"I can't talk about it." Vicki rocked on her feet. "Not yet anyhow. So I'm focusing on my family, love that exists between people, and my shop—which will become my fashion empire. You'll have to be my first customer, Alice, for a wedding dress."
It was Alice's turn to step backwards. "I'm not getting married."
With a smile on her face, Vicki asked, "Want me to discuss that with John?"
"No."
The front door opened and a split second later John called out, "Discuss what?"
Oh, goodness. With her fingers crossed she prayed he hadn't heard this conversation. Vicki rushed to give her brother a hug as he stepped into the living room. "You're back. That was fast."
John hugged his sister, and then came to Alice's side to give her a kiss on her cheek. "Peter's not home."
She clutched his arm. If he wasn't there, then they wouldn't have extra security. "He's not?"
The clack of heels echoed on the floor as Jennifer hurried to the front door. "I have to go."
Vicki rushed and hugged them both, and then raced out after Jennifer.
Together they followed their guests' footsteps to the front door. John reached out and locked it. Alice stood up on her tiptoes to be closer to John's face as adrenaline rushed through her. "Did you amp up Morgan security at least?"
John turned back to her with a smile that showed off his sexy dimples. "Yes, we spoke on the phone."
The energy inside her couldn't be contained. "Good. John, I don't want to sit here and wait for someone to attack us again."
"What do you want to do?"
As she pointed to the door, the squeal of Vicki's tires reverberated in the air and Alice's hands shook. "Go out there and wrangle up the intruder in our lives."
John nodded. "Let's review the clues together first."
"Huh?"
He reached out and took her shaking hands in his. "Solving a case usually requires going through mounds of paperwork. We have email evidence, the phone message, and the video. We have mounting clues. Help me put the pieces together."
She bit her lower lip. This was at last something useful to do. She hugged her waist. "Where do we get started?"
He led her back to the rest of the house. "I have my case brief in the bedroom. Let me get it."
The charged energy she felt needed direction. In the bedroom, she'd likely get distracted. "Let me put coffee on and I'll meet you in the kitchen."
The threat would end soon and there would be nothing that stood in her way.
Chapter Twenty Eight
John sat next to Alice in the kitchen as they studied everything they had. His years in the FBI had taught him how to build a case. The organization of this empowered him. Alice replayed the video that Jennifer took of the man that reached for her again. He glanced toward her and something flashed on the screen. "Go back."
"What?" She handed him her laptop. "Where do you want me to play?"
The scene went backwards, but nothing caught his attention other than a man's profile beneath a dark cap.
His sister's quick thinking to order Jennifer to take video as she saved Alice showed her intelligence.
A knock at the door chilled his blood. He pushed his chair back as he stood. "Wait here."
She picked up the piece of paper detailing the first email to read. John walked toward the front door and peered through the hole. His old boss from the FBI stood on the front step. Finally. John ran his hand through his hair and opened the door. "Smith."
With a curled lip, his ex-boss peeked around the foyer and then said, "I'm here for your badge, Morgan."
John's jaw tightened. "I thought you'd send an agent days ago."
Just as John remembered, Smith curled his mouth into his usual sneer. "I wanted to do this myself."
With a frown, John let the man walk into the foyer and closed the door behind him. "Any headway on who is after Alice?"
"I'm here to review what you have. It won't take long."
Smith hated him and didn't care what happened to Alice. He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let me get everything."
Sweet-sounding Alice's voice penetrated the cold. "Who's at the door?"
With clenched teeth, John hoped to avoid niceties and send the man on his way. "Agent Steve Smith, my former boss, from the FBI. He's not staying long."
Smith straightened his shoulders. "This is the brunette from the note. I had no idea your tastes were quite so clean and innocent, Morgan."
Smith wasn't worth spending another moment with. John told Alice, "I have to go to my room and get him his badge. Please ignore him. I usually do."
With a welcoming expression on her face, Alice reached out to shake Smith's hand. His ex-boss actually broke a smile. "How did you get to be John's boss?"
Smith turned his back on John like he wasn't in the room. "Morgan was transferred to my division a few months ago. He had some personal insight on a few cases under investigation."
Alice laughed. "Rich people that the Morgans knew, no doubt."
Smith's metallic voice grated on his eardrums. "You're very perceptive."
His former boss wasn't worthy of being in the same room with Alice. From now on, he'd keep people like him from soiling her hands. John walked past them both to get his badge from the top drawer of his nightstand. Perhaps it was time to claim his last name and his birthright.
The door slammed and John closed his eyes. Had Smith forgotten something in his car? He slid open the drawer, picked up his badge and job-issued gun. His personal gun was still locked inside the drawer.
For years, John had planned on using the gun to arrest Mitch Morgan and right the world. Now he'd never have that opportunity, but his heart was okay with how things had turned out.
Alice kept him grounded in a way he'd never been before. She'd be his forever, once he convinced her his feelings were real.
He returned to the hallway. Ice went up his spine the second he entered the foyer. His gut felt like someone sucker-punched him and a buzz sounded in his ears. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Hello?"
No answer.
A sour taste in his mouth grew as his stomach rolled. This wasn't happening. No. With heavy footsteps, he walked back to the front door. Unlocked, it opened wide into the blazing hot sun. All the humidity of the outside stuffed the room with its overpowering presence, but his skin was cold and clammy.
Alice was gone. Agent Smith kidnapped his Alice.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Alice woke up in the back of a car and tried to scream. With a pain in her chest, she clamped down on the impulse. The whimper she made was muffled anyhow.
Something was tied across her mouth. Adrenaline spiked through her. There had to be a way out. Despite the dizziness, she lifted her feet and realized they were free. Her shoulders were so tight that the pain brought tears to her eyes, but she squirmed anyway. She tried to wiggle her arms, but cold metallic handcuffs kept her locked in place.
The noise to her left sounded like she was in a fast moving car. With her head down, she decided to slowly open her eyes. Leather seats stuck to her skin.
This was a small sedan with a window, probably shatterproof glass, that blocked her from the front seat.