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“You have your own lab?” And you keep evidence bags in your coat? She kept the last part to herself. She got the feeling he wouldn’t understand why she thought it was weird.
Harley nodded. “It’s a necessity. Local police investigations are stymied by the backlog awaiting lab testing. Since I have my own state-of-the-art lab in DC, none of my investigators have to wait. Things can move forward faster. It was one of the first things I invested in when the company started to gain success.”
Jade tried not to look impressed, but it was hard. The Harley she was looking at was so different from the one she remembered. At least on the outside. On the inside, she was pretty sure the rebel was still there. He might have a sports car instead of his old truck, but he probably still drove fast. And no doubt liked to bend the rules as far as he could. That had always made her nervous back when they were dating, and still did now. She could look at Harley but not touch. And definitely not keep.
“Anyway, the results might help us narrow down who might be involved. Maybe the person who was behind the switch sent the letter. Or someone else who knows something about the case.” He put it away and looked at her with a softer expression on his face. “Is this the first note you’ve received?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else unusual? Phone calls? The feeling that someone is following you?”
Jade sighed and tried to think back over the last week since she’d gone on the news and her story had spread across Charleston. It had been chaotic to be sure, but she hadn’t felt like she was in danger. “Nothing I can think of. I lead a pretty quiet, boring life compared to yours, Harley.”
“Good,” he said with a curt nod. “That was what you wanted, after all, right? Safe, comfortable? All the things you didn’t think I could give you.”
She had been waiting for this moment. He’d been so professional thus far, but she knew eventually he would mention their breakup. How could he not?
“I don’t know what you could’ve given me. We were kids and I made the best decision I could at the time. I ended up being all wrong about Lance, but I could’ve been wrong about you, too. But something tells me you weren’t interested in a quiet life back then and you’re not interested in it now.”
He shrugged, confirming in her mind that it was true. “A little excitement isn’t all bad, Jade.” He pushed off his car to come closer to her, suddenly invading her personal space.
One moment she thought
he was irritated with her over their breakup, and the next she could feel his body heat as he moved nearer. Jade looked up at his dark blue eyes, which were virtually black in the dwindling evening light. When he looked at her like that, she could feel her belly clench and her neck and shoulders tense. He could bring some excitement into her life for sure. She had sorely missed that kind of thrill. Unfortunately, with Harley there was always the promise of more than she bargained for.
“I’ll, uh, take your word for it,” she said. Jade forced herself to take a step back, when every nerve in her body urged her to take a step forward into his arms. The way he looked at her was practically a dare. It was a dare she wanted to take on, but that was exactly why she moved away.
The last thing she needed was her father out on the porch again with his shotgun.
Harley sighed, but she could tell he wasn’t going to push the issue. Not here. Not now. But eventually she wouldn’t be able to run.
“Well, listen, you’re probably freezing, so I’m going to go. I plan to stop by where I’m staying for a few things and then I’ll meet you back at your house.”
Jade hesitated, wondering what she’d just missed in the conversation while she’d wrestled with her desires. Had she gotten lost in his big blue eyes and not heard him say he was coming to her home? “What? Why are you coming by?”
He patted his suit coat pocket and the letter he’d put inside. “Someone is threatening you, Jade. This is serious. You need someone to protect you.”
“You?” He was joking with her, right?
“Of course, me. I don’t have any other staff in Charleston right now. Is that a problem?” He arched his brow at her, upping the ante of the dare.
Yes, it was a problem. In a dozen different ways, yes, but she voiced the least complicated one she could come up with. “There’s no way I could afford to pay you for security detail, Harley. I don’t have any savings left after what happened with Lance.”
His brows knitted together in a heavy frown. “You should know better than that, Jade. I’m not doing this for the money.”
“But I—”
He reached up and pressed a finger to her lips to silence her argument. “Consider it pro bono work. I need all the tax deductions I can get.”
She took another step back in retreat from his touch despite her desire to move closer and let him press his lips to her mouth instead of his fingertip. “Don’t I get any say in this? I don’t recall asking you to—”
“Nope,” he interrupted. “If I know you, and I’m pretty sure I do, you’re not going to take this situation seriously. I’m here to do that for you.” He smiled and walked away from her. He opened the driver’s side door to his car and hesitated. “I’ll be there in about an hour.”
Jade watched him back out of the driveway and disappear down her parents’ street. Her stomach was aching with worry even as her blood still hummed hot in her veins.
Being close to Harley was dangerous. And now she was going to be around him more than she’d ever anticipated. What was she going to do? It was one thing to see him in short visits, but if he was staying with her? Sleeping feet away in her guest bedroom? Would she be able to resist the pull he had on her?
Jade prayed this investigation would be finished quickly. Her reignited libido couldn’t take this for too long.
