Safe In His Arms (Manhunt) (7 page)

Always would be.

And no one would take her away from him again.

C
HAPTER
F
IVE

Mia tried to suppress a shudder at the sight of the lilies and card but failed. By themselves, the items didn’t look daunting. Or dangerous.

But Geoff’s love had come with strings.

And those flowers and the card meant that he’d found her.

“Son of a bitch,” Alex said. “He’s ballsy. He wants us to know he’s been here.”

Mia nodded, too breathless with fear to say anything else. How had he found her so quickly? Had someone been watching her all these months? Someone Geoff had hired?

Had her sense of freedom and safety simply been a figment of her imagination?

Alex took her arm. “Sit down on the swing, Mia. You look pale.”

She did feel faint. Damn Geoff. She hated feeling powerless. Afraid.

She thought all that was in the past.

 “Mia?” Alex said as he guided her to the swing.  “I promise you I won’t let him hurt you.”

She raised her gaze to his, numb. “You don’t know Geoff like I do. When he wants something, he’ll do anything to get it.”

“He’s a bully.” Alex stroked her arms. “But I’ll stop him. I swear it.”

Regardless of all the strides she’d made in her recovery, unwanted tears pooled in her eyes.  Geoff would kill anyone who got in his way.

What if he hurt Alex?

Alex exhaled, a battle warring in his eyes as if he wanted to comfort her but knew he shouldn’t.  But he pulled her up against him anyway and wrapped his arms around her. At first, her body went rigid.

She couldn’t lean on him now.

Once Geoff was caught, he’d leave, and she’d be on her own again.

She couldn’t afford to lose her heart to another man.

The last time she had, it had ended in disaster and pain.

But Alex murmured nonsensical words of comfort, and in spite of her fierce effort at self-control, her body betrayed her by trembling.

“He’s not going to hurt you this time, Mia,” Alex whispered against her ear. “I swear, I’ll kill him before I let him touch you.”

Unable to resist, she gave into his tender caress and closed her eyes. Alex felt so warm and gentle, big and strong, yet his fingers stroked her back in a soothing gesture that made her slowly begin to relax.  His heart was beating steadily, his chest rising in slow breaths, the scent of raw man and his aftershave wafting around her.

Geoff was gentle at first. Before you discovered the monster beneath the surface.

She hated the fear that shot through her at the memory.  At the knowledge that even though she wanted to trust Alex, that she didn’t trust herself, her own judgment.

She’d been so wrong before.

The image of the ultrasound that she kept hidden in her dresser drawer taunted her. God, she hated Geoff.

But she’d wanted that baby.

And he’d taken it away from her just as he’d stolen her pride…

So she slowly pulled away. “I’m sorry, Sgt. Townsend.”

He traced a finger along her jaw. “Alex,” he corrected her.

She looked into his eyes. His mouth was only a fraction of an inch from hers. His lips curved, promising to soothe her pain.

But she couldn’t accept his comfort, so she didn’t respond. Saying his name while she could still feel his warm body and hear his promises would be dangerous to her heart.

And she had to protect her heart because falling for Alex would be way too easy.

And a big mistake. She had enough regrets to last a lifetime.

She didn’t need another.

What the hell was he doing?

Fear and regret flashed in Mia’s eyes, and Alex wished he hadn’t touched her. But he couldn’t stop himself.

Something about the woman drew him to her, made him want to fight her battles.

She was so lovely, and in spite of how she viewed herself, she was strong. That gutsy side of her made him admire her even more.

“I’m sorry, Mia. I – ”

“Do you think he’s been inside?” she asked, cutting off his apology.

Dammit. He should have been thinking about that possibility instead of hauling her up against him. But Mia made his head swirl with emotions that played havoc with his common sense.

And his ability to focus.

He
had
to focus to keep her safe.

He instantly removed his weapon, motioned for her to remain in the swing then jiggled the doorknob. It was locked. Mia fished out her keys and handed them to him.

“Is there a back door?”

She nodded. “Off the kitchen.”

Of course he could have broken in through a bedroom window. Alex slipped down the porch steps and walked around the side of the house. He checked the windows, but they didn’t look disturbed, then he eased around the back, his gaze scanning the property in case Geoff was waiting to ambush him. The back door was closed, so he tried the knob. Locked.  The lock didn’t appear to have been picked either.

But he had to be careful. He had no idea what kind of skills Jones had picked up in prison.

