Page 42 of Guarded Hearts

He listened to the tap of her footsteps on the hardwood floors she worked to keep polished to a perfect gleam before he looked the package over on all sides. The plain white cardboard gave nothing away.

Drawing it toward him gingerly—he’d seen too many package bombs in his time as a SEAL—he slowly opened the lid to reveal a bed of tissue paper.

Peeling back the top layer, he glimpsed long green rose stems.

He opened the box all the way.

Rose stems—but no flowers.

Someone sent Layne a bunch of thorn-covered stems.

Fury hit his system, injecting him with a shot of adrenaline.

Slipped in next to them was a card in a white envelope. Printed on the front was Layne’s name. No handwriting to analyze. The stalker knew what they were doing.

He carefully picked up the card, smoothing it between his pinched fingers. Before he got any further, he needed gloves. If there was a single scrap of a fingerprint to analyze, he was not going to risk ruining it.

He pulled out his phone and called the Black Heart Security office.

“Oaks,” he gritted out.

“Well, you sound tense. What’s up?”

“Layne just received a delivery. A flower delivery. Only there aren’t any blooms—just stems and thorns.”

“Hell.”

“Yeah. There’s a card too. I haven’t taken it out to read it yet.”

“Get on some gloves and open the envelope. I’ll leave Willow in the office to man the phones and I’ll be right over.”

Carson was still in a crouched position. A position he was trained to strike from. If only he’d been there to open the door and accept the delivery, he’d be one step closer to knowing who was stalking Layne.

“I’ll go through the camera footage while I wait for you,” he told Oaks.

“Talk soon, bro.”

He didn’t respond, just mashed his finger over the red button on his phone to end the call. Scooping up the box of stems, he carried it outside. His cowboy boots rang on the wood porch floor as he descended the steps and strode into the yard.

He didn’t want that box anywhere near Layne.

He set the box in the middle of the driveway. Then he strode over to his truck and located the forensics kit he needed.

With the gloves on, he returned to the flower box and slit open the envelope.

The card was also typed. No handwriting to analyze. Of course the stalker would be smart about it. But that didn’t mean there weren’t other ways of finding out who printed this note.

As he read the words, fury swelled in his chest.

He was threatening her life.

I’ll have you to myself one way or another. And if I can’t have you, no one can have you.

Those words were as good as a death threat to Carson.

“Goddammit.” He placed the note back in the envelope and set it in the box.

Then he pulled up the security app on his phone. Occasionally, he shot a look at the house just to ensure Layne hadn’t come outside. It was just like her to disobey that order and come running to see what the delivery was.

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