Secret Admirer

“Alone, Alice. You come to me alone. No FBI. No deputies. They don’t track you. They don’t follow. You come to me.”

She was nodding but, of course, he couldn’t see that. “Where? When?”

“Now, Alice. Come to me right now.”

She couldn’t pull in deep enough breaths.

“There’s an old cemetery at the edge of town. You go there. You walk in alone. I’ll find you.”

“But—”

“If your lover comes with you, if anyone else is there, I’ll put my knife in Tiffany’s heart.”

The call went dead.

For a moment, all Alice could hear was the sound of her heartbeat. Then…

“Tell me you triangulated the signal.” Zander’s voice. Strong. Hard.

Her attention snapped toward him. His phone was pressed to his ear. He nodded and said, “Right. Hell, yes, we’re putting the tracker on her. And I’ll be at that fucking cemetery.” He ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket. He glanced at Randall. “Let’s get her wired. The call came from in town, less than a mile from the cemetery. The bastard is out there, and we’re getting him.”

“No!” Jonathan’s sharp voice. “You can’t do this, Alice! You’re going to die!”

Zander snarled, “Time for you to get the fuck out of here.” He grabbed Jonathan and guided/shoved the other man toward the door. “Alice will stay safe. You can count on it.”

“Because you’re going to be with her?” Jonathan sneered at him. “But didn’t you hear what that bastard said? He’ll kill that other woman—”

“He won’t know I’m there.” Zander yanked open the door. Alice could see a red-haired deputy outside on the narrow porch. Zander called, “Deputy Ross, Take Mr. Collins to his motel—”

“I can get there my damn self!” Jonathan huffed. He twisted, and Alice saw him crane his neck until he caught sight of her. “Alice, don’t do this. I’m begging you.”

Didn’t he understand? “I have to help her.”

Jonathan shook his head. “It’s going to be your funeral.” He stormed away.

Zander slammed the door shut. His gaze swept over her, softened. “Baby—”

“I have to help her,” Alice said again. “Now, where in the hell is the gun I was promised?”

***

“Is the bulletproof vest necessary?” Alice asked as she tugged at the vest Zander had forced her to wear. They were in the back of the SUV—the FBI seemed to have a ton of the dark-colored vehicles—and parked about forty yards from the entrance to the cemetery.

“Yes, it’s fucking necessary. The guy shot Cara, and he’s not going to get the chance to go for your heart.” He pushed the gun into her hand. “Aim and shoot, baby.”

“I know how to use a gun.” And if the bastard attacked, she wasn’t going to hesitate. “Is the tracker working?” The thing had been practically miniscule. The agents didn’t think that the killer was actually going to just be standing in the cemetery. They thought he’d be watching her from a distance, that he’d call her and direct her to another location. But the agents were going to be ready for that move.

They were going to be watching. Always.

At least, that was what Alice had been told.

Zander pressed a hand to his earpiece. Then he nodded. “They say it’s working perfectly.”

Because the device could give GPS coordinates and it would transmit every sound it heard. A clever bit of FBI protection.

“I’m going to be close,” Zander assured her.

Alice bit her lip. “If you’re too close, he’ll see you.”

“Baby, I was a Ranger for four years. The guy won’t see me.”

Despite everything, she smiled at him. “Thanks for being with me.” She was so scared that her fingers were shaking, but having Zander there—she just felt better.

“Where the hell else would I be?” He took her hand. Brought it to his lips. Pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “We’re going to take him down. It’s going to end tonight.”

She kissed him. Brought her mouth to his and kissed him wildly, passionately. “I’m glad I met you.”

“Baby—”

“And I get it—okay? The lies. I don’t like them. I hate them, in fact, but life is kinda too short for bitterness, and whatever happens next, I don’t want you thinking…” Her words were tumbling out, too fast, but she couldn’t stop. “I’m not holding on to any anger. I understand. And I’d do it all over again. Eat the sweets you brought to me. Have dinner at my place. Run to you in a rainstorm.” She swallowed. “I would always run to you.” Alice had to get those words out.

Because she was afraid there might not be another chance to say them.

“And you asked if I would date you…if this craziness was all over, yes, yes, I would date you. And I’d probably love you.”

His face tensed. “That’s good, sweetheart.” His lips feathered over hers. “Because I already do love you.”

What?

“And you’re going to be fine. You’re going to come back to me. And you’ll never be afraid of anyone or anything again.” He smiled at her, and his smile almost broke her heart. “Because I’m going to spend every day of my life making sure of that fact. I’m going to spend every single day working to make you so happy that there isn’t room for fear or doubt.”

Randall cleared his throat—from the front seat. He’d driven them to the drop-off spot. “This is some really romantic shit and all…” He coughed. “But, Alice, you need to get moving.”

She kissed Zander again. Not the last time. This is not the last time I will kiss him.

“I’ll be right there, baby,” Zander promised her gruffly. “You won’t see me. But I’ll be there.”

She nodded. Then she opened the door, and she did exactly as Randall had said.

She got moving. And Alice also kept a very, very tight grip on her gun.

***

“She’s going to be all right,” Randall said as soon as Alice left the vehicle.

Zander grunted as he yanked on his own bulletproof vest. “Hell, yes, she is.” He inclined his head to Randall. “Keep a lock on her signal. Keep talking in my ear. I’m going after her.” Without another word, he slipped out of the SUV. But unlike Alice, Zander didn’t walk straight toward the old, sagg

ing cemetery gates. Instead, he headed for the shadows. He’d learned to blend as a Ranger. Learned to enter a scene without a sound. Learned silence and the fine art of camouflage. He’d watch Alice. He’d stay close.

Because there was no way he’d lose the woman he loved. Those words hadn’t been some lie. He’d never lie to her again. Alice owned his heart, and he would keep her safe.

I’m watching, baby. I’ve got your back.

***

She’d never liked cemeteries. The headstones gleamed in the moonlight, and Alice found herself walking around them carefully. As a kid, when she’d visited her grandfather’s grave, she’d always been so afraid that she’d step on the dead. She’d imagined the bodies beneath the ground, and it had seemed so wrong to just walk across someone that way. So she still walked through the cemetery as if she were that eight-year-old girl, carefully creeping around the headstones and hunching her shoulders against the wind that howled around her. Her jacket covered the bullet-proof vest that she wore, and it gave her a bit of warmth on that surprisingly cold, spring night.

Her phone rang, jarring her. Her right hand gripped the gun, but her left shoved into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

Unknown caller. Zander and the other agents had predicted she’d get a call from the perp as soon as she got inside the cemetery. The FBI had been right. She answered the phone, fully expecting to hear that robotic voice filling her ear—

“Get rid of the tracker or he’ll kill me!”

That wasn’t a robotic voice. It was the hushed, desperate gasp of a terrified woman.

“Tiffany?” Alice gasped.

“Yes, oh, God, it’s me! Get rid of the tracker. Do you hear me? You have to get rid of it! Now! The FBI gave you a tracker. He can see you. He’s watching. Take it out. Crush it beneath your shoe. Please,” Tiffany begged, her hoarse whisper almost painful to hear. “God, please, get rid of it—he’s hurting me!”

Shit. Shit. Alice yanked out the small tracking device. She crushed it beneath her shoe, grinding it into the hard earth. “It’s gone! Okay? It’s gone!”

Silence.

Her fingers clenched around the phone.