sharpening as he took in the artwork on the walls, the inlaid bookshelves filled with well-loved paperbacks, not leather-bound antiques.

He strode over, past the twin mirrors framing the inlaid fireplace and the brass lamps set upon matching tables, and removed a book from the shelf. Kara inwardly fumed as he thumbed through the pages of a well-known thriller novel.

Jace arched a dark eyebrow. "Kind of plebeian for someone with your breeding."

She snatched the book back and set it on the table. "I enjoy reading all genres. Unlike you and those foul-mouthed knuckle-draggers whose company you're frequenting. I imagine your reading choices are limited these days to beer-bottle labels."

Something flickered in his gaze. Kara felt a tug of remorse for sharp words. This wasn't her. Not him.

"Touché. Guess you have me pinned down."

"I'm sorry. That was nasty and that's not me. What happened to us, Jace?" she asked quietly.

His chest rose and fell, as if he'd inhaled her words. "We knew each other really well. Maybe too well."

"When did we become cruel instead of being each other's everything?"

For a moment, his expression turned haunted. "People change."

"Or don't." Kara thought of all the reasons she'd broken it off with him. "It's obvious you still adore that machine in my driveway."

Now, he did look at her, his blue gaze narrowing. "I told you riding bikes wasn't something I was willing to give up. Not for you, or anyone."

"Don't put this on me, Jace. Keep denying it, but we both know your motorcycle meant more than I did."

Jace went over to the windows, jerked the drapes shut. His jaw tensed, as if he was trying to keep back words he wanted to spill out.

"It never did, Kara. You were unreasonable. I never much liked your habit of taking an Uber to the grocery store, but I never asked you to give it up. Yet you insisted I give up my bike."

"Motorcycles are dangerous!"

"And I told you, I'm careful. I was willing to give up time with my bike, but you sure as hell weren't willing to compromise so we could spend more time together."

Guilt rippled through her. "You knew how important my work was."

"I felt like you were penciling me into your schedule just so we could have dinner once a week, and even then you canceled."

"And you roared off on your bike even when I tried to make time for you. God only knows where you went. You never told me. For all I know, you went to see your family—the family you refused for me to meet. Even after you asked me to marry you, you changed the subject when I asked about meeting your parents."

"Don't go there, Kara," he said in a low voice. "You know this wasn't about my bike, or my family."

She bit her lip. "This is pointless. Answer my question. Why are you here?"

"Came to make sure you were home and going to stay home and not anyplace near Cannon Avenue tonight."

The blunt answer set her back on her sneakered soles. "Why should you care what I do tonight?"

Especially on the same street as my store?

He raked a hand through his messy hair again. "Things are...going down tonight, Kara, and it could get intense in that area. Big party with a lot of people you don't like. That's all I can say."

Lifting her chin, she glared at him. "You and your biker buddies planning a party on Cannon? Or something that would break the law?"

Jace drew in a breath. "Listen to me, Kara. For once, please, listen to me and do what I say. Stay inside tonight, for your own sake."

"Tell me what's going on."

"I can't."

He looked so conflicted she almost felt sorry for him.

She softened her voice. "Jace, please, what's wrong? I know you, even if you have changed. You're worried about me. Why?"

Those blue eyes, as deep as the ocean and just as concealing, studied her. "Will you do as I ask?"

Kara folded her arms. "Not unless you level with me."

Jace's gaze flickered. Then he snapped to military-straight attention and looked around. He spotted her cell phone on the coffee table and pocketed it.

For a moment in pure disbelief, she stared. "You're stealing my cell!"

"Yeah. Just for tonight. I'll return it tomorrow morning, when I find you here, safe and sound."

"You can't do that!"

"Just did."

"What if I have an emergency?"

He pointed to the sophisticated alarm system blinking on the hallway wall. "That's a Fontaine special. Know them well. Press a button and first responders will be here in a few minutes. If that fails, you can run across the street to the neighbor who kept watering her lawn every time I passed by this afternoon. I'm sure she'll let you use her phone."

Jace headed for the door, then turned slightly and spoke over his shoulder. "I'm sorry for the way we broke up, Kara. I really am. But I do still have your best interest in mind. I wish you would trust me in this."

She rubbed her temple as she followed him to the door. "I want to, Jace. But...my phone!"

Turning, he reached up and ran a thumb over her cheek, evoking a shiver of recognition. Jace always did that to calm her worst fears. "It's for the best, babe."

When the bike growled away, Kara locked all her doors and windows.

Then she set the alarm on her house, and headed to bed to take a long nap. Jace had never given her bad advice before. Despite his nefarious acquaintances, he seemed on the level. His old protective streak still ran strong.

Maybe she should stay home tonight to avoid trouble. Or not.

She dressed in green sleep pants and a bright pink T-shirt, and climbed into bed. A smile lit her face as she touched the cell phone on her nightstand.

Jace hadn't stolen her phone with the address of the biker clubhouse. No, he'd swiped her business phone, one she only used to advertise her business on social media and for soliciting clients.

If Jace's criminal pals planned to steal from her, she knew where to find them.