Page 58 of Smoldering Nights
“We’re done here.”His voice was low and tight.“Get your keys.We’re going back to the condo.I’m calling Jayson, and Chief Fielding needs to know about this.It’s time to stop playing defense.”
Izzy nodded, her throat tight.But as she stepped toward the door, she glanced over her shoulder once more.Her shop, her sanctuary, felt less like home and more like a trap.
Noah wasn’t just watching anymore.
He’d stepped into the game.
Chapter29
Mitch shut the condo door behind them and locked it, then reset the alarm.
Izzy stood in the middle of the living room, arms wrapped around herself, pale and shaken.She hadn’t said a word since they’d left the shop.And he didn’t blame her.That box hadn’t been a delivery; it had been a threat wrapped in thorns by way of a request for a date.
He turned toward her.“Please sit down, honey.”
“I’m okay,” she murmured, but her voice cracked.
“No, you’re not.”His tone was gentler now, low and urgent.“You don’t have to be right now.”
Izzy’s shoulders fell, and she sank onto the edge of the couch.Her eyes met his, haunted and vulnerable.“He watched us, Mitch.He saw us kiss.That note…”
“I know.”Mitch sat beside her, his thigh brushing hers.“He’s not hiding it anymore.That rose was his way of marking territory, declaring himself as a suitor, so to speak.”
Izzy’s brow furrowed.“Like I’m property.”
Mitch’s jaw tightened.“Exactly.”
He rose and grabbed his phone, pacing the length of the room as he called Jayson.“We’ve got a problem.Noah just showed up at the shop with another fake delivery.It was a rose and a note.He saw me and Izzy kissing, and he didn't like it.The note asked her to go out to dinner.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jayson muttered.“That’s a clear escalation.”
“Yes.By hand delivering it, he put himself in her shop, so she knows he can get inside her sanctuary.Plus, he asked if we were romantically together.”
"So are you together?"Jayson's voice held humor, but it wasn't the right time.
"Jayson, it's..."
"I'm busting your balls, man.Settle."
Mitch let out a deep breath.“Okay.He’s stepped up to the line.I want eyes on him starting now.I don't want him crossing the line.”
“I’ll see if Blossom Springs PD has a couple of unis available.Maybe we can get one to his residence.Discreet, but close.”
“Thanks.And let Fielding know, I'll send him photos of the note and the rose.It’s prelude behavior.The kind that leads to obsession turning violent.”
“You got it.”
Mitch ended the call and returned to the couch, sitting closer this time.Izzy had her hands folded in her lap, gripping tightly.“I should’ve seen this coming sooner,” he said.“I knew he was watching, I knew he was off.”
“You couldn’t know this,” she whispered.“But now we do.What do we do next?”
“We go on offense.”
Mitch stood and moved to the table where he’d dropped the box and note.He examined the documents again, scanning for clues.Nothing stood out immediately, but it was clear Noah had crafted the moment for maximum impact.
He pulled out a notepad and jotted a list:
Delilah’s salon: Warrant in progress.
