by Kaylea Cross
“Allow your breath to fill your body. Imagine it’s a soft, white light filling you, bringing serenity and healing energy.”
Eyes closed, Molly forced her concentration back to the instructor’s voice. Even after practicing yoga for these past six months, her mind still had a habit of wandering during class.
Usually her thoughts centered around Carter and she had to block them before they could undo the calming effect of the class. Tonight, her mind kept shifting between the guy Carter owed money to, and Jase. And rather than make her feel embarrassed or weird, in her relaxed state her mind focused on the way Jase made her feel when he was around.
Safe. Calm. Protected.
Aroused.
Her eyes flew open. Oh, God…
It took her a solid ten minutes to push the thought to the back of her mind and concentrate on the rest of the class. They finished more deep breathing and one final visualization exercise while in corpse pose.
“Namaste,” the instructor murmured, signaling the end of class.
The lights around the room came on the dimmest setting. Molly didn’t move, savoring the peacefulness. Her conflicted feelings about Jase and the worry about the guy who’d approached her were there on the periphery of her consciousness, but she was able to hold them at bay a little longer.
Sierra sighed beside her. “This is my favorite pose. Actually, I think it’s the only one I like.”
“You would like this one,” Molly teased, eyes still closed. She didn’t want to open her eyes. Didn’t want to face the realization she’d just come to. She wanted to stay in this warm, safe place, remain in this state of relaxation with her friends surrounding her.
“I liked that last one too,” Tiana said with a chuckle. “So, do we just…lie here for a while now?”
Molly opened her eyes and looked over at her. Tiana’s mismatched eyes were totally alert, with none of the hazy sleepiness Molly always felt at the end of the class. She chuckled. “No. We’re just being lazy. You can get up if you want.”
“Great.” Tiana jumped up and began rolling up her mat.
“Somehow I feel like she didn’t get into the same zen zone as the rest of us,” Poppy said on Molly’s left.
“It’s her first time out. Sierra barely even closed her eyes the first time out. Now look at her.”
Lying on her back, Sierra flapped a hand at them without opening her eyes. “It’s been a long week. Leave me alone.”
“So cranky,” Molly teased. “You better stay for another class, mellow out some more.”
“Oh God, if I did that, I’d spend the rest of the night right here on the floor.”
“How you liking your new digs, Moll?” Poppy asked her.
“Loving it so far.” After all the help from the guys, and Sierra and Poppy, it was starting to feel like home. The downstairs suite wasn’t quite done yet, but it should be within the next week or two.
She also had four days off coming to her starting tomorrow. She couldn’t wait to get everything else done at the house and then…
And then what?
She wasn’t sure yet. But that was something she had to figure out quick, because it was just her now. Her and the baby she had to prepare for. That was the biggest reason she hoped the man following her never came back again.
As they were all leaving, Molly nudged Tiana gently and whispered, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Surprised, Tiana nodded. “Sure.” She hung back with Molly as they left the building. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s good.” And it was. Mostly. She was just trying to figure out what her new normal was supposed to be. “So, you know I’m pregnant, right?”
“Yes. When are you due?”
“February.”
She nodded. “You feeling okay? You’ve been through a lot.”
“Boy, don’t I know it,” Molly said with a wry grin. “No, physically everything’s fine. I was sick at first but I’m good now. I just wanted to ask you about what comes after the baby’s born, what to expect since I’m on my own. You seem to have everything all figured out, and Ella’s bright, polite and extremely well adjusted. Got any words of wisdom you care to pass on to a fellow single mom?”
Tiana stopped walking and faced her, her expression suddenly tense. “Trust me, I don’t have it nearly together as much as you think.”
Molly blinked. “Well you sure seem like you do.”
“I wish. But if that were true, I wouldn’t keep picking losers or expose my daughter to a sexual deviant.”
Ouch. Sierra had told Molly all about the incident with the guy Tiana had last dated.
The sick freak had exposed himself to Ella while the little girl was naked in the tub, and probably would have molested and raped her if Beckett hadn’t got wind of it. But he had, and he’d marched straight over to smash the bastard’s face in. Now the asshole had been charged and was awaiting trial.
“Hey, you didn’t know he was a deviant,” Molly said.
Tiana cringed. “No. But man, I sure know how to pick ‘em. I’m not to be trusted with that, so I won’t be trying to re-enter the dating waters for a looong time. Maybe ever.”
Molly slung an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “You’re a great mom. Know how I know? Your kid loves you to bits. And look at how Ella’s turned out. That’s proof right there.”
“She’s only nine, so she hasn’t ‘turned out’ yet. But I really hope she stays the way she is.” She met Molly’s gaze, her face serious. “You can’t imagine the depth of love you’ll feel for your child until you have one. You think you know, but you don’t. It’s fierce. Primal. Unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. The night I found out what Brian did? It was like a switch got flipped inside me. If Noah hadn’t been there to stop me, I would have attacked him. Maybe even shot him, if I could get my hands on a gun.
