Levi stopped dead in his tracks, his strong hand wrapped around the material of my sweatshirt and preventing me from moving any closer to the car.
I followed his gaze to the windshield of my rental.
Oh my God. I gasped and lifted my hand to cover my mouth while my brain tried to make sense of it all.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
As I stared at the plate of clear glass, my gaze took in the familiar shape of a tiny broken heart drawn into the frost.
Nearly a replica, it mirrored the tiny broken heart Walter Gaskins had carved into his victims’ skin.
Morbid and vile thoughts filled my head, and I shuddered.
Surely, it was just a tasteless joke by someone with way too much time on their hands.
It had to be a prank…right?
I didn’t know the answer, but I knew whoever had done this was the biggest, most disgusting, thoughtless asshole I’d ever had the unfortunate—the exact opposite of pleasure—of knowing existed.
Two steps forward and my hand trembled as I slid a damp, folded piece of paper out from its place nestled beneath one of the windshield wipers.
Like a faucet opened up to full capacity, adrenaline spilled into my veins, and both of my hands trembled as I unfolded the note.
The black ink was smeared down the page in ominous drips and drops, likely from the moisture in the air. With a shaky inhale, I scrolled over the words, and once I came to the signature, I dropped the sheet of paper like it had lit up in flames.
“What?” Levi questioned. “What does it say?”
I didn’t have a response, my brain too muddled with confusion and fear.
He leaned down and lifted the now even wetter paper from the ground with just his fingertips and read it, the menacing words falling from his lips in hushed and concern-filled waves. “Notice this. Notice me. Notice everything I send to you. Love, Me.”
Me.
Only two letters. One tiny little word. But it packed a hellish punch. Straight to my gut, that single word held the power to make me want to fall to my knees.
“The flowers you got at Grace’s house,” Levi said, breaking the deafening silence. His eyes moved slowly from the sheet of paper and didn’t stop until they locked with mine. “The card was signed the same way?”
“Yes.”
“Does the handwriting look familiar?”
“The card for the flowers was pre-printed.”
“Fuck,” he muttered and ran a frustrated hand through his already messy dark locks. “We shouldn’t have touched this note. This should’ve been treated like a crime scene.”
“A crime scene?” I asked, and my eyes popped wide in confusion.
“Yes,” Levi responded without hesitation. “A fucking crime scene, Ivy. Those flowers, this note, that fucking broken heart drawn onto your windshield. This is not okay.”
“You can’t arrest someone for writing me a note or sending me flowers, Levi.”
“Yeah, but I can make sure we have evidence on hand if shit like this continues to escalate.”
“Escalate?” I damn near shouted.
Holy fucking shit. I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.
And…escalate to what?
Pretty sure you do not want to start thinking about worst-case scenarios right now…
Nausea roiled and coiled itself inside of my stomach as Levi placed a strong hand on the small of my back and led me the few steps toward his truck.
I didn’t question or pull away, though. I was too damn focused on not letting my brain veer down a path where I had racing thoughts about a psychopath kidnapping and killing me.
He unlocked his vehicle and opened the back passenger’s-side door with a quick jerk of his wrist. After rummaging in the back for a good twenty seconds, he pulled a container of clear Ziploc bags from a black duffle with the words COLD PD inscribed on the side.
Carefully, he released the note from his fingertips and slid it inside an empty plastic bag and secured it closed.
“W-what are you doing?” I asked once my brain caught up with the fact that he was wrapping up the note like you would a turkey sandwich.
“Evidence,” he said and placed the bag inside his duffle before zipping it closed. “We can test that fucking note for fingerprints. Do you still have the card from the flowers?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t really remember what I did with it, to be honest.”
“No doubt, both items will already be riddled with your fingerprints and mine, but maybe the crime lab can find someone else’s DNA on them.”
“Levi,” I said on a deep sigh. “This is crazy. I agree that the note and the…” I paused, unable to form the words to describe that tiny little heart. “The…the windshield were in poor taste. But no one committed a crime.”
He popped open the passenger door and nodded toward the interior. “Get in.”
“What?” I questioned.
“You’re staying with me tonight,” he answered.
With a hand to my hip, I offered my retort without delay. “Uh…no, I’m not.”
