A Forever Christmas(61)

He hoped it was a lot—and none of it good.

But either way, he wasn’t about to let the man take Angel away with him, not even if her memory did come back to her.

He couldn’t shake this sinking feeling that sending her off with Wynters would be tantamount to signing her death sentence. Someone had tampered with her brakes that first day she’d arrived and his gut told him it had been Wynters.

There was no way that man was going to come near her again. Not if he had anything to say about it, Gabe silently swore.





Chapter Sixteen



She was being paranoid , but knowing that didn’t help. Angel still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched even though, when she looked, no one was there.

That detective wasn’t there.

For all intents and purposes, she was among friends and safe, she silently insisted.

She was at the diner, in the kitchen, going about her job with a healthy complement of people all around her, even in the kitchen. Eduardo seemed more alert—and vigilant—than she’d ever seen him and the waitresses were forever coming in to fetch something.

Even Miss Joan would find various pretexts that had her pushing open the swinging kitchen doors, looking for one thing or another.

Angel was on to all of them, knowing that everyone was just checking on her. Looking out for her. She more than appreciated it. Especially Miss Joan’s efforts. The woman had to be peeking in at least every fifteen minutes if not more frequently.

Each time Miss Joan stuck her head in, Angel would flash a smile at the diner owner and continue to go about making whatever meal had just been ordered. As for Eduardo, it seemed as if he never really took his eyes off her even though the senior short-order cook went on working at a steady pace himself.

Angel pressed her lips together. She was surrounded by people who cared about her and she was protected. So why was this uneasy feeling rising up and taking hold of her over and over again, like the tide repeatedly lapping at the shore?

There was no logical reason to feel so edgy, she kept telling herself.

The problem was, she wasn’t listening.

When it came time to leave, Angel breathed a sigh of relief, confident that she could finally get beyond this nagging uneasiness.

But that feeling was short lived.

Leaving the diner with Gabe, she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising up for no good reason. Nothing seemed to be out of place and that police detective who’d shown up this morning claiming to be her fiancé was nowhere to be seen.

Detective Jake Wynters had apparently disappeared after Rick had ushered him out.

Apparently.

Angel looked around her one final time before getting into Gabe’s truck.

“He made you nervous, didn’t he?” Gabe said rather than asked, sliding in behind the steering wheel.

She cleared her throat, buying herself some time, and then asked innocently, “Who?”

Gabe’s smile was one of tolerance. “I think that’s the first time I’ve known you to lie.” His smile deepened. “I’m happy to say you’re not any good at it. You know who I’m talking about, Angel. That police detective who said you were his fiancée.”

The very thought of a relationship with that detective made her shiver. She looked away from the man at her side and stared out the side window.

With a shrug she hoped looked disinterested enough, she said, “He seemed a bit intense, but he did go away.”

Gabe had asked his sister to do some research on the man who claimed to be Angel’s fiancé. The San Antonio police detective had an impeccable record with several commendations for bravery and a long list of accolades in his file according to what Alma had managed to dig up. He sounded like an honorable, upstanding law enforcement officer.

But Gabe couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Either someone had deliberately cleaned up the man’s file—or the detective was good at playing a dual role. Either way, Gabe had seen the fear in Angel’s eyes when she looked at Wynters and that was enough to convince him that the detective wasn’t going to get within ten feet of her.

“And I intend to see that he stays away,” he told her, commenting on her conclusion.

Oh, if only…

Angel shook her head in response to his words. “You’ve got no reason to make him stay away, Gabe,” she reminded him.

“I’ve got the best reason in the world,” he contradicted. “You.” Coming to one of the town’s few traffic lights, he stopped, waiting for it to turn green again. He studied her profile thoughtfully as he waited. Her jaw was so rigid, it looked as if it could shatter. “You’re sure you don’t remember him?” he prodded gently.