“And when that cougar cornered us in front of Poppy’s place, I shoved Ella behind me without thinking. I was terrified, but it was instinctive. I didn’t care what happened to me, I just knew that I was ready to die to defend my daughter, and that I would bite and claw and tear into that cat and do whatever it took to stop her from getting to Ella.”
“Mama bear,” Molly murmured with an approving smile. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
Tiana smiled back, but it was sad. “Yes. That’s the way it should be. But it isn’t always.” She looked away and Molly lowered her arm, sensing something more was beneath the other woman’s words. Then Tiana focused on her. “So how are you feeling about the whole thing? I mean, now that the funeral’s over and everything.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting the baby. I love that a piece of Carter is still here. I always thought I would have kids someday, I just never imagined I’d do it on my own. But here we are.”
“Here we are,” Tiana said with a grin. “And you’ll figure it all out, trust me. Not gonna lie, though, there will be times when you’ll be totally overwhelmed. Single motherhood isn’t easy, or for the faint of heart. And the financial stress is tough.”
Yeah. She’d been putting away whatever was left over at the end of each month, but it wasn’t going to go far. Even though it made her feel a little selfish, she hoped she would get the insurance money from Carter’s settlement. “Did you ever think you’d be a single mom?”
She shook her head vehemently. “Never. I was raised in a…strict family. Girls were supposed to graduate from high school, maybe go to college for a year or two, then get married and stay home with the kids. When I got pregnant without a wedding ring on my finger, my parents disowned me.”
Molly winced. “Ouch. I’m sorry.” That was so damn backwards. Families were complicated.
Tiana shrugged. “I wasn’t surprised. I expected it. But there was no way I was getting rid of or giving up my baby. I felt like that little soul had been hand-picked for me, entrusted to me specifically to cherish and protect. You know what I mean?”
; “I know exactly what you mean,” Molly answered, her throat tightening. She’d been blindsided about finding herself pregnant at the start of a divorce, but she’d never once thought of ending it.
Tiana gave her a warm smile, then it faded slowly. “I thought the guy who got me pregnant was The One. I thought he would stand by me and the baby. He did for a while, but a few weeks after Ella was born, he couldn’t take it. He took off one day and never came back. He’s a musician.” She rolled her eyes. “How cliché is that? Anyway, last I heard he was down in LA somewhere.”
“He has no contact with you whatsoever?”
“None, and I’ve got full custody of Ella. If he ever tried to be part of her life now, I’d fight him tooth and nail in court, spend every penny I have trying to keep him away, even if it meant Ella and I winding up in a tent together. If she wants to establish contact and have a relationship with him once she’s grown up, that’s her decision. For now, I have to do what I think is best for her.”
“Of course. But you’d never wind up in a tent. If the worst ever did happen, you could live with me, or Sierra or maybe even Jase.” He had a huge heart, and a protective streak a mile wide. He would also be a fantastic dad someday. “None of us would let you guys wind up homeless, so don’t you ever worry about that.”
A proud smile spread across Tiana’s pretty face. “You don’t need any advice from me, but you can always call me for help if you want it. This baby is lucky to have you for its mama.”
Molly sure hoped so.
She felt ten times better as she headed to her car, parked around the side of the building. But the relief and morale boost Tiana’s words had given her evaporated the moment she saw the man leaning against her car.
She stopped moving, her feet stuck to the pavement. “John”. He’d been following her.
Molly glanced around. The parking lot on this side was all but deserted, and this town was too damn small to warrant any kind of security cameras posted in this location.
“Hey,” he said, straightening, hands in his jacket pockets. His tone was friendly. Too friendly.
She took a step back, ready to turn.
“I’m not gonna hurt you, Molly,” he said with a soft laugh. As if she was being ridiculous.
It doubled her unease that he knew her name and she didn’t know his. She stopped but didn’t move any closer, believing no part of his charming and nice routine. “What do you want?”
“Just wanna talk to you. We’ve got a problem we need to settle.”
“I already told you, I can’t help you. I don’t know anything about the money.”
He shrugged, the motion relaxed, casual. “Doesn’t matter if you do or not. I need what he borrowed back.”
She made a disgusted sound. “You think I’ve got that kind of money?”
“He had a life insurance policy.”
Shit, how much did he know about her and Carter? And how? “Which I may never see a penny of.”
He shook his head, enough light hitting his face that she could see his expression. And the pity in it. “This isn’t going away, no matter how much you want it to. If you can’t get the life insurance money, then you’ll need to find it somewhere else. A friend, family member, whatever. I don’t care where it comes from, as long as you get it to me.”
What the hell did he expect her to do? He was scaring her. This wasn’t her doing, and not her problem. “How do I know you’re not lying?”
“You want proof?”
“Have you got any?” She didn’t know much about loansharking, but as far as she understood it, bookies kept meticulous records.
“I do. And let’s just say that the people I work with aren’t very…understanding. They don’t care that you’re a widow unconnected to the money or that you’ve gone through a hard time.”
The veiled threat sent a shock of ice through her. She spun around and rushed for the yoga studio door. Her heart thudded along with the sound of her shoes hitting the sidewalk, half-expecting to hear him chasing after her.
