had been a sailor.
When Daniel winced, Jonas laughed. His head tilted back, and a deep rumble of laughter shook his chest.
Christie stared at him, speechless, lost. So lost—in him.
Right then, she knew exactly what she wanted for the holidays. Not just sex. Not fleeting pleasure. Him.
Too bad she couldn’t have what she wanted.
Jonas followed her home. Kept her taillights in sight at all times. Kept her in his mind.
They hadn’t been able to find the ex. Jonas had gone with the cops to Charles Crenshaw’s house, but he hadn’t been there. According to a neighbor, Crenshaw left town yesterday. An annual trip back to see his parents at Christmas.
So the guy could have trashed the office Friday night, then—calm as you please—driven to Cincinnati to see his family.
But Jonas didn’t like the whole damn situation, and until he got a better handle on just what the hell was happening, he planned to stay close to Christie. Not that staying close was any kind of hardship.
She pulled into her driveway and the garage door began to open. He followed her, aware that the routine seemed way too comfortable and easy. Like I’m coming home.
Bullshit, of course. Her place wasn’t his home. Not even close. His home was the barren apartment over on Bentley. The place that hadn’t even sported a Christmas tree until noon. He’d picked the thing up during lunch. He’d been worried Christie would come to his place and, well, hell, the woman loved Christmas. He’d needed the tree for her.
He climbed out of his car and slammed the door. Christie waited for him by the doorway, a warm smile on her lips. The same smile she’d given him at her parents’ place, the smile that made him feel like he’d taken a punch in the gut.
For that sweet curve of her lips, he’d gladly take a hit.
He hurried to her, aware of the grind of the garage door as it lurched back down. His gloved fingers slid down her cheek. Her dress was driving him crazy.
Christie laughed lightly and turned away. She unlocked the door and walked inside—
Then she froze. The lights in the den and kitchen blazed cheerfully, but Christie wasn’t moving.
“Christie?”
“I turned that light off when I left.” Her hand pointed to the kitchen.
Shit. He shoved her behind him. “Get in your car. Pull out onto the street. Lock the doors and stay there.” He took a step forward.
Christie grabbed his hand. “What are you doing?”
He had his phone out. “Calling for backup.” And checking the place out. He threw her a hard stare. “Go, Christie. Now.” He didn’t want her around any danger.
Her delicate jaw tightened. “Be careful, Jonas.”
“Always, baby.”
She slipped outside, and he got ready to hunt.
7
Her house hadn’t been trashed. As far as she’d been able to tell in those brief moments before she fled, nothing had been taken, just like nothing had been taken from her office. But Christie knew someone had been inside her place. She always turned the kitchen light off when she left. Always.
Someone had been there and turned it back on.
She could tell by the way the uniforms on the scene were eyeing her that they didn’t necessarily believe her story.
When Jonas came back to her side, she straightened away from her car, hugging the coat tightly to her. “Do you think it’s Charles? Is he really trying to—”
“Charles is in Cincinnati.”
“Since when?”
“Nine a.m. I got a trooper who owes me a favor up there to check in on your ex. I didn’t think you wanted me to mention it at the party with all those people there, but”—Jonas shook his head—“Crenshaw’s not our guy.”
Someone else out there wanted to scare her? Why?
“I want you to come home with me tonight,” Jonas told her. “Let the uniforms keep searching here.”
“Do you think they’ll find anything?” Someone had broken into my house. The goose bumps on her arms weren’t just from the cold. Fear had lodged inside her.
His lips thinned. “Doubt it.”
“Someone was here, Jonas.” She wasn’t crazy. She was more than a little obsessive compulsive, and she always turned out that kitchen light when she left.
“I believe you, that’s why I want you with me. Until I find out what’s happening here, I want to make absolutely certain you’re safe.”
She could be safe at her parents’. At Daniel’s. If she went with Jonas, she’d be getting a lot more than just safety.
That was exactly what she wanted. “Okay, but can I get some clothes first?”
His gaze raked her, hot in the cold air. “I’ll take care of that for you.”
She licked wind-dry lips. “What’s happening, Jonas?” She didn’t mean between them. The situation between them was way out of control. “Why is someone doing this to me?”
He opened the car door and ushered her inside. “I’m gonna find out, baby.”
“This isn’t your case.” No dead bodies—thank God—no need for him to be here. “Daniel might have called you in before, but you don’t have to work this.”
“You’ve involved.” His eyes glittered. “That means I’m involved, and I’m not backing off until I find out what’s happening.”
Her hands tightened around the steering wheel. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” Things had spiraled out of control. “It’s all gotten so complicated,” she whispered and caught the narrowing of his eyes.
“Baby, sex is complicated.”
With him, it was. Complicated and hot and wild and what she needed right then to banish the cold that snaked through her. In my house. Why?
“Keep the vehicle running and stay warm. Harris over there”—he nodded to a cop standing near a patrol car—“will keep an eye on you until I get back.”
She grabbed his hand. “You really think I need someone to watch me every minute?”
His stare bored into her. “I need him there.” The faint lines around his eyes seemed deeper. “It takes someone damn ballsy to walk right into your house. Whoever this dick is, he’s not getting close to you again.”
This wasn’t the way her Christmas should have turned
