All Good Things Exposed (24 page)

"I'm at home."

"My house?" He sounded surprised.

"No, Jace. Your house is just that. It's your house. I'm at my house." I spoke tiredly and he sighed.

"Your house is where I am." He stated factually and I rolled my eyes. I was happy he wasn't here to see it. He would have barked at me.

"See you later, Jace."

"You know I'm on my way to you, Olivia." He pointed out.

"I assumed." I muttered.

"Don't be coy." He warned. "I love you."

I didn't want to want to say the words back. But I loved him and I had to. "I love you too."

Jace hung up the phone and I knew it was only a matter of time before he barged into my space. I knew he would be furious with me for leaving the Café when he'd told me to wait for him. But I was offended. How dare he think he had a right to speak to Gabe in my office, about me, without me? It was plain old rude and I wouldn't stand for it. The man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with should respect me enough to talk to me about his concerns. He shouldn't want to hide them from me. I knew he only wanted to protect me. But he wouldn't be doing that by hiding things from me. He wouldn't protect me by keeping me in the dark. Surely he understood that?

I plucked Moo-moo from the floor and carried him to the couch. I needed to lie down and rest my tired mind. Cuddling with Moo-moo was second best to cuddling with Jace. He curled into my chest as I settled onto the couch, pulling a blanket up over us. I rested my head against a pillow and shut my eyes. It didn't take long before I fell into sleep.

***

"Olivia?" A hand shook my shoulder. "Wake up."

I stared up into piercing blue eyes and my heart jolted. He looked mad and afraid. The combination of emotions was not one I liked seeing in Jace. He was always so calm and controlled. I wanted my calm man back.

I sat up, pulling the blankets with me. "How did you get inside?"

A ghost of a smile lit his face. "Trisha gave me a key?"

I frowned. "What? When?"

"When I asked for one."

"Why would she do that? Why wouldn't you ask me?"

He cocked his head. "Does this displease you?"

"Well," I shrugged. "No."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly. It doesn't displease me, Jace. It surprises me." And that was the truth. I never in a million years thought Trisha would give my egomaniac boyfriend a key to our living space. It was a shock if there ever was one.

"Well," he stood from the side of the couch and produced his phone from his pocket. "I should let Gabe know you're fine."

I nodded. "You probably should."

I watched as Jace walked into the kitchen. His conversation with Gabe was short and blunt. It consisted of our location and that I was fine. I felt so out of control of my life, it was beyond frustrating. But I didn't know what to do about it. With the crazy man who considered himself my savior creeping about the city, I didn't feel safe enough to just live. It was sad, but the man made me want to crawl into a hole and sleep. For eternity. The only thing that made me want to fight was Jace. Seeing him so furious and afraid for me made me angry. He deserved more from this life then the hand of cards he'd been dealt. I wanted to be the one to give him more. But he first needed to accept me as his teammate, not his dependent. Until then, we would get nowhere.

I stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen. As I moved, something caught my eye against the dark floor of the entrance and I froze. The hairs on my arms stood erect and the skin over the back of my neck tightened as I stared at the crisp, clean white envelope. My eyes widened and my heart thrashed in my chest.

"Jace," I whispered. I couldn't move. He turned around, still holding the phone to his ear. I could only see him from my peripherals, but I knew his face paled as soon as he caught sight of me.

"He's here, Gabe." Jace said quietly into the phone before hanging up. I knew it would only be a matter of minutes before Gabe joined us at the apartment.

Jace turned his body to face mine, signaling for me to get away from the door. I couldn't move. My legs
wouldn't
move. My heart hammered against my chest in fear as I imagined a bullet flying though the wooden door, splintering it before hitting home in my chest. I was terrified and completely paralyzed by fear.

"Olivia," Jace shook his head. His movement was so quick. One moment I was standing in line with the door and the next, I was in his arms and he was carrying me to the bedroom. "Don't scare me like that." He set me down on the bed. "I'm going to go see if I can find him."

That kick-started me into gear and I quickly clutched at the jacket of his suit, pulling him down to me. I knew my eyes were frantic - but I was frantic. "Jace, no." I cried. "You can't leave me. You can't leave me."

