Page 9 of I've Got You

“Fine. Let’s just get this done and then you can be on your merry way.”

“We’ll see.”

But my face pales when I turn to glance around the open great room of my little house. The couch is torn apart and there’s stuffing everywhere. The chairs look the same. My kitchen, which I can barely see from here is a mess. It looks like someone just went at all my canisters of flour and sugar and anything similar and just upended it all over the place.

I move through the house, my mind not quite comprehending what I’m seeing.

“Oh my god!” I whisper, stunned at all the damage.

When I reach the bedroom, I can see that this is the epicenter of all the damage. My bed is torn apart, the bedding shredded like so much trash. There’s moisturizer and skin cream poured out and ground into the beige carpet so it’s stiff to walk on. But the thing that makes me flinch is the note written in my favorite coral lipstick on the mirror that says, “Keep your mouth shut or else. We know where to find you.”

Judd growls next to me. “Fuck no. You are not staying here tonight or any other night until we figure out who these guys are. Let’s call the cops and then you’re coming home with me.”

I shake my head savagely. “No! NO way! I can stay in a hotel.”

He glares at me, crossing his arms. “Like that girl was staying at a motel? Do you want to be another victim of these guys? If you want to live to tell the story, you’ll come home with me. I’ve got a top-of-the-line security system. You’ll be safe there.”

“You know. I’m starting to get the idea that nobody argues with you.”

“Not as much as you, that’s for sure. But you just need to figure out that I’m always right.” He grins at me.

“Wow! Your head must barely fit through doorways, it’s so big.”

“Guys like to be told they have big parts.”

I groan and smack my forehead, wincing when I touch the spot where the bruise is. “Okay. On that note…let’s call the police. And then I’ll go with you. But I’m telling you that I’m letting my editor know where I am. And if he doesn’t hear from me regularly, the first place they’ll look is at you!”

“Got it. Let’s get this taken care of and get out of here. I’m kinda worried these guys are watching the place.”

My eyes dart to the open windows and I cringe.Ugh!Now a creepy-crawly feeling hits my skin.

“You just had to say that,” I mutter, pulling out my phone and dialing 911.

“Just keeping it real.”

“Right.” I start giving the dispatcher the information while Judd trolls through my tiny house, his bright eyes never missing a thing. It feels like he can see into my soul right now just from looking at my stuff.

The weird thing is, no matter how much I tell myself I shouldn’t like it…I kinda do.

What the hell is wrong with me?

JUDD

Missy wanders around my house and all I can think is that I never want her to leave. She belongs here.

Possessive feelings surge up in me and I want to strip her down and drape her in my scent, my clothes. Mark her as my territory like a bear marks a tree.

Luckily she doesn’t know that’s what I’m thinking because I think if she did she’d be running out of here screaming.

“Well?” I ask her, my eyes focused on the way she touches everything. She’s a very tactile woman. I’m aching for her to touch me but I know it’s too soon.

“Well, what?” She asks me, her sapphire gaze lifting to mine.

“Are you ready for bed? I don’t think that the cops are going to call back tonight with any information so we might as well catch a few winks and then head out in the morning to that motel. See if the manager or desk clerk saw what happened to those guys.”

“Sure.”

“Follow me. You can take the spare room. It’s got a bathroom attached with towels and such so you can get cleaned up if you want to.”

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