by Sherri Hayes
Ignoring some of the smirks he got from a few of his teammates as they spread out to begin their warm-up, he tried to get his mind in the game and off Rebecca. This week would be another tough game, made more challenging by the fact that they were coming off a bye. Texas was playing strong this year. They played hard, fast, and liked to put points on the board. Gage and the offense would have to keep up, or be left in the dust.
Kenny and Zach flanked him as he started to stretch. He knew the ambush was coming, and they didn’t disappoint.
“Are we ever going to see you at the club again?”
“Yeah, man. Two weeks in a row now you’ve skipped out on us.”
Gage shrugged and continued with his stretches. “You guys came over last Monday. You know about Rebecca’s sister.”
“Yeah. Megan,” Kenny said with a predatory smile.
“Watch it,” Gage said.
“Oooooh. Protective,” Kenny joked. “Sorry, man. Didn’t know it was like that.”
Gage sighed, lay back, and began doing crunches. “It’s not like anything. She’s my girlfriend’s sister. End of story. I just know how you are when it comes to women.” He tried to keep his tone light, but for some reason the idea of Megan hooking up with Kenny bothered him. Maybe Rebecca’s protective streak was rubbing off on him.
“Okay. If you say so.”
“I do.”
Everyone concentrated on their workouts for the next several minutes. The silence was charged, and Gage felt bad. A month ago, he would have been right there with Kenny in his assumptions. Given his previous relationship with the female population, he really couldn’t blame his friend. Kenny wasn’t ready to settle down. Of course, Gage hadn’t been either until recently.
“How are things with Angie?” he asked Kenny, trying to change the subject as they flipped over and began a set of push-ups.
“Not much to tell. We’ve hooked up a couple of times. You know the deal.”
“So nothing long-term there?”
Kenny laughed. “No. Not even close. What about you, Zach? How’d your date with the bartender go?”
Zach’s smile said it all. “Tonight’s her night off. I’m taking her to a comedy club downtown.”
“So things are getting serious, then?”
“Not quite as serious as you and Rebecca, but . . . yeah.”
“Wow. I’m going to start feeling like the third wheel,” Kenny said, flopping down on his back.
“Stop chasing tail and find a girl, then,” Zach said, only partly in jest.
Gage smiled, but that unease began to settle in again. After realizing he loved Rebecca, he couldn’t imagine her walking out of his life. He had to figure out a way to get her to stay or at least give a relationship between them a chance. He had no idea how that would work with both their jobs, but there had to be a way. The problem was how did he tell her he wanted her in his life—permanently—without sending her running in the opposite direction?
Practice was long, and he hadn’t been wrong about the bruises. They were already forming. To add to it, their coach asked him to stay after for a few minutes. It didn’t take a mind reader to know that their conversation would be about his new relationship. Sure enough, Gage had gotten a nice little pep talk reminding him that he needed to stay focused and keep his mind on Sunday’s game, something he already knew and was desperately trying to do. His coach never came out and said anything about Rebecca and his relationship with her, but he did hint that, with playoffs in sight, it might not be the best time to spend his energies elsewhere. He knew his coach meant well and was just looking out for the team as a whole, but there was no way he would cool it with Rebecca. Especially when it might be all the time he had with her.
When he walked into the locker room, most of the guys were already out of the showers and getting ready to leave. He quickly stripped out of his gear and headed for the hot steam that would ease the ache in his muscles. One of his teammates, a defensive back, nodded to Gage as he turned on the spray in the far corner and began washing off the grime.
One by one, the other guys left the showers, leaving him alone. Gage closed his eyes and leaned back against the tile wall, letting his mind drift a little.
“Mr. Daniels?” A familiar male voice yelled into the shower area. “You in there?”
“Yeah.” Gage pushed off the wall, and reached for the handle to turn off the water. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
It had taken him a few seconds, but he recognized the man’s voice as one of the stadium’s security. Grabbing his towel, Gage wrapped it around his waist and walked out into the locker room where the man was waiting.
“Everything okay?” Gage asked, reaching for another towel to dry his upper body. The security guard stood there, relaxed. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be that bad.
“This came for you up in the main office. They also wanted me to let you know that Mr. Donovan said he wants to see you before you leave.”
Of course, he does.
Gage took the envelope from the man and thanked him. No doubt Tim wanted to see if this was another note from his stalker.
Just looking at the handwritten letters on the front of the envelope, he knew it was. It was too much to hope that whoever was behind this had been spooked by nearly being caught on Sunday. No, whoever his stalker was, he or she wasn’t giving up. He knew Hansen had insisted this was a good thing, but Gage wasn’t so sure. He just wanted it to stop. He also wished he understood the motivation behind it all. Maybe if he did, he could figure out who was doing this.