She ripped open the door and hurried inside, risking a glance over her shoulder. The man was gone.
She stopped, scanned the parking lot and sidewalk, but there was no sign of him. That didn’t mean he was gone, though. He might just be waiting for her to come back out, or follow her home.
She whipped out her phone and called Noah.
The sheriff arrived ten minutes later in uniform, and met her upstairs in the yoga studio. She gave him a description of “John” and detailed the past three dealings, but there was no video footage or anything else they could use to identify him with.
She also had no proof of any credible threat against her. Just a hard knot of foreboding in the pit of her churning stomach.
Noah’s expression was troubled as he put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re right to be suspicious and vigilant. But without hard evidence of a specific threat, I can’t do anything other than give you ways to protect yourself if he shows up again. Have you got a security system at your new place yet?”
“It’s wired in but not hooked up yet. Beckett and Jase were going to do that next week.”
“I’ll talk to them. You’ll want a wireless camera system installed too, though I’m sure they’ve already planned on it.”
Molly didn’t like that there was nothing else to be done about this. Carter was continuing to wreak havoc on her life from the grave, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
It seemed that as in everything else in her new life, she was on her own with this too.
Chapter Ten
When Jase got the call from Noah, he couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe that Carter, even in his chaotic mental state, had done something so stupid to put Molly in this position. And even more, he couldn’t believe that Molly hadn’t immediately called him for help.
It made no sense. Had she known something more about what was going on when he’d seen that guy leave her rental place? If so, why the hell would she hide any of it from him? He’d flat out asked her what was wrong. Had she been hoping the situation would just go away? Or did she not trust him enough to reach out to him for help this time?
That second possibility was too much. He was angry. Hell, he was hurt. He’d done everything in his power to be there for her since moving to Crimson Point. All she had to do was call, and he’d be there. Jesus. Didn’t she know that by now?
He was in his truck and heading for her new place before he thought it through, driven by the need to protect her and find out exactly what the hell was going on. As well as confront her about why she hadn’t reached out when her safety was threatened.
Noah was just heading from the porch back to his cruiser when Jase parked behind her car in the driveway. “Place is secure and no one tailed us here,” Noah said. “But the guy’s been following her, no doubt about it, so he probably knows where her new place is.”
Jase nodded, already assuming that and ready to take the necessary precautions. “Thanks for checking it out. And for calling me.” Man, it pissed him off that Molly hadn’t.
“Of course. You staying with her tonight?”
He hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, but yeah, that’s exactly what he was going to do. “Yes. I’ll call you if anything else comes up.”
“Sure. Have a good night.”
“You too.” Jase didn’t wait for Noah to get in his patrol car. He marched straight to the front door and hit the bell, waiting on the mat with his hands on his hips.
“Who is it?” Molly called out.
“Me.”
She opened the door ten seconds later. “Hey,” she murmured, and stepped back.
Ignoring the urge to grab her and hold her close, he walked in without answering, his frustration putting the edge to his temper. After taking off his boots he walked through to the gleaming kitchen she’d warmed up with her personal touches, the silence building between them as she followed.
Jase stopped at the island and leaned back
against it, folding his arms across his chest in a posture that was meant to be intimidating. Molly’s expression was decidedly sheepish, but he couldn’t wait a second longer to confront her. “Why didn’t you call me?”
She sighed and lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “Because I had to call the cops right away, and then Noah took care of everything.”
He kept staring at her. Of course, calling the cops was the right thing to do. But right after that she should have called him.
“And I didn’t want to bother you,” she added. “You’d already spent hours sitting with Mrs. Wong, so…”
His temper snapped. “Bother me?” She winced at his tone but he didn’t stop. “Tell me you’re joking. Some shady asshole shows up not once, but three different times, cornering you while you were alone, and tells you he’s basically a loan shark/bookie who works for God knows who and he wants the money Carter owed, and you don’t call because you don’t want to bother me? Jesus Christ, Molly. This guy is definitely dangerous!”
Her cheeks flushed a deep pink and her chin came up, a spark of temper lighting the depths of her eyes. “I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry. There’s just been so much…shit going on everywhere I look, and I didn’t want to add yet another rock to the pile I’ve already dumped on you.”
Ah, hell. He shook his head, not knowing how to make this absolutely clear to her so that she never misunderstood this point again. “Moll. When it comes to your safety and wellbeing, I’d carry an entire mountain for you if necessary. Do you seriously not know that by now?”
She lowered her gaze. “Yes, I know it,” she answered, and her voice seemed a little rough.
He unfolded his arms and rested his hands on the island-top, curling his fingers around the edge of it to keep from reaching for her. Because he wanted to so badly the muscles in his arms ached. “Who is this guy?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t know who he works for. But apparently Carter owed him a hundred-twenty grand when he died.”
Jase clenched his back teeth together. God damn you, Carter. “A hundred-twenty grand? How in hell did he rack up that kind of a bill so fast? And what the hell was he spending it on?” Carter had been living in a damn hovel of an apartment just off the I-5 when he died. If he’d had any money, he sure as shit hadn’t been spending it on housing.