He sighed, heavy, deep, and I could tell it was his exasperated sigh. The one that only left his lungs when he was really at his wit’s end. “Yes. You. Are.”
“This makes no sense.”
“The fact that you’re not realizing how very serious this might be makes no sense,” he interjected. “Ivy, I can’t let you sleep at Grace’s house tonight, or any other night, for that matter. Tomorrow you can work on finding another house to rent for the duration of filming.”
I stared at him, and he stared back at me. His midnight-blue eyes were so damn resolute.
“This feels a little overboard, Levi.”
“Trust me,” he responded. “This isn’t overboard. This is exactly how we need to handle this.”
We, he’d said. Like we were some sort of team. Like we were together.
“Just get in the car, Ivy.” His voice stretched thin with patience. “It’s either you get in the truck, or I will put you in the truck.”
I rolled my eyes. “Caveman, much?’
He just shrugged. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe. If that means being a caveman, then so be it. Bring on the loincloths, animal hides, and wooden clubs. I’m game.”
“You’re infuriating, you know that?”
Another fucking shrug, only this time, a smirk followed it. “I can say the same about you, sweetheart.”
“What about my rental?” I asked, nodding toward the now defaced car.
“I’ll call the station and have someone come by to pick it up.”
“And what about clothes? And Camilla? I can’t leave my sister there to fend for herself.”
“I already planned on her staying at my place too. We’ll head on over to Grace’s old house now, and you can call your sister on the way and explain the situation. Surely, she’ll understand,” he responded in a far-too-knowing voice.
Fucking hell, he is right.
Camilla would lose her shit when I told her. And, considering the fact that before I’d left LA to come to Cold, I’d had a bit of a stalker situation on my hands, she had every right to.
My twin would start packing up our stuff the moment I let her know about the creepy broken heart finger-painted onto the windshield.
“Now, get your little ass in the truck and let me keep you and your sister out of harm’s way. Okay?”
What could I do?
He had a point. I doubted I could sleep at Grace’s house even if I had the option. And more than that, I couldn’t risk my sister sleeping there either.
Whoever was sending me all of this weird shit obviously had the address.
And apparently, they also knew what car I drove.
It was alarming. And scary. And, if I was being honest, I was thankful Levi was here.
He hadn’t hesitated to take charge of the situation.
And to protect you.
Once my ass was in the passenger seat, Levi shut the door and walked around the front of the truck.
As soon as our tires hit the road, he put a call out to the station and let them know the situation, while I sent Camilla a quick text.
Me: Hey, so, we need to stay somewhere else tonight. Can you start packing an overnight bag for us? I’ll be there in about 10 minutes.
Camilla: Huh?
Me: There’s been a bit of a situation, and we won’t be able to stay in Grace’s house anymore. Levi and I are headed to the house now. Just pack up the essentials for tonight, and we’ll work on getting everything else tomorrow.
Camilla: Situation? I’m so confused right now…
Me: I’ll explain everything when I get there. Be there in about 10 minutes.
Me: Oh, and keep the doors locked.
Shit. I probably shouldn’t have sent that, but I couldn’t help myself.
If anything happened to Camilla, I didn’t know what I’d do.
Camilla: Keep the doors locked??? Should I be worried?
Yeah. Definitely shouldn’t have sent that.
Me: No. Just cautious. I promise everything is fine. And I’ll explain it all when I get there.
Camilla: Where are we staying tonight?
Me: Levi’s.
Camilla: Oh, man. You’re just tossing out plot twists everywhere, huh? And now, I’d say it’s pretty obvious you have SO much to tell me. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure that happens very, very soon.
No doubt, I would receive the sister inquisition tonight. I couldn’t blame her, though. I’d be doing the same thing if I were in her shoes.
Me: Jesus. Just pack us an overnight bag, okay?
Camilla: Uh-huh… ;) Consider it done. But prepare yourself, the interrogation is near…
Me: (insert heavy sigh) I’m well aware.
“Did you get Ivy’s rental?” Levi asked as he took a right out of Grace’s driveway and headed toward the main road.
“Dane is bringing it back to the station now.” Officer Glen Chase’s voice filtered in through the Bluetooth speakers of Levi’s truck. “You headed home now?”
“Yeah,” Levi responded. “Both Ivy and Camilla are going to stay with me for the night.”
