He was still grinning when her car turned off his street, but his grin faded when he caught a glimpse of something hanging from the plant hook at the corner of his porch. Frowning, he hobbled toward it, his stomach clenching when he saw what it was.
A noose made of twine hung from the hook. And hanging in the noose was a voodoo-style stick figure that looked like something his brother Kyle had probably encountered when he’d done a stint with the FBI office down in New Orleans. But encountering one in Northern Indiana was somehow even more chilling.
Gabe’s head snapped up, his senses on high alert as he scanned his surroundings. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he snatched the hanging man from the hook and fished his phone out of his pocket, dialing Elle, waiting impatiently for her to answer.
“Hey there,” she finally answered after the eighth ring. “What’s—”
“Are you okay?” he blurted, cutting her off.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she assured him, her tone wary. “I’ve literally gone only two minutes down the street. I don’t think—”
“Check your rearview mirror,” he interrupted again, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the cars and houses around him once more. “Tell me if there’s anyone behind you.”
“No,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “There’s no one. What the hell is going on, Dawson? You’re scaring the shit out of me!”
“While you were here, someone dropped off a little welcome-home present for me.” He tucked his phone between his jaw and shoulder and maneuvered back into his house, not eager to hang out on the porch, exposed to anyone who might be watching, and locked his front door.
“Present?” Elle repeated. “What kind of present?”
Gabe glanced down at the crude form in his hand. “A stick figure in a noose.”
“Jesus,” she breathed. “Do you think it was Monroe?”
Gabe grunted. “That’d be my guess.”
“He’s just being an asshole,” she assured him, although her tone sounded a little unsure. “He’s trying to get into your head.”
Gabe made his way to the living room and lowered himself onto the sofa before responding. “Maybe. But I’d feel better if you weren’t at home alone tonight. Can Charlotte come over?”
“I’m a grown woman,” Elle reminded him—as if she needed to. He was all too aware of the fact that she was all grown up. And all woman. “I won’t ask my aunt to babysit me. Besides, Monroe wouldn’t care if Charlotte’s there with me or not.”
He ran a hand over his hair, frustrated with his helplessness. Had he not been laid up with his leg, he would’ve hopped right into his car and driven to her house the minute he’d seen the damned stickman hanging there. “Well, could you go over to her house?”
“For how long, Gabe?” she asked. “I can’t let Monroe uproot my entire life until we finally catch him doing something criminal and put him away. We can’t prove he’s the one who left the hanging man, right?”
“Quit thinking like an attorney for one damned minute,” he shot back. “To hell with proving anything. I’m worried about your safety, Elle.”
There was a slight pause then a very quiet, “Thank you. For worrying about me.”
Gabe’s throat suddenly felt constricted with anxiety for her. He wished he could invite her back to his house so he could keep an eye on her, but that was out of the question. Considering what she thought of him and his reputation, odds were she’d see it as another come-on instead of his genuine concern for her well-being.
They were both silent for a long moment before Gabe finally cleared his throat and said, “I know you can’t just put your life on hold, Elle. But I’d feel a lot better if I knew you had someone with you. Hell, what about the newest douche-suit? What’s he doing? Could he come stay with you?”
He heard her exasperated sigh, but her voice sounded slightly amused when she said, “I really wish you wouldn’t refer to the guys I date that way. Not all of them even wear suits. But I tell you what. I’ll see if I can stay at Aunt Charlotte’s house tonight.”
Gabe closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the sofa pillows. “Good. I’ll sleep a hell of a lot better. But promise me you’ll call 911 and then me if anything strange happens.”
“I promise.” Another long moment of silence stretched out between them. Finally, Elle asked tentatively, “Gabe? Are you still there?”
“Yep,” he replied. “I’m here. I’ll stay on the line as long as you want.”
“This is ridiculous, right?” she said with a nervous laugh. “I mean, we can’t let this bastard scare us into being paranoid at every turn. I’m already jumpy. I felt like someone was watching me all day everywhere I went, and now—”
Gabe’s eyes snapped open at this. “You did? Why didn’t you say anything?”
She sighed. “I just… I felt like I was overreacting, considering what we’ve been through. And you have enough to deal with right now without worrying about me.”
He shook his head. Damn, the woman could be exasperating. “You want to be partners in this, in bringing Monroe down? Then you don’t keep anything back from me. I’m letting you in, Elle.”