Not bothering to open the letter, he laid it on his bench, dug his cell phone out of his locker, and dialed Rebecca’s number. She answered on the second ring.
“You’re late.” Her voice was serious, but he could hear the levity there, too.
He chuckled.
“I know. Coach needed to talk to me after practice.”
“Okay. Are you on your way out now, then?”
“No.” He positioned the phone between his ear and shoulder, so he could finish drying off and slip his jeans on. “Mr. Donovan wants to see me.” Gage paused, knowing she wasn’t going to like this next part. He didn’t either. “And I got another envelope.”
He could almost see her sitting up, suddenly at attention. The sound of a car door opening made him realize she must have already been in his SUV waiting for him.
“What does it say?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t opened it yet.”
“Where are you?”
Her breathing pattern had changed, and he knew she must have been jogging or running.
“I’m fine. I’m still in the locker room.”
“Are you alone?”
He glanced around, even though he knew all the other guys had already gone, including the security guard. “Yes.”
“You’re closer to the players’ entrance than you are to Donovan’s office, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Rebecca, calm down. Nothing’s going to happen to me here. There are security cameras everywhere.”
“Gage, just please do this. For me.” Hearing her pleading finally broke his resolve.
“Okay. I’ll meet you there in less than two minutes,” he said, taking a clean shirt out of his bag and putting it on over his head.
He stuffed his dirty clothes into his bag and tossed the letter on top before zipping it up, throwing the bag over his shoulder, and heading out of the locker room. She was freaked. He just didn’t understand why. This wasn’t the first time he’d ever been in the locker room by himself, and it wouldn’t be the last. Sure, they’d gotten shot at in the parking lot outside the club, but that had been out in a public place. He couldn’t see anyone breaking in and doing anything here. It would be too easy to be caught, and whoever this was didn’t strike him as someone who wanted to be found out.
When he reached the door leading to the players’ parking lot, he saw Rebecca pacing. She must have used her pass to let herself into the building.
“Hey.”
She hurried to close the remaining distance between them and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
“Whoa. Are you okay?” He held her tight. Her reaction was a little over the top. As he held her, though, he realized she’d thought him to be in danger. Maybe her reaction meant she felt more for him than she was admitting.
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “Other than being a little sore from practice, I’ve never been better.”
She stepped back, checking him over visibly for any injuries. Once she appeared convinced that he was indeed unharmed, she collected herself and went into professional mode. He didn’t like seeing her so freaked out, but he wasn’t a big fan of “Agent Carson” either. He wanted . . . he needed his Rebecca.
“Do you have the envelope?” she asked, all of the previous emotion gone.
He shifted the bag off his shoulder, opened it, and handed her the letter.
Somewhere between her question and his giving her the envelope, she’d slipped on a pair of latex gloves. She flipped the envelope over, examining it, just as she had the last time. Once she seemed satisfied with whatever she was looking for, she ran her finger under the seal to open it.
When Gage saw the contents, it registered that this one had felt lighter than the others, and with good reason. The envelope contained a single photo of Rebecca walking across a street. The picture had been taken earlier that day, most likely when she was going from the players’ parking lot to the café that morning.
He was so caught up in the picture, not understanding its meaning, that he almost missed the small piece of paper that had come along with it. It wasn’t until he saw Rebecca’s hands clench that he glanced up to see what had stolen her attention. He looked back down and read the note. Unlike the other handwritten notes, this one was typed in bold, black letters.
GET RID OF HER!
Chapter 25
The words jumped off the page at Rebecca, and things started to fall into place for her. At least, as far as the photos Gage had been receiving. All of them had included him with various women. Before, she’d thought it was an interesting bit of information, but she’d viewed it as more a comment on his lifestyle choices than anything else. After this current photo, she was thinking it was intentional. Whoever it was, they weren’t honing in on Gage specifically, but more his relationships with the female population.
Who would care who Gage dated, though? Or more accurately, who he slept with? An ex-girlfriend, perhaps?
Gage ripped the paper out of her hands and held it in front of him. His face was intense, almost scary. Although she knew she should take the paper back, guard it as evidence, his expression stopped her. They had the photo and plenty of other notes. That would have to be enough.
“Do you have any idea who would have a problem with the women in your life?” she asked.
“What?” He glanced up at her in disbelief.
“All the photographs you’ve been sent have one thing in common. All of them, with this one exception, have been of you and women you’ve had some type of relationship with.”
“I don’t think I would consider sex a relationship.”
She winced. Even though she knew that’s what they had—all they had, really—it hurt a little to hear him say it.
“Be that as it may, the women appear to be the one constant.”
“What does that mean?”
Instead of answering his question, she asked one of her own. “Who would be bothered by who you date? Even though whoever this is has been keeping watch, this is the first time they’ve pointed to a specific person and told you to get rid of her.”
