I snorted. “I hardly think the Feds are going to want—”
“Where are the other letters?”
“I threw them away.”
Fire burned in his eyes, and he looked like he wanted to kill me. “Why? Why would you do that? Why did you not tell the police sooner?”
I snatched the envelope out of his hand in anger. “Because that’s what they want. They want me off my game. They want me worrying about my safety instead of my client’s future.” I stood on my tiptoes to try and get in Tommy’s face even though he was a good half a foot away. “I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to sacrifice my client like that.”
His jaw clenched. “You could have given the case to someone else.”
“But that’s what they want. I’m one of the best attorneys—no, the best attorney—and they are doing this to mess with me. And I’m not going to let them win.”
Tommy raised his hands up in the air and fisted them in frustration. “Olivia, you said yourself, the case is over. Yet they’re still threatening you. At home.”
I shook my head. “But they’re suing now. They didn’t get me to quit before, so they’re upping their game.”
“May I interject?”
Tommy and I both turned to look at Derek. I’d forgotten he was there.
“I still have the letters,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“I…still have the letters.”
“Thank God. Someone with some sense,” Tommy said. “Put that letter”—he grabbed the envelope back from me—“and this envelope with the others and go call the police.”
“Don’t you do it, Derek,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Don’t listen to her. She’ll thank you later.”
Derek ran out of the room.
“If you call 911, I’m firing you.”
Derek didn’t come back.
I looked at Tommy again. I knew I’d only seen him a couple of times. Maddox’s case and then Maddox and Addison’s wedding, but this was the first time he looked angry.
It was a whole different side of him.
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
“If it’s not a big deal, then why did you almost pass out after reading the note?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I didn’t almost pass out.” It was the truth. But I also wasn’t going to admit that it had scared the piss out of me. I knew that it was most likely Annabelle’s father, and he wasn’t actually going to hurt me, but this is the first time a letter had been delivered to my home.
Derek came back to the room. “I called the police.”
Tommy breathed a sigh of relief.
“You’re fired,” I told him.
“No, I’m not. You said you’d fire me if I called 911. I didn’t. I called a non-emergency number. Besides, you need me.”
Dammit, he was right.
“You’re on probation then.”
He rolled his eyes at me, but I was serious. I needed to talk to him about who was his boss and who he should be taking orders from. It was just like a man to listen to another man.
“Stop looking at me like that, Olivia,” Derek said. “You know it was the right thing to do.”
Two police officers arrived about an hour later and put the letters and envelopes in an evidence bag. They took all three of our fingerprints to rule us out, but they pointed out that the sender had probably worn gloves. If we were lucky, the person had licked the envelope, but it was about a fifty-fifty shot. Then, they interviewed all three of us even though Tommy had only been around for the last one.
“Who is this guy?” Derek asked while Tommy was with the officers and we were alone.
“Hopefully, the police will find out; otherwise, this is all for nothing.”
“It’s not for nothing because even if there is no DNA or fingerprints, there is now a record if something happens to you. But that’s not what I was asking. I meant, who is Thomas Morelli?”
“Oh.” I’d been so focused on the letters that I hadn’t even realized Derek was asking about Tommy.
“He’s friends with Maddox and Addison Wolfe. He was one of the SEALs who helped Maddox protect that lady and her child from her ex-husband.”
“I remember that. But what is he doing here, and why is he so protective of you?”
I frowned. “He’s here because he had to come into town to pick up something for a project he’s doing with Maddox. I hitched a ride with him. And I don’t think he’s so protective of me. He’s protective in general. He’s former military.”
“Uh…”
I narrowed my eyes. His response made it sound like he understood, but the skepticism in his eyes said he didn’t believe me.
Speaking of not believing me…
“About your probation.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am serious. I’m your boss. What are you doing, listening to a guy you just met over me? Where’s the loyalty?”
He put his hand over mine. “Olivia, I’ve been with you since the beginning. I left our old firm when you started this one despite not knowing when I was going to get a paycheck. You will never find someone more loyal to you than me.” He held up a finger with his opposite hand. “But just because I’m loyal doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore my gut instinct when it comes to your security. Because loyalty means keeping you safe, too. I’ve wanted to call the police since the second letter—the second out of twenty-two, I might add. Hearing another person confirm that I wasn’t overreacting is what made me call.” He squeezed my fingers. “Understand?”
“I suppose.”
He pulled his arm away. “Now, let’s put this whole probation thing behind us because you’d be lost without me.”
“I’ll consider it.”
He laughed as the door to my office opened.
“I think we have everything we need, Ms. Mayer,” one of the officers said when the three men stepped out into the hall. “Until then, do you have a security system?
