Page 25 of Chain Reaction

Turning back to her, his gaze locked with hers. “Tell me what happened.”

“I was at the table when I heard a noise.” Her voice sounded raspy, and her words came out quickly. “Then I heard more noises. Someone was trying to break in. Then there was silence. Then there was you. Was it you? Were you trying to break in?”

Some of the fear left her voice, replaced with accusation.

He didn’t take it personally. If she needed to use anger to calm her fears, he would take the brunt of it.

“No, I wasn’t trying to break in.” Jake opened the door again and examined it.

His eyes narrowed when he saw scratches around the keypad—scratches that made it appear as if someone had tried to pry it off.

Someonehadbeen trying to break in. Raven hadn’t been imagining things—not that she was the type to do so.

The tension across his back pulled tighter.

Jake didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all.

CHAPTER 11

Raven hated to admit it, but she was glad Jake was here. For a moment, she felt safe again.

She’d always known Jake would never let anyone hurt her—not physically, at least.

Her heart was a different story.

She swallowed back her emotions and vowed to keep her thoughts focused on anything but Jake. Thinking about her heartache wouldn’t get her anywhere. It would only take her back in time—the last place she wanted to be.

Jake closed the door behind him and locked it again. Then he turned to her and put his hand on her back. “I think you should sit down. You’re looking a little shaky.”

Now that he mentioned it, Raven was feeling shaky. The feeling was because of everything that had happened—not because Jake was touching her. But she couldn’t deny the heat burning her skin where his fingers met her lower back.

She let him lead her to the kitchen table. He didn’t drop his hand until she was seated.

Instantly, she missed his touch.

Not good. Not good at all.

“I tried to call you.” Jake stared at her, concern—and maybe some standoffishness—in his gaze.

“I tried to call you too. My call wouldn’t go through.”

Jake’s jaw tightened. “Most likely a signal jammer.”

Raven blinked. She hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“But if someone is using a signal jammer . . .” She couldn’t finish the statement.

She knew the truth was that if someone had used a signal jammer, it was because they didn’t want her to make any emergency calls.

And the reason someone would do that? They’d planned on doing something terribly tragic to her.

Her throat went dry.

She didn’t dare speak the words aloud. Certainly, Jake already knew the truth also.

“I need to tell Cassidy what happened.” Jake pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. “It looks like whoever was using that signal jammer turned it off.”

“That’s . . . good news?” Raven struggled to find the right response.