“You,” he said, pointedly. “They’re telling me to get rid of you.”
“I know.”
There was pain in his eyes, hurt. She wanted to comfort him. The tips of her fingers itched with the need to touch him, but she held back. As much as she wanted to hold him and have him hold her as well, at that moment he needed her as an FBI agent, not a girlfriend.
“I know I’ve asked this before, but is there an ex-girlfriend? Maybe even someone who has had a crush on you for a long time but hasn’t said anything?”
Gage ran a hand through his still-damp hair. “I don’t know. There was a girl I dated for a while in college, but it was never really that serious. Everything else is high school stuff. I can’t see any of them doing this.”
“A crush?”
He shook his head, the note clenched in both hands. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway toward them, and they both looked up in the direction of the noise.
“We should go see Donovan.”
Gage didn’t respond other than to take her hand and start walking. They passed the guard they’d heard on their way to the elevator. He smiled and nodded as he passed them.
Once inside the closed space of the elevator, Gage backed her up against the wall and gave her a hard kiss, holding her hips firmly in his hands. It was over almost before it began, but it conveyed more meaning than words could have at that point. The doors opened, and she stood there stunned for a moment before shaking herself back to reality and the business at hand.
After two short raps to Donovan’s door, a voice called for them to enter. The team’s owner sat behind his large wooden desk. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Come in,” he said, motioning to the seats in front of his desk.
They sat down, Gage never letting go of her hand. Donovan noticed.
“I see you two are getting along better. That’s good.”
“Everything’s great.” Sarcasm dripped from Gage’s words, and Donovan frowned.
“Another envelope was delivered today,” Rebecca said, jumping in before something happened between the two. Gage was already on edge, she could feel it, see it in the way he held his body. He didn’t need to start a fight with his boss on top of everything else.
“May I see it?”
Rebecca took the picture and held it up for Donovan to see.
“I’d rather you not touch it, Mr. Donovan. It will make fingerprinting’s job a lot easier.”
“Oh yes, of course,” he said, leaning across the desk to take a closer look. When he realized what the picture was of, he glance over at her, eyebrows raised in question.
“It seems the person wants me out of Gage’s life.”
Donovan sat back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap.
“You got all that from a picture?”
Gage abruptly stood up, slamming the typed note onto the desk.
When Donovan read the note, he visibly paled.
“Oh.”
“As you can see, this changes things,” Rebecca said, laying a hand on Gage’s arm, urging him to sit back down.
“Yes, I suppose it does. What happens now?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
Both Donovan and Gage looked at her with wide eyes.
“If we do anything now, we give the stalker what they want. If he or she is agitated by our lack of compliance, there is more chance of them taking a risk, and slipping up.”
“Or doing something more reckless and getting my star quarterback hurt or killed.”
Rebecca shook her head, disagreeing. “I don’t think that will happen. Gage is rarely alone. And based on this new evidence, I’d say I’m more at risk than he is for the time being.”
Gage reached for her hand again, holding it tight in both of his.
“Are we any closer to catching whoever it is?” Donovan asked, ignoring Gage’s reaction.
“We are. My partner is in the process of following a very promising lead at the moment. If all goes well, we may have a suspect in custody soon.”
Donovan released a deep breath. “That’s good to hear.”
After a few more probing questions, to which she provided vague answers, Rebecca and Gage left Donovan’s office and headed back to the players’ parking lot.
<
br /> By the time they reached Gage’s SUV, she was beginning to worry about him. He hadn’t said a word on the way down, and he’d refused to let go of her hand for any length of time. She’d had to request he release it long enough for her to remove her gloves after placing the envelope, picture, and note in a plastic bag Donovan provided. As soon as the gloves were off and tucked back inside her back pocket, he took hold of her hand once more. She’d again had to ask him to let go so she could check the vehicle and they could get inside. He quickly fastened his seatbelt once they climbed in, and reached for her hand.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you all right?”
He stared at her, eyes full of something she didn’t want to put a name to. “Someone is targeting you because of me. No. I’m not all right.”
“It’s my job, Gage,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm.
“Is that all I am to you? A job?” He unbuckled his seat belt and took her face in his hands. “Is that really all we have between us? A job?”
Rebecca swallowed, nervous. She didn’t want to lie, not after everything. The intensity in his eyes scared her a little. So did the ache in her chest, the pounding of her heart. Gage was rapidly becoming extremely important to her. She didn’t know how to process all her emotions, but she was certain this thing with him was no longer only a job.
“No,” she whispered.
He brushed his fingers gently across her cheek. “I . . .” Gage cleared his throat. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m not sure I could stand it.”
His kiss was barely there. She kept trying to deepen it, but every time he’d pull back just enough to break the seal of their mouths then go back to the same gentle pressure. Eventually, she gave up and enjoyed what he was offering.