I must have looked a ruin, because he pulled me into his arms crushing me to his chest. "Shh," he cooed. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into the nook of his neck. I breathed him in and sighed a shaky release of breath. "I can't face losing you."

"You'll never lose me." He assured gruffly.

"You're not invincible."

"Angel, I love you so much." He hugged me tighter. "I only want you safe. Why the hell did you leave the café?"

"I was mad at you." I admitted. "You shouldn't want to talk about things that involve me without me."

"I don't want you to be afraid."

"Not knowing is more terrifying then knowing." I whispered, nuzzling him. This was right where I needed to be. In his arms, I was certain there was no safer place.

"You are mine to protect, Olivia." Jace replied tightly.

"I'm yours to love and cherish, Jace." I said. "That's what you asked for when you asked for me to marry you."

"I asked for everything when I asked you to marry me, Olivia." He tightened his hold on me. "Including the right to protect you even if it pisses you off. Get over it."

I frowned and nibbled his neck. "No. I won't get over it. You need to share with me. Talk to me. Don't shut me out."

He growled low in his throat. "You're going to be the death of me. Why can't you ever accept anything I say?"

"What?"

"You challenge me on everything, woman." He pulled back to look at me. "It's infuriating."

I raised a brow. "Woman? Did you just call me woman?"

He cocked a grin, shattering the tenseness that took over his handsome features a few hours prior. "If that's what it takes to get your attention."

"Jace?" Gabe called out, interrupting us from our easy bantering. The sound of his voice quickly washed over us like cold water, bringing us back to the situation at hand.

"Be right out, Gabe."

"How did he get in?" I asked wearily, eyeing Jace as he walked to the door.

He tossed a sheepish grin over his shoulder. "I made him a key."

I gritted my teeth. "Are you serious? I'm changing the locks. Soon the entirety of New York will have a key to this place. Moo-moo isn't safe."

Jace tightened his hold on my hand. "You will do no such thing. And as for the cat, he is the safest cat in the city with a bodyguard like Gabe."

"Oh, whatever." I snapped feeling irked for no good reason.

I followed Jace into the living room and curled on his lap when he sat on the couch. Gabe was already seated in the chair. He was reading the letter that had been slipped beneath the door and his face was stern. I felt ill watching him. I couldn't help but wonder what this letter would say.

Gabe sighed, placing the letter facedown on the table. "This letter is not for Olivia." He stated and I sighed in relief. Oh, thank God. I was getting paranoid at every little thing that came under the doorway now. How ridiculous could I be?

"Who is it for?" Jace asked, his thumb massaging small circles into my back where it rested.

Gabe looked at Jace, his face grim. Oh shit. "It's for you."

Jace stiffened. He quickly found himself and his hands tightened on my waist. He removed me from his lap and leaned forward, snatching the letter from the table. I wanted to crawl over the couch to read with him, but I couldn't move. I couldn't stop watching his face. There was no emotion apart from rage burning in his blue eyes. It frightened me and made me feel chilled down to the very bone.

He set the letter on his lap and looked up at me with intense blue eyes. "The writer has made it more than clear, he knows you personally. Are you still certain you don't know who the writer is?"

Now, I was angry. He thought I was lying about not knowing who was doing this? Was he freaking insane? "Give me the fucking letter, Jace."

He pulled it away when I reached out for it and I growled deep in my throat, my frustration loud. "If you're going to insinuate from that letter, that I know the person, then the least you can do is let me read it!"

"No."

"Jace, stop being so ridiculous."

"There are personal things in this letter, Olivia."

"About me!" I screamed. I couldn't control it anymore. It was just too much.

"Yes, about you." He yelled back.

Gabe stood up and held his hands out to us. "Enough. Jace, give her the letter. She needs to read it."

"She doesn't fucking need to read it, Gabe."

"Yes, she does." Gabe replied seriously. "If you want her to answer the question, she needs to read it."

