around later.
“You should look into that,” he said. “And be aware of your surroundings. Make a note of anyone who hangs around or shows a little too much interest in your store.”
“I need people to show interest, Jack.” She shook her head. “I’m opening a new business! I need customers.”
“Trust your gut,” he replied. He was hoping that her guilt would make her gut a little more touchy than usual, and she’d call him back.
“I will.” Liv looked like she wanted to say something more, then gave him a tight smile. “Thanks, Jack. And you guys will be patrolling this street, right?”
You guys. She was still banking on the rest of the police force here.
“You bet,” he replied, pulling a card from his pocket. “I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, if anything seems weird or uncomfortable—day or night—you call me.”
She took the card from his fingers, her gaze lingering on his for a beat longer than necessary. She looked worried, and while he was only doing his job in an undercover fraud investigation, he felt a faint pang of guilt. The testosterone-fueled part of him didn’t like tricking a woman into letting him get closer. In fact, while it was perfectly legal to be dishonest in order to get a confession out of a suspect, it never felt morally comfortable to him.
Still, these were the tactics available to the police, and what was worse: some dishonesty to catch a criminal, or letting a criminal go to victimize someone else? When someone was trying to lie and deceive, they didn’t tend to come clean with straightforward questioning. Like any undercover operation, there was going to be some deception. A lot of people from his community growing up in a poor section of Denver had been the victims of some illegal police deception in the past, so it was a little harder for him to rationalize it away. Still, for all he knew, he was saving Liv’s life before she got in too deep to some criminal ring. There were some seriously scary people who would do anything for a big enough payout. And he was pretty confident that she was in league with them.
“You’ve got my number there,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, then licked her lips. “I appreciate it.”
“I mean that.” He caught her gaze and held it. “You call me.”
Liv nodded and glanced away. He’d done what he could today—planted a few seeds. He’d suggest to the chief that they leave another threatening letter overnight just to complete the process. Undercover operations required some careful setup, and she was still a little resistant to letting him in closer.
Jack headed for the door and pulled it open. “Take care now, Liv.”
And when he glanced over his shoulder, he caught those clear green eyes fixed on him, her lips slightly parted and her cheeks pale. She clutched a book in front of her in a white-knuckled grip.
Blast. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling anything more than professional satisfaction at what he’d accomplished today, but instead, he was experiencing a mixture of regret and pity. She was scared. Later on, his job would be to make her feel safe again—make her open up. He was looking forward to that part of the job just a little too much.
If he was smart, he’d get these errant feelings under control. She might be beautiful, but that didn’t change the evidence.
LIV ARRIVED AT the store the next morning, half afraid she’d find another note, but the floor in front of the mail slot was bare. She sighed in relief, then took a moment to pull herself together. She wouldn’t be scared off by a coward who worked in anonymous notes. As the morning passed by, she put away the last of the books, but there were more deliveries expected. She ordered in some lunch—a slice of vegetarian pizza with a salad on the side and an order of potato wedges. She was hungry, but she was also nervous. And when she got nervous, she tended to eat. She’d always been this way, even as a kid. In her elementary school years, she’d been filled with social anxiety and was constantly peckish. She’d get on the school bus every morning with dread in her belly, and she’d have her lunch polished off before she even arrived at school.
Back then, she didn’t have a lot to be nervous about. It was just anxiety of the general variety. She’d had friends and several first cousins in the school, so she’d never been alone. A boy had started making fun of her once, and her three older cousins had beaten him up. For better or for worse, those were days when a bloody nose didn’t turn into family counseling, and Liv had gone through school both chubby and unharassed. Some called that a miracle, but Liv had a secret—she’d mastered the art of the compliment early. But as a grown woman with a marriage in her wake, Liv was tired of people-pleasing, and she’d started mastering the art of a well-timed comeback.
Liv popped the last of the wedges into her mouth just as someone rattled the front door. She looked up, still chewing, to see her aunt Marie peering through the window. Liv sighed and went to unlock the door.
“Why did you lock it?” Marie asked as Liv opened the door. “This isn’t Denver, my dear.”
Marie was a petite woman—barely over five feet tall and as trim as she’d been at twenty. She’d aged well, and at sixty, with her hair dyed a respectable brown, she could pass for five years younger.
“Hi, Auntie,” Liv said. “Come on in.”
Marie looked around, her gaze stopping at the greasy paper plate on the counter. “Liv, dear, you need to eat better.”
Would Marie give that same advice to her stick-thin daughter if she’d just consumed the same meal? Not likely. This was the kind of pressure she lived under, and since her divorce she’d decided to stop apologizing for eating.
“Do you know anyone who hates me?” Liv asked, changing the subject.
Marie blinked. “What?”
“Someone who hates me.” Liv slowed it down. “Or hates the idea of this bookstore...”
“No, of course not.” Marie eyed Liv speculatively. “What’s going on?”
“I got a threatening note. Three, actually. The police think it’s serious.”
“Threatening what, exactly?” Marie asked.
“Nothing specific. That if I don’t leave town, I’ll regret it. That sort of thing.”
Marie blew out a breath. “You haven’t been toying with another woman’s husband, have you?”
Liv burst out laughing. “I love how you always see me in the best light, Marie.”
“I’m just... It’s brainstorming, dear. What would upset someone around here? Home-wrecking, I suppose. That’s all I can think of.”
“I agree that home-wrecking is horrible, considering Evan’s cheating,” Liv replied drily, “but I’ve kept my own home-wrecking to a minimum.”
“Well, it’s a silly question to begin with!” Marie said with a shake of her head.
“Or it would be, if
