“I don’t need a guard tonight,” Rachel continued as her eyes glittere
d. She had gorgeous eyes. Big, so blue. “I’m in my apartment, safe for the night. So you can leave. Just...leave.”
He didn’t want to leave.
She headed toward her bedroom. “Lock the door on your way out. You know how to set the security system.” Her sigh drifted back to him. “At this point, I guess you know everything about me, don’t you?”
No, he didn’t. I didn’t know you hadn’t slept with Jack.
She opened her bedroom door and didn’t look back. The door closed behind her with a soft squeak.
Dismissed. It didn’t get more obvious than that. He turned, preparing to get out, as ordered. Rachel had it all wrong, though. Kissing her sure hadn’t been Mercer’s plan.
It had been mine.
His hand lifted above the security panel. He would convince Rachel tomorrow. He’d get her to listen to him then and—
“Dylan!” Rachel’s scream had him whirling around and racing for her bedroom.
She met him in the doorway, her eyes wide and her body trembling.
He grabbed her and pulled her close. Rachel had faced down enemies in every hot spot on earth, but she was shaking in her own apartment. “What is it?” Dylan asked, looking for a threat.
She licked her lips. “He was here.”
He pushed her behind him and rushed into her bedroom. His gaze darted to the left, then to the right.
Then he focused on her bed. The large, four-poster sat in the middle of the room. The bed covers had been turned back. He advanced, eyes narrowing.
On her pillow, someone had carefully positioned a playing card.
The Queen of Hearts.
“This isn’t a copycat,” Rachel said. She stood in the doorway. “A copycat wouldn’t know about me.”
Because the EOD had made sure Rachel’s identity was kept from the press. No reporters even knew about her attack.
“He wants me to know that he’s here.” Her words were husky. “And he’s coming after me.”
* * *
“I CAN’T JUST...stay with you,” Rachel said as she glanced around Dylan’s place. Sure, she’d been in his home plenty of times before.
But he hadn’t just kissed her before.
“The techs are going over your apartment. They’re going to scan that place from top to bottom.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leveled a hard stare at her. “You know they’ll be there all night. Do you really just want to stay there and watch them? Or do you want to get some sleep so you’ll be ready for whatever game Jack plans to play tomorrow?”
Technically, it already was tomorrow. A quick glance at Dylan’s wall clock showed her it was close to 2:00 a.m., but Rachel didn’t feel tired. Too much adrenaline spiked through her blood.
He was in my home. Jack had managed to slip inside her home. He’d gotten right past the security system that was supposed to be state-of-the-art.
“What if he’d been there?” Dylan suddenly demanded.
She rubbed her temples. They were throbbing. Just the mention of Jack made them do that.
“He could’ve killed you,” Dylan continued, voice almost snarling.
She wasn’t sure what was happening with Dylan. Normally, the guy was Mr. Controlled. Dylan was the voice of reason on their missions. But he seemed to vibrate with a barely contained intensity, and Rachel had the feeling that he was very close to an explosion.