Simply Sensual (Simply 3)

“Getting a closer look.” He held the picture up to the light and squinted. “If I didn’t know better…”

“What is it?” She sat up behind him and rested against his back so she could look over his shoulder. Her bare breasts brushed against his skin. Only then did he realize they’d been sitting nude, discussing their lives, sharing their pasts in a purely comfortable state. Like he’d caught his parents doing one morning when he’d stumbled into their bedroom without knocking. Like an old married couple.

“Well? What is it?” she asked.

He forced himself to refocus on the picture. “The guy that attacked you, if I’m not mistaken. When was this taken?”

“Same day.”

“Same red cutoff shirt. It was the first thing I noticed after I heard you scream. The flash of red.” He squinted again. “Take a look at what’s in his hands.”

She leaned closer. All he had to do was turn around and she’d be in his arms.

“It’s hard to see. I followed Kurt—the little boy—from the playground. He disappeared when his mother wasn’t looking. He’s good at that—always going after his big brother.”

“Ever meet the brother?”

“No. He makes himself scarce. From what his mother tells me, he does the same thing at school. Anyway, I followed Kurt to a back alley. He turned, saw me behind him, and knew he’d been caught. He knew I’d drag him back to his mother, but the look on his face was priceless, so I snapped the picture.”

“And you caught a lot more than a precocious kid. Looks like a bag of white powder in your attacker’s hand.”

“Give me that.” She grabbed the picture. “I can’t make that out. How can you?”

Gut instinct, Ben thought. He’d seen similar situations going down too many times in his younger days. Hell, he’d been lucky he hadn’t gotten caught up in it himself. But taking care of his mother had always come first. “I told you, I grew up in a neighborhood like this. That picture is trouble.”

“So that explains the note,” she whispered.

He stiffened. “What note?”

She exhaled and bent down, pulling a crumpled sheet of paper from the bedside garbage. “This one.”

After handing him the letter, she cuddled up behind him and pressed a kiss to his neck. He shivered against her heated touch. “Stop trying to distract me, Gracie. When’d you get this?”

She sighed. “This afternoon. Kurt handed it to me while I was sitting at the playground. Innocent as can be.”

He muttered a curse that was modified for her benefit. “And you still took the subway back tonight?”

“If you’ll calm down and remember, I never left the sidewalk outside the entrance. I just did a complete circle—and I knew you were behind me the whole time. I was safe.”

He appreciated the vote of confidence but not

her cavalier attitude. “Do you have any idea what this means?” He waved the photo in the air.

She sat back. “That Kurt’s big brother is into drugs and Kurt’s seen way too much for a boy his age.”

“That, too. But it also means you caught a photo of something illegal. They know it or they don’t want to risk the chance that you might get something in the future. Either way, you’re a walking target.”

Grace shivered at his deliberately blunt words.

He turned and held her close. “I don’t want you scared, I just want you careful.”

Her soft hands snaked around his waist. “Well, how about I’ll be both? Because my pictures have to get taken. So, I guess it’s a good thing I have you for backup.”

“I distinctly remember you dismissing the need out of hand.”

“I’m independent, not stupid. I also know my limitations. Tripping him won’t take care of the problem.”

He knew what a huge concession he’d just been given. Grace had worked too hard to become her own person. She wouldn’t admit her need for help easily. Hell, she’d fought his attempts to watch out for her often enough in the past week.