Page 55 of Jack of Hearts
“What the—”
“Shhh,” Alex said, his mouth next to her ear.
“Who?” she asked in a whisper.
“Lauren’s boyfriend.”
Why would Nelson be nosing around their office? She stepped forward, intending to ask him what the hell he was doing, but Alex pulled her back.
“Easy, Grasshopper. We don’t want him to know we’re on to him.”
She supposed he had a point, but what could Nelson possibly be interested in? It wasn’t like the bookstore had a ton of money coming in, so there was nothing to steal. He opened a folder, took out his phone, and snapped a few pictures. They were too far away to even get a hint of which file he found so interesting, and it was killing her not to march into the office and confront the man she no longer liked.
As if he understood, Alex gave her a squeeze. “We’ll figure it out.”
Hemingway hopped onto a shelf, knocking a book to the floor. Nelson froze, clicking off the flashlight. Alex picked up the cat and tossed him toward the office. Hemingway let out an affronted yowl.
“Damn cat,” Nelson said, turning the flashlight back on, putting the folder back into the drawer.
Alex grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”
They hightailed it back to her bedroom, and after the door was closed, Alex held up his hand to stop her from talking. In the silence, she heard a floorboard creak, then Lauren’s bedroom door open and close.
When Alex pointed to the bed, she climbed in. He turned off the lamp she’d left on and crawled in beside her. “What do you know about him?”
Taking her cue from him, she kept her voice quiet. “No more than I already told you.” They were nose to nose. She shivered, feeling as if a goose had run over her grave. From how many directions did she have to watch for attacks against her, Lauren, and the bookstore? She was a simple girl with a simple dream. Own a bookstore, do her best to make that work, and live happily ever after. The universe was conspiring against her.
She wanted Nelson out of her apartment. “What do you think he was taking pictures of?” Alex wrapped his arms around her, and it was the one place she felt safe. Please let her heart be right.
“I don’t know,” he said, “but I saw the general area where he put the file back. Tomorrow we’ll see if anything stands out.”
“What should I tell Lauren? I need to warn her.”
“Don’t say anything until we figure out what he’s up to. Turn over.” After she did, he said, “Try to go to sleep, Grasshopper.” He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her back to his chest.
She snuggled against him. Thank God he’d been here tonight, otherwise she never would have known Nelson was snooping in the files. Although she didn’t think she could sleep, it was nice being held by a big, warm body ... specifically, Alex’s body. They’d made love earlier, when they’d first gotten into her bed. He’d told her he wanted to love her slow and easy, and he’d proceeded to do just that. It had been beautiful, the way he’d worshiped every inch of her.
Although she was sure she was losing her heart to him, she still hadn’t quite figured him out. He gave the impression that he was a bad boy, and he did seem to be at times, yet she was getting glimpses of a man who was honorable and cared deeply about those who meant something to him.
He buried his nose into her hair, and a few minutes later his breathing slipped into that of sleep. She tried to blank her mind, but it was impossible. There were too many questions about Nelson floating around and, frustrated, she thought about Alex instead. Or tried to. What she wanted to do was confront Nelson, and then kick him out of both the apartment and Lauren’s life. That she’d misjudged him, thinking he was a great guy, she tried not to think about. It was too close to her questions about Alex. Who was he? Could she trust him?
When sunshine peeked around the edges of the curtains, she gave up trying to sleep. Alex had an arm thrown over her waist and one of his legs between hers, and she took a few minutes to enjoy the feeling of having his body wrapped around hers. She could learn to like having him in her bed every night. He had to be a good man. He just had to be. She inched her way out of his hold until she was able to slide over the edge of the mattress without waking him.
After a quick shower, she dressed and then tiptoed out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. In the kitchen, she started a pot of coffee, which she desperately needed. As soon as it was ready, she poured a cup. Although she wasn’t normally a breakfast person, she decided to make omelets, bacon, and toast for her and Alex.
Once the bacon was cooked and on the warmer, and everything she needed for the omelet was ready, she turned to go wake up Alex and let out a yelp at seeing Nelson leaning against the wall, watching her. How long had he been there?
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He smiled.
That deceivingly sweet smile made it hard to think of him as the same man she’d seen sneaking around in the office only hours earlier.
“Could you spare a cup of that coffee? Maybe two, so I can take one to Lauren?”
“Ah, sure.” Alex had told her not to let Nelson know they were on to him, so she tried to act normal, as if she didn’t know he was a rat-bastard sneaky night spy, for what reason she couldn’t guess. “Here.” She thrust two cups into his hands.Now go away.
“Thanks.”
She stared at his retreating back, narrowing her eyes as he disappeared down the hallway. And she’d thought he was nice. No matter what Alex said, she wasn’t going to let her best friend go much longer thinking Nelson was a good guy. Was he working for Ramon, or did he have his own agenda?
