Page 10 of Jessica's Hero

Rather than press her, I decide to look up the police report on my own. “It’s fine,” I tell her. “What happened after that?”

“I started getting some… unsettling mail. Envelopes with no return address. And inside, there were photos. Of me.”

I nearly crack a molar from gritting my teeth so hard. “Pictures ofyou?”

“Yeah. Some were old photos they must have found online. Ones from back when I was in high school. And then some… candid shots. Of me walking into work. Or the grocery store.”

It’s a struggle to keep my tone even. “And you reported this?”

Jess lifts her chin. “Of course I did. I’m not stupid.”

“I know you’re not,” I soothe. “I’m just trying to figure all this out.” Spotting her trembling hands in her lap, I’m hit by that instinctive desire to comfort her again.

“The officer—the same one who talked to me about the footsteps—told me the photos weren’t enough evidence. And…” She pauses. Takes a deep breath. “He said I could have faked it. Printed out the photos and mailed them to myself.”

“Thefuck?”

Jess startles at my rough curse. Quickly, I amend, “I’m not upset with you. But what you said happened isextremelyunprofessional. No officer should treat you like that. And I’m going to look into this. Make sure the person behind?—”

“No.” She shakes her head. “You don’t understand. It’ll just make things worse.”

“Worse than getting threatening mail? Worse than footprints outside your house? Jess. This needs to be dealt with. We can’t have people working for the department who treat innocent victims this way.”

Jess meets my gaze, hesitation warring with a cautious hope. Then she says, “It did get worse, Kane. Tonight was…” She shudders. “I don’t know what to do.”

“What happened tonight?”

I thought I was already angry. Already concerned.

But as Jess explains her unsettling discoveries, my concern turns to outright worry.

Someone wasinsideher house. Could have still been inside when Jess got home. Had things gone differently, she could have been seriously hurt instead of just scared. She could have been assaulted. Could have been?—

Shit.And Simone had the nerve to turn Jess away?

Anger is bubbling inside me. It’s a struggle not to jump out of the car and race inside to yell at Simone right now. To call the chief and report her. Insist on having Simone suspended, if not outright fired.

But I can do that later.

Right now, I have a very shaken and still-teary Jess sitting beside me, and she needs to be my priority.

Once Jess finally winds down, she ends her story with, “Now I’m not sure what to do. What if they come back? I have a home security system, but it never went off. So I don’t know how this person got in. I know I need to go home, but…” Her voice drops to a whisper, “I’m scared, Kane.”

Fuck.

That same protectiveness comes rushing back, so intense it’s hard to breathe past it.

Rationally, I know I have to consider the possibility that Jess could be making this up.

But in my gut, I know she isn’t. It reminds me of another thing my dad used to tell me.“If your gut is tellingyou something, listen to it. Still search for the evidence to back it up, but never ignore what your instincts are telling you.”

Right now, my instincts are telling me to believe her.

And before I can stop myself, I reach over to cover her hand with mine. Her skin is chilled but soft as satin. As I touch her, a tiny spark zips up my arm. My chest twinges.

Her surprised eyes meet mine. But she doesn’t pull her hand away.

Should I? Probably.