Page 402 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

She said, “I haven’t eaten. I was waiting to hear what happened with you.”

“Meet me at my apartment? We can forget about everything, just eat and watch TV.” He had a guest room if she ended up late and didn’t want to go home. He’d let people think whatever they wanted. What Jacob did with his life, and the principles he chose to uphold, were his business and no one else’s.

Or that was the pizza night talking, and he was just over other people’s opinions.

Murder or something illicit. It wouldn’t matter that he’d done neither.

He was too tired to fight right now.

“Addie?” He walked through the automatic doors to the outside air, where an icy wind blew. There was no new snow and nothing in the forecast, but it was still freezing enough he had to flip up the collar of his shirt. He’d never been entirely comfortable outside at night but wasn’t exactly going to admit to being afraid of the dark.

“Let me wrap up here and text Russ. I’ll come over.”

“Great.” He headed for Grandpa’s truck parked in his spot. It reminded him of that first night he’d seen Addie. When she’d nearly died in a hit-and-run, and he’d scurried away like a scared rabbit when the cops came.

He wouldn’t be doing that anymore. It was time to stand up for himself and figure out how to get the truth out so he could prove this was a setup.

“See you soon?” Her voice sounded hopeful. Jacob wasn’t about to disrespect that. They’d probably have to talk about the morals he’d acquired in the last few years. Get some ground rules.

Did she even want to start something with him?

No doubt it was a terrible idea that would only end in disaster. Given last time, probably not the right path. Still…

A rustle behind him had Jacob spin around to meet whatever it was.

“Jake?”

The dark figure rushed toward him. At the last second, he spotted the glint of a blade.

“Hey—”

The man slashed out and slammed into him. Jacob whipped his arm around. The bag of pizzas and all he’d bought slammed into the man’s shoulder.

He was so focused on combatting the attack that he didn’t realize what had happened. Not at the first second.

The man drew back.

Jacob heard Addie’s voice from a distance. “Jake! What’s going on? Jake!”

He stumbled. Fell against his truck and started to slide to the ground. Pain sliced through him like a whip. Branded. Fire. Ice. All of it tore through his abdomen.

He looked down and saw the knife. The blood.

“Addie.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“The grocery store. That’s what he said,” Addie yelled to the interior of her car.

The dispatcher’s voice came through the speakers. “An ambulance is already on its way. They’ll be there in two minutes.”

“I’m already here.” Addie swung her wheel to the left and bumped over the incline in the curb into the parking lot.

She hung up the phone with a jab of her finger on the dash screen. Jake’s truck was parked in “his” spot. She thanked the man upstairs that Jake had a favorite place to park so she could find him.

But where was he? Addie drove around the front of the truck. No one was inside.

Her foot slipped off the brake. There he was.

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