She lifted her chin toward the large kitchen window on her left. “Most likely it’s been eaten by a hawk or a buzzard. It was already dead when I found it. It’s neck twisted.” She shuddered at the memory. “I took a picture of it with my phone then used my grabber tool to pick it up and carry it out into the weeds. I showed the pictures to the police and told them what I’d found out about where it came from. They think it’s someone’s idea of a sick joke, but...” her voice trailed off.
“But you don’t.”
She raised one shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, the snake was dead, and even if it weren’t, they’re not really a danger to humans, so maybe they’re right.”
“So, is that all?”
I wish. “There’s one more thing.”
He looked at her expectantly. Saying the words quickly, Olivia dropped the last bomb.
“Last week, while I was at work, someone broke into my house.”
Chapter 3
“What?” Jake’s eyes bugged out, and he shot up from his chair so quickly, it nearly tipped backward.
“Calm down, Jake. Nothing was taken or damaged or anything like that.”
“So, how did you know someone was here?”
Breaking eye contact, she said, “Whoever it was...they left me flowers.”
“Flowers?”
Olivia nodded. “Daisies.”
His expression softened only slightly. “Your favorite.”
Her gaze found his again. “You remember.”
She absolutely would not tell him how she’d run through her house looking for him, thinking he was back and had brought her the flowers to surprise her.
Staring deep into her eyes, he spoke low. “Of course, I remember.” Then, he blinked, and Warrior Jake was back. “And quit trying to change the subject. Someone broke in and left you your favorite flowers. Please tell me the police acted on that.”
“They did what they could. Came out and took pictures. Jotted down some notes. The deputies on duty suggested I get a security system, so I had that one installed, the next day.”
Jake began to pace the length of her tiny kitchen. Just when Olivia was sure he was going to wear the finish off her hardwood floor, he stopped next to the room’s edge and swung around to face her again.
So much anger flashed in his eyes that she actually recoiled in her chair. With his strong hands resting low on his hips, Jake was just this side of yelling when he asked, “Why am I just now hearing about this? Goddammit, Olivia. I should have known about this shit the minute it started. Why didn’t you...”
Olivia’s shoulders stiffened at his absurd outburst. Did he even hear what he was saying?
“Are you kidding me?”
Jake obviously didn’t realize how unbelievable his comments were, because he kept his rant going.
“Fuck, no, I’m not kidding. I want to know why I didn’t know someone was stalking you.”
Olivia stood, her own fury flickering throughout her veins. “Okay. First of all, we don’t even know for sure that there’s a stalker.”
He gave her new security system an exaggerated glance, and then looked back at her with disbelief. “Really.” The word dripped with sarcasm.
“And second”—she went on, completely ignoring his interruption—“and most importantly...were you hurt while you were away?”
Her question took him off guard. His face contorted with confusion. “What?”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “You know, did you hit your head? Are you suffering from some sort of traumatic brain injury or something?”
“Liv, what the hell are you—”
She cut him off at the pass. “Because it’s the only thing I can think of that would explain why you’re acting like such a moron right now.”
His brows shot up. “Moron?’
Olivia crossed her arms at her chest and glared. “Total. Moron.”
The look he gave matched her own. “Why? Because I fucking care about what happens to you? Because I actually give a shit that some asshole could be out there watching you, just waiting to hurt you, and I knew nothing about it?”
“Are you even listening to yourself, right now?” Not giving him a chance to respond, she continued her side of the yelling match. “Of course you aren’t. You’re too busy being a self-righteous prick to realize how ridiculous you sound!”
Jake’s expression changed from pissed to surprised then back to pissed in less than a second.
“So, first I’m a moron, and now I’m a prick?”
“Damn right, you’re a prick! You left me, Jake. You said you wanted me...that you wanted an us. You fed me that bullshit promise that you’d be here to help me figure everything out once we were home, and I was so pathetic I actually believed you. Right up until the moment you left without a single fucking word!”
Olivia walked over to dump her now-cold coffee into the sink. She sat the cup down with such force, she was surprised it didn’t shatter.
Turning back around, her hands held the edge of the countertop behind her in a death grip while her mind raced to figure out what to say next.
She wasn’t the one at fault here, and refused to stand by another second and let him make her feel as though she were.
“You know what, Jake? On second thought...”—Olivia gave a dramatic pause—“you’re right.”
It was surprising how calm her voice sounded, given the anger still coursing through her system. She tilted her head slightly, as though she were actually accepting her words as truth.
Not a chance! Olivia’s fingernails tapped against the underside of the countertop as she spoke.
“I should have told you about everything. I mean, there were so many opportunities for me to do that, right? All those late night phone calls we’ve shared over the past two months. The times you called to check on me—”
Jake closed his eyes, his shoulders falling as some of the fight left his body. “Liv—”
“I guess I could have told you then, huh?”
Beautiful, tormented eyes met hers, and Olivia had to force herself to ignore the pain she saw there.
“Olivia, just...hear me out.”
Ignoring his request, she snapped her fingers and smiled humorlessly. “Oh, wait! I remember now why I
