Explosive Desire (Love With a Price Book 4)

by N. J. Young

  With a deep breath, she ripped the side of the envelope open and slid out the folded blue sheet of paper. When she read the note, her hands began to tremble.

  Dr. Love? Dr. Slut is more like it. How dare you defy me like this? It’s time I teach you a lesson.

  Harper was still clutching the note tightly in her fingers, staring at the lettering on the page when she heard someone calling her name. “Harper? Harper, are you okay?”

  Linzee walked across the parking lot in a stride that was beginning to border on a waddle, her massive belly protruding in front of her. “Harper?”

  She blinked a couple of times, as if the letter in front of her would disappear, before looking up at Linzee. “Uh, I’m fine.”

  Concern shone in Linzee’s bright green eyes. “You certainly do not look fine.” She looked down at the letter Harper was holding, and her eyes widened as she read the block lettering. “Jesus Christ, Harper.” She snatched the letter away. “What is this? Was this in the mail?”

  Bending down, Harper retrieved her travel mug from the ground. “Yeah. I don’t know what it is exactly. Or what it means, I should say.”

  “Well, it can’t possibly mean anything good. Who would send you something like this?” Linzee reached for the envelope and turned it over, examining it as if she could see fingerprints with the naked eye.

  “I don’t know.” Harper ran her fingers through the tangle of curls that had fallen out of her ponytail. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for the last few weeks.”

  Linzee’s eyes narrowed as she waved the letter in front of her. “Weeks? Weeks? How long has this been going on? How many of these have you received?”

  Harper shrugged, a little bit afraid that Linzee was going to give her a time-out. She was an expert at that pissed-off mom tone. “A few. This is the sixth one, I think.”

  “The sixth one? Are you serious?”

  “Linzee.” Harper snatched the letter back and shoved it in the envelope. “Please don’t get worked up about this. It’s probably just someone playing some kind of twisted joke.” Except that explanation was starting to sound hollow even to her own ears.

  “That doesn’t seem like a very funny joke.” Linzee’s voice softened. “Have you contacted the police?”

  More curls came loose as Harper shook her head. Her fingers fiddled with the crease of the envelope. “I didn’t think I needed to. The other letters have all gone to the hospital. I thought it was a patient, and that he would get bored eventually and move on. This is the first time I’ve received a letter here.”

  “Harper, this isn’t something to mess around with. My daughter’s roommate had a stalker in college. She blew it off, and the guy really stepped it up. It got to the point where he broke into their room. You don’t know how crazy this person is.”

  “I know you’re right. I just have to figure out the best person to contact. I don’t want to go into the police station and have them blow me off because they think I’m overreacting.” Memories of her childhood came flooding back to her. How many times had her mother searched for someone to help them get away from her father’s abuse? But no one took domestic cases seriously. At least they hadn’t when she was a child. That mistrust of the police still lingered inside of her as an adult.

  Linzee was opening her purse and digging around until she came out with a pen and paper. “I know exactly who you should contact. Detective Michael Grayson. He’s a friend of Foster’s. He’s a really good guy. He’ll listen.” She scribbled a name and number down on a sheet of paper and handed it to Harper.

  She stared at the paper with Linzee’s scrawl on it. “Thanks, Linzee. I’ll call him after work.” When her friend just stared at her, Harper nearly rolled her eyes. “I promise. Okay?”

  Just from the quirk of the redhead’s mouth, Harper could tell that Linzee didn’t believe her. “Okay,” she said slowly. “But I’m checking on you tonight. If you haven’t called the police by then, I will.”

  Before Harper could respond, a chirping sound came from Linzee’s pocket. Green eyes widened as the redhead pulled out her phone and checked the display. “Shoot, it’s Ethan. I need to get to the restaurant before he starts cooking. I don’t want him messing up my kitchen.” She leaned in and gave Harper a quick hug before she turned and walked off. Halfway across the parking lot, she looked over her shoulder at Harper. “Call him. I’m serious.”

