Page 84 of Sheltered

I thought that was strange. “Why would they feel compelled to communicate that?”

“Our best guess is that this has become a game to them,” he answered.

This seemed to be getting worse. Based on the things that had already happened, these guys had caused some havoc. To think they were now prepared to play some kind of game with Blaze and his coworkers didn’t leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Especially when something else Blaze had said popped into my head. “You said these guys wanted to send a message, and that there was the verbal message they communicated through Ellery. Why do I get the feeling that’s not the only communication you believe you received?”

Nodding slowly, Blaze replied, “That’s another reason this seems to have become a game to them. It’s not what was said to Ellery that worries us the most. It’s that she was approached at home. Throughout this entire time, everything that’s been done has been to property. None of the women have been approached directly. The fact he went to Ellery and Kane’s home tells us we need to be even more vigilant.”

“Oh my God. This is awful.”

“I’m sorry, Harlow. I know this is not the way you want or should have to think about starting a relationship with someone. If I could change that, I would do it in a heartbeat,” he assured me.

Not wanting him to believe I blamed him or wasn’t confident in his capabilities, I immediately replied, “I don’t need an apology, Blaze. I don’t doubt you’re doing everything you can to get to the bottom of this case. And when you do, I’m confident we’ll be better off in the end.”

He continued to nod his acknowledgment. “I just want you to understand why I called you. After getting the whole story about what happened to Ellery, I couldn’t just pretend you weren’t the first thing on my mind. When you didn’t answer, I got worried.”

I hated to think he was so stressed about my well-being that he felt compelled to come here when I hadn’t answered the phone. “I’m sorry,” I murmured. “If I had known what was going on, I would have stopped what I was doing and taken your call.”

Blaze lifted his hand. He gently cupped the side of my face, his thumb stroking along my cheek. “It’s okay. All that matters to me is that you’re safe.”

It was at that moment my stomach growled loudly. My cheeks heated with embarrassment, and I buried my face in Blaze’s chest.

“Hungry?”

I nodded against him.

“How about you get things locked up in here, and I’ll take you back to my place, where I’ll make dinner for you tonight?”

Pulling my head back, I tipped my chin up to look at him. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Not wanting to waste a second, I attempted to pull out of his hold so I could get everything locked up, but Blaze stopped me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Kiss me first, baby,” he said.

Realizing I wanted that more than I wanted to leave, I stepped close to him again, pressed my body tight to his, and touched my mouth to his. No sooner did I do that, Blaze took over and deepened the kiss.

I instantly melted into him.

And only after he’d gotten his fill did Blaze release me. As quickly as I could, I locked everything up.

Then Blaze and I went to his place, where he impressed me with his cooking skills in the kitchen before reminding me he could rock my world in the bedroom, too.

TWENTY-THREE

Blaze

Three Weeks Later

To say I’d experienced a battery of emotions over the last three weeks would have been an understatement.

I felt as though I was constantly wavering between two extreme feelings—fear and love.

Despite my best efforts to try to focus on the positive, to allow myself to feel gratitude for the life I’d been living ever since Harlow had entered it, it was proving to be difficult to do. The reality was that I had been doing everything I could to narrow this case down to a viable list of potential suspects, and it was frequently on my mind.

Even in the instances when I was alone with Harlow, I wasn’t always able to put it aside. I’d have these wonderful moments with her—eating dinner, going on a date, or making love to her—where all my focus was on her. But then we’d curl up on the couch to watch some television, or she’d fall asleep beside me in bed.