Page 34 of Stormswept Colorado (Hart County #3)

Teller had a more obvious reaction, his fingers running through his hair and roughing up the short strands. “So he’s definitely in LA?” Teller asked. “Not Silver Ridge?”

“When the stalker sent the message, he was in LA,” River clarified.

“Ayla, if he writes you again, I’ll be able to get a more current location, and hopefully I can narrow it down further.

I’d rather the guy leaves you alone, but the more data points we have, the better.

I’ve been monitoring the email account you showed me before.

I assume he hasn’t tried to contact you some other way? ”

Teller looked at me like he wanted to ask the same question.

“No contact at all,” I said. “Nobody on my team has mentioned anything either.” I hadn’t given my new security guys or Cheryl the exact details about the stalker, but if something suspicious had come up, they would’ve mentioned it.

Then my mind backtracked over what River had said.

“Wait, you’ve been checking my email?” I asked.

I rarely used email for anything. Definitely nothing sensitive or personal.

I didn’t really care if River or Teller could get into the account.

But I was still surprised. “I thought I was supposed to let you both know if the stalker wrote me.”

River shrugged. “I maintained my access to the email account so I would be able to keep an eye on it. If you’d rather I don’t do that…”

“No,” Teller cut in sharply. “We shouldn’t change anything at this point. River’s already made progress. If the stalker writes back, then River should be able to run with it immediately.”

“Fine by me,” I snapped. But my insides were all bunched up, and I didn’t even know why.

River’s eyes darted over his computer screen, his gaze dancing between me and Teller. After a pause, he said, “Okay then. I’ll let you know if I find out anything else.”

“Thanks, River.”

“Of course, Ayla. Have a good night.”

River’s window disappeared, but Teller’s stayed. His hand rubbed over his jaw. “You’re upset about the email thing.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” But something felt weird. “It just would’ve been nice to know that you could access my account.”

“I haven’t been reading your email, if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t have access to it.”

“But you knew River did?”

“I…yes. I figured.”

I wasn’t even mad about the email. I didn’t freaking care about email. “It just makes me feel like you don’t trust me to make choices for myself.”

“Of course I trust you to decide things for yourself. I know I don’t have any right?—”

He cleared his throat. Color had crept into his face beneath his late-night stubble.

“I should’ve mentioned it,” he finished. “But you’ve been busy, and I can’t imagine how stressful it’s been for you lately. Still not knowing who the stalker is.”

I shifted, unable to get comfortable. “I guess. I’ve had a lot to focus on.”

He flinched. What was that about?

I wanted to understand what this was between us. Where things stood. And I didn’t.

“Teller—”

“Are you seeing that guy from your label?” he blurted.

It took a moment for me to catch up. “Do you mean Paul ?”

Teller’s face flushed. “Yes.” He said the word carefully, but there was a distinct flare of something possessive in his eyes, in his tone. Something dark as he leaned forward toward the camera. “Are you?”

“I would never date Paul. There was that tabloid story a day or two ago about us, but it’s nonsense.”

The muscle in his jaw pulsed. “What about anyone else?”

I shook my head, my throat going dry. “I’m not dating anyone. What about you?”

“There is no one else I want,” he rasped. “No one but you.”

His words hung in the sudden silence between us.

No one but you .

My heart was beating fast, all those mixed-up emotions at war again inside me. “Oh,” I whispered.

“Does that honestly surprise you?”

“I just wasn’t sure. With how we left things when we last saw each other.”

He huffed, a sound halfway between a laugh and pure despair. “I can’t stop thinking about you. As if the million texts I’ve sent didn’t make that obvious. And then I saw that article about you and Paul.” He shook his head. “I know I don’t have a claim on you. You don’t owe me anything.”

“But?”

“When I saw that story, it gutted me.” His fingers kept tracking through his hair, splaying the ends. “You didn’t write back to most of my messages the past couple weeks.”

“Only because I was trying to move on.”

“Do you want to move on?”

I hesitated. What did I want?

“Please give me some kind of sign.” He managed a weak smile. “You’re killing me.”

That smile said he was kidding, but his gaze was pleading.

“I miss you,” I said. “I’ve been thinking about you. All the time.” I swallowed the thickness in my throat. “Every day.”

“That’s something, then.” He leaned toward the camera. “Tell me how you’ve been.”

I told him about my progress on my new album. Movie night with Ricky and Hayleigh. Teller shared his latest stories about Ollie. Then told me about the series of vandalisms over the last several months all over Hart County.

Thinking about him on duty and facing danger felt different now. He’d been doing those things for years, of course, yet now the idea of Teller getting hurt made it harder to breathe.

After a while, we took a break so he could head home. I changed into my pajamas and got ready for bed. “I’m going to call back though,” he said. “Half an hour.”

I smiled. “If you don’t, I will.”

When Teller called back, he’d changed from his uniform to a T-shirt. “Are you in your bedroom?” I asked. It looked like there was a headboard behind him.

“Yeah. You?”

I nodded. I was lying against my pillows with the overhead lights dimmed. It felt intimate, the two of us in our beds and talking quietly.

The position reminded me of being in bed with him at the Last Refuge Inn. Naked beneath the covers.

Talking with him was wonderful too, though. This was almost perfect, actually. Just getting to see him, hear his voice, know what he was thinking about. This felt right .

I really liked him.

Before I knew it, hours had passed. I yawned. “We’ve talked almost all night. Don’t you need to go to bed?” I asked.

“I don’t like saying goodbye to you.”

“Me neither.”

We were both lying on our sides, facing one another through our cameras. Like he was really here with me.

“There’s something I should tell you,” he murmured.

I nodded sleepily. “Yeah?”

“I’ve…” He swallowed. “I’ve never felt like this.” His voice was deep and rough. “I’ve been distracted at work. Downright impossible, if you ask Susan. You’ve got me so messed up, Troublemaker. I don’t know what to do with myself. ”

His desperate tone. The look in his eyes. It was like the straight-laced, confident, fearless police chief was coming apart at the seams.

I felt it too. But I’d had no idea Teller was feeling this torn up about me . It made me ache that he was hurting.

“Then what do we do?” I asked.

“I’ll work on figuring it out. If you’re willing to give me a shot.”

I hardly knew what we were talking about. We both felt something for each other. That was clear. But what was he hoping for?

“A shot at what, exactly? Another hot weekend together? Because we’d end up with the same problem.”

And it might hurt even worse. Being that close to him again, just to say goodbye. I’d never felt like this before either.

It scared me.

He blinked those thick lashes at me. Teller conveyed more sincerity in a single glance than anyone else I’d met.

“No, Ayla. I want a shot at winning you. To make you mine for as long as you’ll have me.”