Page 26 of Protect My Heart

Jim took the bear and inspected it for reworked seams or anything that looked off. Nothing popped. It was a store-bought item and looked okay. Valentine’s Day was tomorrow. Maybe Doc had an admirer. Acid stirred in his belly, and the cold that rushed over him had nothing to do with the weather. The thought didn’t sit well with him at all.

Doc lifted a note from the bottom of the box. Jim watched as color drained from her face. The paper in her hand trembled. He reached for it as it fell from her fingertips.

One line of bold typed words sat in the middle of the standard white copy paper. I love your Winnie the Pooh pajamas, Mo stór.

She turned to him with large, misty eyes. “How?”

“Sure you don’t have an ex-boyfriend stalking you?”

“It’s not an ex. I bought Winnie the Pooh pajamas the first day I returned to Minnesota. I needed something warm to sleep in.”

That meant the stalker not only knew where she lived but was watching her. Was he nearby? A neighbor?

“Jim.” The shakiness in her voice grabbed his attention. Her eyes were as big as Tigger’s when he goes to the vet. “Friday morning. I woke up and I was freezing. The window was open a crack. I didn’t remember opening it.”

This didn’t look good. “You need to fill out a police report.”

“And say what? I don’t have a clue who would do something like this, or why.”

She turned from him and hugged herself. Peering over her shoulder, she scrunched her nose. “I forgot to mention something about the call the other day.”

His brows flattened. “What?”

“The caller asked if I got the package.”

“That was last week. Why did it just arrive today?”

“Unless he was talking about another package?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus Doc, how many packages did you get?”

“Just the one last week and this one.” She raised two pink tipped fingers.

“What’s in the other one?”

She winced and studied a spot in the ornate rug.

Jesus, pulling confessions from a killer was easier. His brow rose. The tap, tap, tap of his boot filled the room while she dug in and crossed her arms.

“Lingerie.”

He pinned her with his cop-stare. “Your stalker sent you lingerie?”

“No. I ordered it before I moved back up here. At least I’m ninety-nine percent sure that’s what it is. I haven’t opened it yet. It’s in my car.”

His brow quirked. Visions of Doc wrapped in silk and lace floated through his mind. The rapid beat of his heart filled his ears. He was definitely interested in seeing that package. Especially if she’d model it.

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms before she turned and surveyed the room. “I can’t stay here.”

“Okay, we can book you in a hotel or something. Then we can open that other package.”

“No, I have a place to stay. Its security system is top notch.”

“So is this one.”

“Yes, but no one is staying at the other place. I don’t want to put my aunt and uncle in danger because some nut-job likes my Winnie PJs.”

He bit back a smile. He wouldn’t mind seeing her in her Winnie PJs either. “You shouldn’t be alone.”