Excalibur (Sentinel Security #5)

“It’s fine.” He’d put ice on it later. He looked back at Nick. “Get Hex to pull any CCTV. He was big, about my height, black mask, black clothes, brown eyes.”

Nick grunted and straightened a chair. “Addie, has anyone been bothering you? At work? A customer, maybe?”

“Oh.” Her gaze skittered away. “Let me think. I mean, something like that would be obvious.”

Bram tensed. Addie tended to ramble when she was fudging the truth.

“No.” She shook her head and refused to look at either of them. “I can’t think of anyone.”

She was lying. He gripped her chin and made her look at him. “Sunshine, I’m going to keep you safe. But to do that, we need to find the man responsible.”

She nodded. “Maybe he was just a random thief?”

“He was after you. He was trying to get to you.”

Her hands tightened on his shirt. “Bram…”

“I’m here.” He stroked his fingers along her jaw. “Tell us what you know.”

She bit her lip. “Promise you won’t lose it?”

Bram scowled.

She tossed a frantic look at Nick. “Please. I don’t want Bram hurt.”

Nick straightened. “Bram’s a tough guy, Addie, and the most levelheaded guy I know. Whatever you know, you need to share it, so we can help.”

She nodded, then pointed to the kitchen. “Top drawer.”

Nick opened the drawer and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper then another and another. As Nick looked at them, Bram saw his friend’s face harden.

He looked up. “Bram, you’d better take a look at these.”

* * *

As Bram setAddie on the couch, he squeezed her shoulder, and she savored his strong touch. That quiet show of support.

But as he walked over to join Nick, butterflies—nervous ones—took flight in her belly.

She clenched her hands together and watched as he read the first note, then the next. His face hardened to granite. It was like watching a storm cloud forming.

He muttered a curse.

“Keep a lock on it,” Nick said quietly.

Bram’s head jerked up. God, the look on his face.

“How long have you been getting these?” Bram bit out.

She swallowed. “A few months. Just after…you left.”

He looked at the notes again. With a growl, he scrunched them up in one fist.

“Hey, we could get something off those.” Nick took them back. He opened a few more drawers before finding a Ziploc bag to slide them into.

Bram strode back to Addie, his big body tense. He dropped down beside her on the couch. “What else? Has it just been notes?”

She sucked in a breath. “Sometimes I feel like someone is watching me on the street, at the store—”