  Harper didn’t respond as Linzee got in her car and drove away. Calling the police was easier said than done. She knew it was high time she got over her aversion to the police. This wasn’t the big city. Her childhood was a lifetime ago. The attitudes she’d seen then most likely wouldn’t be at play here and now. She looked down at the letter again then at the name Linzee had written. It was time to put on her big girl panties and call Detective Grayson. But that would have to wait until after work.

  Chapter Six

  The new hospital addition was coming along ahead of schedule. The worry that had taken root in Luke’s mind the last few days eased as soon as he’d pulled up and saw the progress his crew had made. They would be wrapping up before he knew it, and then they would be ready for the design team to come in and make the place look pretty.

  Climbing out of his truck, he spotted his mom’s car at the front of the lot. The board of directors had a meeting that morning to meet with the interior designers. The board had been determined to use all local businesses in the construction, which Luke had been convinced was going to be a pain in his ass. But Sam Torrance was a pro at the structural engineering, Luke’s construction crew was top-notch, even though they gossiped like a bunch of schoolgirls, and Black Oak Designs was handling the interior. He didn’t know anything about design, but his sister Becca, who owned a boutique downtown, contracted with Black Oak, and she was already ordering wall art for the new building.

  The wooden stairs were sturdy as Luke made his way up to the landing. When he got high enough that he could see the entire employee parking lot, he paused, his eyes carefully scanning the cars. No sign of her. The one bad thing about this job coming to an end was that he wouldn’t see Harper Love every day. That made him more determined than ever to get her to go out with him.

  “Hey, there’s the man!” Kai looked up and grinned when Luke reached the top of the stairs. “You don’t look any worse for wear.” He glanced at Luke’s shoulder. “You sure you weren’t just making up an injury to get a day off?”

  Luke gave the man a stern look. “I’m the boss. I can take a day off whenever I want. I certainly don’t have to fall off the second story of scaffolding to do it.” He knew Kai didn’t mean anything by the comment, but he didn’t want any of his men treating safety as if it were a joke.

  Kai’s face reddened, and he dropped the smile. “I know, man. I’m sorry. You were lucky. And I know Derek feels horrible about it. The kid’s been asking me every day if he’s going to get fired. He’s been coming in early. He thought if he did extra work, maybe you’d keep him on.” Kai glanced at his watch and frowned. “In fact, I’m kind of surprised he’s not here yet.”

  Luke walked over to the makeshift workbench and spread out the plans for the annex. He scowled, pressing his palms to the table and tapping a finger. “I’m not going to fire him. Accidents happen. But it made me realize how much he still has to learn.”

  “Yeah, no joke.” Kai turned back to his work.

  Luke glanced over at the man. “What are you doing here, man? Your shift doesn’t even start for another hour.”

  Kai shrugged, but didn’t look up from his work. “Since Derek has been coming in early, I figured it’s better if somebody’s here with him, you know, so he can’t get into anymore trouble.”

  Luke rolled his arm as he walked over to the landing and looked out over the employee parking lot again. “Yeah, good idea.”

  “How’s the shoulder, anyway?”

  “It’s fine.” He stretched his arm as if to prove a point. “I’m a tough old bastard.”


  Kai’s chuckle was close behind him. “I guess you’ll have to think of another reason to see the pretty doctor.”

  Luke’s eyes narrowed as he shot Kai a side glare, but the man just laughed and held up a hand in surrender. “Hey, I’m just sayin’. I don’t blame you for having the hots for her. The bitch is fine. Hell, I’d tap that in a second.”

  He knew he should be used to Kai’s crudeness, but hearing him talk that way about Harper made his blood boil. “Just get back to work,” he growled.

  Kai gave a mock salute. “Yes, boss.”

  A red car caught Luke’s attention. That dark red Honda Accord was damn near the color of Harper’s pouty lips. He bit back a smile as he thought of how those lips had firmed into a line as he’d teased her. Of course, the second he started thinking about her lips, his cock became rock hard.

  Glancing back at Kai, he made his way to the stairs. “I’ll be back.”

