Page 60 of Ace of Spades
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I’m not crying.”
Nate lifted her chin, peering at her red-rimmed eyes. “You were. Why?” He’d been ten minutes away from their field office when Alex had called, telling him that Taylor had freaked out over some flowers. At first, he’d thought his brother was pulling his chain. Taylor wasn’t a woman who would lose it over flowers.
“What happened, Taylor?” he asked when she pulled her face away from his hand, taking a step back. Pink stained her cheeks, and knowing her, she was embarrassed. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t know, okay? The flowers triggered a reaction, but I don’t know why.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t you have someplace else to be besides the ladies’ room?”
Yeah, he supposed he shouldn’t be in here, but he wasn’t leaving until he got to the bottom of why a vase of flowers had freaked her out.
“You’re upset because they came from our killer?” That much he did know, since he’d read and taken a picture of the card that came with them before they were sent to the lab to check for fingerprints.
But Rand had told him that she hadn’t opened the little envelope to see who had sent them.
“No. He’s trying to play mind games. He’ll have to up the game to impress me.”
Nate let out a sigh of exasperation. “Then what? Give me something to work with here.” At seeing tears pool in her eyes, he wanted to kick his own ass. He couldn’t stand seeing her cry.
“It was the flowers themselves,” she said, her lips trembling.
“Okay, that’s a start.” Because he needed to hold her—whether she needed that or not—he leaned his butt on the counter, and then pulled her between his legs. “How did they make you feel? Angry? Scared?”
“Sad. So damn sad, Nate, but why?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. We’ll figure it out. Promise.” He held her while she cried, his mind busy sorting through possibilities. A vase of flowers had made her sad enough to cry—a very non-Taylor thing—but she didn’t know why, which led him to the conclusion that she had suppressed a memory of something to do with flowers.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he said after she quieted. Keeping one arm around her, he reached for a paper towel and handed it to her.
“I’m fine, really.” After wiping her face, she glanced at the door. “Except that now Alex and Rand are going to fuss over me.”
Yeah, she’d hate that. “I won’t let them.”
“Ha! And who’s going to stop you?”
“I’m allowed to fuss over you.” He put his finger on her lips when she opened her mouth. “And no arguing about that.” The shy smile she gave him sent a strange flutter through his heart, but he quelled it. His heart wasn’t allowed to flutter.
“Well, I can’t hide in here all day. Let’s go see if Alex found out where the flowers came from. I didn’t even check to see if there was a card.”
“There was.” He reluctantly let go of her, and straightened, taking his phone out of his back pocket. “I took a picture before Rand sent them to the lab.” After pulling the photo up, he handed her his cell.
“‘Such a pretty girl,’” she read aloud. “That’s it?”
“Yeah. Does that mean anything to you?”
“Other than it’s creepy? No.” She handed him back the phone.
He tucked a damp length of hair behind her ear. “I was on my way in to talk to you when Alex called. A psychologist who practices hypnotherapy can see you this afternoon. Dr.Gleason. He’d supposedly one of the best in his field. You still game?”
She chewed on her bottom lip, drawing his attention to her mouth. What he’d like to do was take her home with him and make love to her until the light was back in her eyes.
“Stop looking at me like that.” When he raised a brow, she said, “Like you want to eat me up.”
He grinned. “Can’t deny that. How about this? You keep that appointment, and then we’ll go back to my place, where I’ll cater to your wishes all night long.”
“Now, there’s an offer I can’t refuse.” She trailed a finger down his arm. “Be warned, though. I can be very demanding.”
“I sincerely hope so.”
