Waiting For Wren (Book Five In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series) by Cate Beauman Page B

moment of conscience and confess to everything?”
    JT’s cell rang. He glimpsed at the readout. “Damn. I have to take this. I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”
    “Take your time.” She needed a few minutes to gather the tethers of her temper. Rex was harassing her , yet somehow she had become the villain and he the victim. She walked to the window and stared out at the lush grasses of the manicured lawn while JT’s murmurs echoed from the hallway. Her phone chimed on her hip, alerting her to a new text. She yanked her cell from the leather holder and gaped at the two-word message.
     
    Nice try . 26 .
     
    Her hand shook as she read and reread Rex’s latest message. “No,” she whispered. “No.” This wasn’t happening.
    “Wren? Are you okay?”
    She turned slowly to JT as reality blindsided her. “He isn’t going to stop.”
    “What happened?” He walked to her and rested a supportive hand on her arm. “What’s wrong?”
    She held up her cellphone. “He sent me another one.”
    He took the phone. “Let me take you down to the police station.”
    “I—”
    She heard someone knock against the doorframe. “Hey, JT. Cooke, you ready to go?”
    She glanced over to where Tucker stood, wearing khaki slacks and a navy blue polo top. “Tucker.” She pulled the phone from JT’s hand and hurried to him. “Another one. He sent another one.”
    Tucker frowned as he studied the screen she held up.
    “I thought his ‘date’ with the police would put a stop to this—at least for a little while.” She shook her head. “But it won’t. He’ll keep doing this, because he can. No one’s going to touch him, and he knows it.”
    “We’re going to handle it.”
    “How? By calling the cop so they can question him with his lawyer at his side, then tell him he’s free to go? Not even twenty-four hours, Tucker, and he’s back to his games.”
    He took her chin between her fingers and held her gaze. “We’ll handle it. Trust me.”
    Something in his intense stare made her believe him, and she nodded.
    “Let’s get out of here.”
    “I have to get my stuff.” She turned toward the table and jumped, having forgotten that JT was still there.
    “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”
    “I don’t—I don’t think so.” She looked to Tucker for confirmation.
    Tucker shook his head. “The cops are going to have to handle this one. Wren will have protection until this bastard makes a mistake. And he will make a mistake.” His eyes left JT’s to capture hers. “They all do.”
    Wren secured her laptop, then gathered her catalogs and other items, tossing them in her briefcase. She wanted out of there. She wanted to go home and pretend this wasn’t happening.
    Tucker walked over and slid the straps of her laptop case and bag on his shoulder.
    “Wren, I’m sorry for what you’re going through. If you think of anything, anything at all…”
    She nodded, took JT’s hand, and kissed his cheek, fighting against the tears pooling in her eyes. “You’re a good friend. I’m lucky to have you.”
    He patted her shoulder. “Be safe.”
    “I will.” She stepped back, blinking the worst of her emotions away, refusing to allow Rex Richardson to upset her any further.
    “Come on, Cooke. Let’s get you home. Later, JT” Tucker wrapped his arm around her waist.
    The solid strength in his gentle hold comforted her. As much as she wanted to depend only on herself, she leaned into him as they left the library and walked out the front door.

    Amazing scents wafted from Tucker’s humble galley kitchen as Wren thwacked and chopped away at an assortment of vegetables. Hints of garlic, thyme, and rosemary teased his stomach as he sucked in a breath with his next arm curl. The gym wasn’t an option with the current situation, and Wren’s silence on the ride home had been a none-to-subtle hint that she wanted to be left alone. Her stalker’s latest text had shaken her—enough that she’d been