  The foreman just waved before Luke turned and bounded down the stairs. He wasn’t just going to flirt with her. He had a reason to see Harper. Last week, when she’d turned to walk out of the exam room, that envelope had fallen out of her pocket. His mom had been going on about the dangers of the job and the strenuous training his father used to put the men through.

  That had gotten Luke’s ire up, and he’d shoved the envelope in his pocket as he’d bitten his lip and listened to his mom. He felt bad even thinking that his mom could be a pain sometimes. Luke had been so close to his dad. Bernie Price was the only one who’d really understood him. When he died, Luke had felt lost. If it weren’t for his sister Becca, he didn’t know how he would have managed to pull himself out of his grief.

  Then he’d been given the task of taking over the construction business. It made sense. Out of all of the Price children, he was the only one who’d shown interest in the business or had any knowledge of it whatsoever. He wasn’t smart like his siblings. He didn’t have a head for business like Ethan or Becca. He didn’t have the brains to breeze through college like Dylan. He certainly didn’t even have artistic talent like Foster and his amazing photography.

  But Luke had been determined to prove himself. The construction business had continued to prosper under his leadership, and he was proud of that, even if others questioned his abilities.

  When he reached the parking lot, he saw Harper’s car parked in its usual spot and realized she must have already made her way into the hospital.

  He jogged quickly to the entrance, looking around. The letter in his back pocket really wasn’t any of his business. Harper was a grown woman, and most likely wouldn’t like him inserting himself into her life. But for some reason, he felt protective of her. The fact that some asshole had sent her a letter made his stomach burn. Whether the doc liked it or not—and she probably wouldn’t—he’d read the letter. Those weren’t the words of some harmless stalker. The tone was different. This letter was sent by someone who meant business, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

  Spotting Brandie at the nurse’s station, Luke strode over to the desk.

  The nurse looked up at him with her big brown eyes and batted her eyelashes. Not too long ago, she would have been just the type of girl he would have wanted in his bed for a few nights. But lately, he only had eyes for a blonde with a juicy ass and breasts that could knock the sense right out of him.

  “Hey, Lukie, what can I help you with?” She wasn’t too subtle with how she shoved her chest outward, but otherwise, she almost had that innocent act down pat … almost.

  “Have you seen Dr. Love? I need to talk to her about … uh, my shoulder.”

  Concern crossed Brandie’s face. “Oh, sure, sweetie. I hope you’re not still in pain. The doctor just went into the staff lounge.” Brandie bit her lip and looked around. “You’re not really supposed to go in there.” Her voice was a loud whisper, and she added a saucy wink to go with it. “But I’ll just say I didn’t see you heading that direction.”

  Luke gave her a wide grin. “Thanks, babe. I owe you one.”

  Brandie’s face lit up with pleasure. The sweet girl was such a people pleaser. If she ever came to the Calico Club, she would make some Dom very happy.

  Luke strode toward the staff lounge and walked into the room as if he owned the place. Harper had her back to him and was looping a stethoscope around her neck. Luckily, she was the only one there. He started to say something, but then noticed she was humming. He paused to listen as her humming turned into a mumbled song.

  “Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun. Wandering free. Wish I could be part of that world.”

  She slammed her locker shut and whirled around to the door, still humming. When she saw Luke, she let out a little yelp and backed up.

  “Oh God, Harper, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He held his hands up in an apology. Dammit. She was standing there with a hand flattened over her chest, her cheeks pink with adrenaline. Even though she was sexy as hell, the last thing he wanted was for her to be afraid of him.

  Shaky breaths caused her words to come out stilted. “What. Are you. Doing. In here?”

  “I was looking for you.” He pulled the blue envelope out of his back pocket and watched as her eyes widened in shock.

  She began to back away to the opposite corner of the room. “You? No, not you,” she almost said to herself, her eyes flitting past him to the door, as though she were looking for an escape route.