“Good idea,” Glen responded.
While Levi proceeded to give Glen a rundown of things he wanted done, my phone pinged with a text message notification, and I pulled it out of my purse only to find that my sister, who was currently sitting in the back seat of Levi’s truck, was texting me.
Camilla: Where are you going to sleep tonight?
My nose scrunched up in confusion.
Me: Uh…the same place you’re going to sleep.
Camilla: You know that’s not what I meant.
Me: Are you being serious right now?
Camilla: Uh-huh. :)
Me: I will be sleeping in a guest room. By myself.
Camilla: That’s lame.
Me: You’re lame.
Camilla: Also, I’m a little pissed you didn’t tell me about Officer Dane Marx.
Me: Dane? How do you know Dane?
Camilla: I met him this afternoon while you were otherwise occupied.
Me: Met him where?
Camilla: I had to make a grocery run. I ran out of French vanilla creamer, and you know I cannot start my day without it in my coffee.
Me: You met Dane at the grocery store?
Camilla: Yep. And he is fucking adorable.
Me: Well, well, well…looks like I’m not the only one who deserves a sister interrogation.
Camilla: Oh, stop it. There’s not much to tell.
Me: Interesting that you’re bringing him up, though…
Camilla: Yeah. I’m ignoring you now.
I silently giggled at her response and decided to let the subject go for a little while.
Well, at least until we got to Levi’s house and I could ask her a million questions without having to use our phones as a third party.
I wanted to ask questions and actually see her reactions.
It was easy for her to hide behind a device, but in person, she had a hell of a time hiding her true feelings.
Relief settled into my veins over the fact that Levi, Camilla, and I were all inside of his truck, heading toward his house where we’d all cohabitate for the night, and even after everything that had happened, it wasn’t awkward.
Weirdly enough, it just felt normal. It felt right.
Levi’s phone conversation with Glen was long done, and I took it upon myself to adjust the volume knob for the stereo until music filled the otherwise silent cab of his truck.
I switched through the channels until I found an oldies station playing Ben E. King.
The last few beats of “Stand by Me” reverberated through the speakers, and I settled into the passenger seat as Levi took a left turn on a snow- and dirt-covered back road.
Out of my periphery, I glanced at him, taking in the edges of his strong jaw, the way his jet-black hair looked even darker beneath the night sky, and the way his dark blue gaze stayed focused on the road.
He was handsome, painfully so, and that I couldn’t deny.
Through the passenger window, I looked out across the miles and miles of pristine and white-covered plains of Montana. The snowcapped mountains provided a majestic background, and the moon bouncing off the snow only made the landscape more beautiful.
The song switched over, and Roy Orbison started singing about being lonesome and Blue Bayou.
I sighed, soft and slow. A memory from my childhood, I could remember my dad playing this very song on an old record player that, to this day, he still refused to get rid of.
Levi muttered something under his breath, and I darted my eyes from the window until they met the now harsh, pained lines of his jaw.
“Fuck. Not today. Of all fucking days,” he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else in the truck, and with a quick tap of his index finger, slid the knob to the off position and sent us into silence.
“You don’t like Roy Orbison?” I asked, and he only offered a short shake of his head and a curt two-word response.
“Not anymore.”
I didn’t have a response to that. But my brain was trying its damnedest to decode the secret messages only Levi appeared to know and understand.
He glanced at me out of the corner of his blue eyes as he pulled into the driveway of the veritable mansion he called home.
With a twist of his wrist, he turned off the engine and Camilla opened the back passenger door of the crew cab and hopped out.
But Levi grabbed my wrist before I could follow her lead.
“It’s a long story,” he said, and our gazes locked.
I scrunched up my nose, and he nodded toward the radio.
“The song, I mean,” he said. “It’s a long story, but one day soon, I’ll tell you all about it. But today is just not that day. We’ve already had too much shit to face as it is.”
I’ll tell you all about it.
The vulnerability in those words pushed against my heart, and it responded by increasing its tempo and making its presence known inside my chest.
He never wanted to tell me anything.
Until now.
I searched his eyes, expecting the familiar closed-off reaction I’d received so many times before, but staring back at me was a man who wasn’t holding anything back or trying to keep secrets. His midnight-blue eyes were merely asking for some time and patience.
“Okay,” I whispered back.