I could see Jace was having a difficult time letting me read the letter. There was a bead of sweat pooling at his hairline and the scowl he wore suggested the words on the paper weren't anything I would want to read. I was terrified. But I had to read them. I had to know.

Jace tossed me the letter, his hand immediately delving into the black mass of hair atop his head. A strangled groan left his lips as he watched me take in the words. If I felt ill before, now I felt violated.

Jace Rush,

You've ensnared her in your trap, but know I'm still here. And I still love her. She might think she's yours now, but she isn't. She is still mine. She will always be mine. I've waited for her, bided my time and played each card with thought and care and I almost had her. But then you came and ruined it all. You took her from me. Stole her.

She doesn't belong to you. I know everything about her. The ease with which she smiles, her favorite drink, her love of animals, the freckle on the back of her neck just below her hairline. She's beautiful. I see your fascination. But you aren't worthy of her. You never will be. You will hurt her. You already have. You know you cannot make her happy. Not the way I can.

I am telling you to walk away now. Save her from the demon beneath your skin so she might live a life filled with abundance. I give you this opportunity to turn away now, before I take away your choice and end this myself.

Sincerely,

Her Savior

"He knows me," the words barely sounded from my mouth. "This man knows me."

Gabe stepped forward. "All the things he mentioned in the letter are points that can be made with close observation." I knew he was trying to quell my fears with facts, but damn…this man knew me. And I hated the thought. There was no one I could think of that would do this. Everyone I knew, I believed was good. I wasn't suspicious of anyone and I didn't want to be.

I looked up to him, my eyes felt as though they were burning. "Did you know I had a freckle at the back of my neck?"

Gabe shook his head. "No. But I also haven't seen your hair up."

I turned to Jace. "Did you notice?"

He nodded as though the question was silly. Of course he knew. He probably knew where every freckle rested on my body. He knew everything about me. He was the man for me. The man I wanted to memorize every inch of my skin.

I looked straight into Jace's blue eyes. "I don't know who this is writing the letters, but what I do know is that nothing this man writes, nothing he threats will ever override the love I have for you."

The skin around his eyes softened and he closed the distance between us, bringing me into his hard chest. "You know I'll never walk away."

"I couldn't handle this life if you ever did."

I felt Jace look to Gabe, but I kept my face buried in his chest. "We're moving Olivia into my penthouse today."

"What?" I pulled away from Jace.

"This apartment is not safe for you anymore." Jace growled. "Don't argue with me about this. It was going to happen eventually anyway. Why not get it over with?"

"How romantic," I said dryly.

"Is that what you want?" Jace asked, looking down at me with warm eyes. "Romance?"

I felt odd discussing this in Gabe's presence, but if Jace didn't see the problem then neither did I. "Would it hurt to try?"

"With you? No. It would be a pleasure." He grinned at me, pulling away.

"Hmm." I huffed. "You know Moo-moo is a part of the packaged deal right?"

"I get you and a cat?" He asked sounding startled. Did he think I was going to give Moo-moo away?

"Yes. You get me
and
Moo-moo."

"Well," he grinned a shit-grin. "Then I suppose I'm a rich man."

At this, Gabe laughed. It was the first time I'd ever heard him bust a gut over anything Jace said. It made me smile too. After everything today had thrown at us, we were still able to laugh. It felt good.

"I never thought I'd see the day Jace Rush became a cat man." Gabe slapped his hand on Jace's back and looked at me proudly. "You're breathing life into the man."

Jace smiled with love in his eyes. "She certainly is."

Chapter 20

I stared at all my stuff being brought into the penthouse, including Moo-moo in his cat carrier and smiled. Despite all the shit this day had started off with, it was ending great. I'd texted Trisha and asked her to come over to the penthouse. Jace decided to make the night a night of celebration. Karen, Jaylah, John and even Caleb were coming to dinner. He told me I should invite Trisha and anyone else I wanted. There was no one. I only wanted Trisha. She was really all I had. But she hadn't texted me back yet.

Jace walked through the front door and stared at the cat carrier Moo-moo sat in. He was hissing at Jace with venom, obviously blaming him for rousing his familiar territory.