Gun at the ready, he inched to the other side of the cabin, noting two windows. Both closed, glass intact.

It didn’t mean Jones hadn’t gotten inside though.

He hurried back to the front porch, relief filling him when he found Mia sitting in the same spot. Her eyes were wide, glued to the hill in the distance as if she might have seen something.

“Mia?”

She jerked her gaze to his.  “Did you see anything?”

“No, did you?”

The keys rattled as she held out her hand to him. “I’m not sure. There might have been someone on horseback at the top of the hill. But it could have been one of the ranch hands.”

Or it could have been Jones hanging around to see her reaction when she received his little gift.

Bastard.

He deserved to die.

Mia could have sworn she’d seen Geoff on the hill.

Then again, now that she knew he was near, she’d probably be seeing him in every shadow and corner.

Was he still on the ranch?

“Call Henry and tell him that Jones has been here. As soon as I check the inside of the house we’re going to ride the property.”

Mia nodded, dug out her cell phone and punched Henry’s number while Alex let himself inside the cabin. From her vantage point on the porch, everything appeared to be as she’d left it. The lights were off. Furniture in place.

The phone rang once, twice, a third time, then Henry answered. Mia quickly explained that Geoff had been on the ranch.

“I’ll alert my foreman immediately,” Henry said. “I called a meeting of the hands at the chow hall, but I didn’t tell them why I wanted to talk to them. Thought if someone was working for your ex, it might tip our hand.”

“Good thinking,” Mia said, surprised at Henry’s forethought.  “We’ll see you soon. Alex and I are going to take a ride before we meet you. I want to exercise the horses.” And she and Alex could look for traces of Geoff.

“Listen, Mia, don’t worry about your job until this maniac is caught,” Henry said. “Your safety is more important than anything.”

Touched by his concern, she blinked back tears and thanked him. But she took her job seriously and cared about the animals, and she wouldn’t allow Geoff to prevent her from doing that job.

A second later Alex returned. “The cabin is clean. But you may want to see if anything is missing.”

“All right.” Not that Geoff would have reason to steal anything of hers. But she’d feel better if she checked.

Her stomach fluttered with nerves as she entered. She quickly scanned the living room and adjacent kitchen but saw nothing amiss. Next she glanced inside the bathroom. Nothing out of place.

Well, technically things were since she’d rebelled against Geoff’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies to have everything perfectly in order and kept a basket on the counter with her cosmetics piled in it. He had insisted they be arranged in order of height on the shelf he’d built strictly for that purpose.

The bedroom looked just as she’d left it as well. Her clothes hanging in the closet. A pair of work boots tossed in the corner. Her denim jacket draped over the chair.

But when she opened her dresser drawer, her lungs constricted. All the sensible underwear that she’d bought was gone.

In its place were delicate lacy bras and thongs, ones like Geoff had bought her.

Ones he’d obviously chosen for her just as he’d insisted on doing so when they were married.

She’d thought it was a romantic gesture at first.  Titillating even.

Until it had become suffocating.

When she’d refused to wear the black satin undies he’d given her one night, he’d become enraged and beaten her senseless. That was the first time.

But it hadn’t been the last.

Fury raged through her, and she grabbed the trashcan, snatched the lacy garments and hurled them into the garbage.

Alex caught her arm and gently rubbed his thumb along her wrist. “What’s wrong, Mia?”

“He was here,” she cried. “He bought all of this. None of it is mine.”

It was a statement from Geoff. She understood perfectly.

He wanted her to know that he’d found her. And that eventually he would wear her down.

“Son of a bitch.” Alex hooked his thumb toward the door.  “I need to check the property now in case he’s still lurking around.”

She dumped the last of the underwear, fighting an hysterical cry as she faced him. “I’ll get the horses ready.”

Not without him, she wouldn’t.  “Then let’s go.”

“I thought you wanted to run those background checks first.”

“Now Jones has found you, I’m not going to let you out of my sight for a minute.”

A deep wariness darkened her eyes, but she didn’t argue. “Okay, let’s go look for him.”

He followed her outside, his senses alert as he scanned the area. It would be just like the bastard to stay close and watch Mia.

As they descended the porch, he scanned the area for evidence as to how Jones had reached the cabin. “No tire prints,” he said. “The son of a bitch must have parked off the road and hiked in.” He glanced at Mia. “Does he ride?”