  “What?” He looked at her face and then at the envelope in his hand, and things clicked into place in his brain. Oh, Jesus. She thought he was the one writing the letters. He looked at her in horror. “No! Harper, listen. Last week, when I was in here, this envelope fell out of your pocket when you were walking out of the exam room. I wasn’t able to catch you to give it to you, so I put it in my pocket, and then I forgot about it.”

  She looked at his face and then at the envelope, almost as if she was trying to decide whether or not to believe him. “S-so, that’s the one I got last week?”

  His eyes narrowed as he walked toward her. “As opposed to what? The one you got this week? How many of these have you received, Harper?”

  Her gaze slid downward, and she worked her lower lip between her teeth. But at least her shoulders seemed to relax a little as he walked closer to her.

  “Harper? Answer me. How many?” He knew he didn’t have a right to demand answers. She wasn’t his, but it didn’t change the fact that he felt a connection to her. He knew it seemed silly. He’d had all of two conversations with her before now. But it seemed like he’d known her for a long time. And she sparked his protective instincts like no other woman ever had.

  Her eyes lifted back up to his, and she jutted her chin out defiantly. “Six. I received six as of this morning.”

  “Six!” Fuck, it was worse than he thought. “What did the police say about this? Do they have any sort of leads on who’s sending these?” He waved the envelope in the air, a frustrated motion.

  Her gorgeous blue eyes darted around nervously, looking everywhere except at him. He felt dread take hold in the pit of his stomach. “You haven’t called the police, have you?”

  She pressed a trembling hand to her forehead and blew out a breath. “You sound like Linzee. Look, I didn’t think it was a big deal. Not until now anyway.”

  Luke started to snap back at her, but stopped himself. He was an idiot. He looked at her and really studied her. She was scared. Her hands trembled, and her lower lip quivered slightly. That husky voice that had sounded so strong when he’d spoken to her last week sounded worried and anxious now.

  He’d worried that Harper wouldn’t want someone like him, someone blue-collar, someone who craved control. But in actuality, she needed him. Because he would take care of her. If she was his, he would have stepped in and handled this situation immediately, and she wouldn’t have to be worried or scared. She could depend on him. She needed him, whether she knew it or not. And at that moment, Luke felt her cap
ture a piece of his heart, something no other woman had done in his thirty-five years.

  He looked at her and softened his tone. “Harper, Pretty, you can’t ignore something like this and hope it goes away. We have to attack this head on. What happened this morning? What happened to make you think that this situation is worse now?”

  She moved so she could walk around him, and for a moment, he thought she wasn’t going to answer. Instead, she went to the locker and took out her purse, opening it to rifle through the contents. When she turned back to him, she held a blue envelope, identical to the one Luke was holding.

  “This.” She held it out to him. “I got this before I came to work.” Her blonde curls shook. “Actually, I probably got it a couple of days ago. I just forgot to check my mail over the weekend.”

  Luke slid the paper out of the envelope. “This came to your house?”

  Her head bobbed. “This is the first one that has come to my house. The rest have come here to the hospital.”

  Unfolding the sheet of paper, Luke quickly scanned the letter. He could feel his jaw tighten as rage boiled through him. “Christ, Harper. Teach you a lesson? And this asshole knows where you live?” He reached to pull his phone out of his pocket. “We’re not screwing around with this. I have a friend who’s a detective. We’re calling him now.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get any words out, a loud crash came from the hall outside the door. “Where is that bitch?” a loud male voice yelled.

  Harper ran to the door in a flash and yanked it open before Luke could stop her. He cursed as he followed her out of the room, not thrilled that she seemed to run toward danger like it was a fucking ice cream truck.

  A stocky bald man with tattoos along the side of his neck stood in the hall next to a gurney that was turned on its side. He’d obviously toppled it in his rage. “I’m not leaving here until I find the bitch doctor who convinced my wife to leave me.” The man’s eyes were bloodshot. His bulbous red nose and bloated belly suggested he enjoyed his alcohol. And if that weren’t enough, Luke could smell scotch on the man from where he stood a few feet away, as though it was seeping from his pores. When the man took a step toward Harper, Luke instinctively stepped in front of her.