Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(62)

Elle didn’t know what to say. Her heart swelled with so much joy and panic at the same time, she wasn’t sure exactly how she felt. Okay, actually, that was a lie. She knew exactly how she felt.

She was in love with Gabe Dawson.

Her girlhood infatuation had evolved over the years, in spite of her own efforts to keep her feelings in check. And now, after allowing herself to peek behind his cocky, self-assured facade, she knew without a doubt she was head over heels in love with the man beside her.

But after her earlier gaffe, there was no way in hell she was going to admit it right then. Instead, she settled for leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek and left it at that. It was actually a relief when they arrived at Jessica’s house.

But when she unbuckled her seat belt and reached for the door handle to get out of the Charger, she realized Gabe wasn’t moving. Concerned, she took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “Are you sure you want to go inside with me? You can just drop me off and I’ll catch a ride home with someone else.”

He frowned. “What? Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know… I just…” She forced a smile. “Never mind. Let’s just go.”

Gabe got out and came around to open the door for her, keeping her hand clasped firmly in his as they made their way to the front porch. She twined her fingers with his as he raised his other hand to knock, but the door swung open before he had the chance.

*

Jessica Andrews had been crying, her dark eyes puffy and swollen. On a sob, she threw her arms around Gabe’s neck, hugging him tightly.

“Thank God you came!” she sniffed as she ushered them in. “I didn’t realize the police had called you.”

“They didn’t,” Gabe informed her, his head still reeling from the conversation with Elle in the car and now the added mystery of why Jessica was clearly upset. “We came for Teddy’s party. Elle left you a message…”

She cast a glance between him and Elle, her eyes widening a little. “Oh God, the party. Of course! I’m sorry. It’s just been… Everyone’s out in the backyard. My sister’s handling everything. I just… I couldn’t.”

Elle put her arm around Jessica’s shoulders and led her to the sofa. “What’s going on, honey?”

She snatched a Kleenex from the box on the side table and dabbed at her eyes. “I got a letter in the mail yesterday, but I was so busy getting things ready for Teddy’s party I didn’t open it until this morning.”

Gabe had a feeling he knew what was coming.

“All that was inside was a copy of a newspaper article about Chris’s death,” she continued. “But someone had typed a Bible verse at the bottom.”

“Do you still have it?” he asked, struggling to keep the fury out of his voice.

She shook her head. “No, I sent it with Mike Dandridge when he came by this morning. You remember Mike, right?”

Gabe nodded. “Sure. He’s a good guy and fantastic cop. And he was a good friend to Chris. I’ve worked with him a few times on cases. How about I give him a call and see if they’ve processed the letter for prints?”

Jessica nodded and sniffed, wiping at her eyes. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

Gabe sent a questioning glance to Elle, and when she nodded and turned her sympathetic smile to Jessica, he got up and slipped outside to the porch and dialed Officer Mike Dandridge. The officer answered on the second ring with a cheerful, “Yo.”

“Hey, Mike, how’s it hangin’, man?”

Mike groaned. “Dude. Just got off my shift and have to go sweat my balls off directing traffic at the megachurch on Harding so I can pay my friggin’ bills. Same shit, different day. Whaddup?”

Gabe cringed, knowing well that most of the officers he knew had to work side jobs, doing security at concerts or taking traffic details just to make ends meet. He’d certainly done his fair share of shit work a couple of years earlier, when he’d secretly been paying some of his brother Joe’s bills while Joe was recovering from the wounds he’d received in Afghanistan.

“Sorry, man,” Gabe told him sincerely. “I won’t keep you long. I was just following up on the letter Jessica Andrews handed over to you this morning. Was wondering if you’d been able to get any prints off it.”

“Nah,” Mike told him, clearly frustrated. “Whoever sent it did one helluva job keeping the letter clean. And it wasn’t mailed, so there’s nothing to go on there. You at Jessica’s now?”

“Yeah, stopped by for Teddy’s birthday party and found out about the letter,” he told his colleague, scanning the sun-drenched suburban street. It was too hot at that point in the afternoon for many people to be out and about working on their yards or washing their cars, but there were a few. “You talked to the neighbors already? They see anybody?”

“Nobody we talked to saw anyone dropping off anything in Jessie’s mailbox,” Mike assured him. “Neighborhoods aren’t like what they used to be, man. People aren’t paying attention to what’s going on around them anymore. Makes it a helluva lot harder to canvas the neighbors.”

“I hear ya.” Gabe ran a hand over his hair, irritated the local PD hadn’t had any better luck than they’d had in nailing Monroe. “Jess wasn’t the only one to get a letter like that. Elle McCoy got one, too.”