All Good Things Exposed(71)

Jace stiffened. He quickly found himself and his hands tightened on my waist. He removed me from his lap and leaned forward, snatching the letter from the table. I wanted to crawl over the couch to read with him, but I couldn't move. I couldn't stop watching his face. There was no emotion apart from rage burning in his blue eyes. It frightened me and made me feel chilled down to the very bone.

He set the letter on his lap and looked up at me with intense blue eyes. "The writer has made it more than clear, he knows you personally. Are you still certain you don't know who the writer is?"

Now, I was angry. He thought I was lying about not knowing who was doing this? Was he freaking insane? "Give me the fucking letter, Jace."

He pulled it away when I reached out for it and I growled deep in my throat, my frustration loud. "If you're going to insinuate from that letter, that I know the person, then the least you can do is let me read it!"

"No."

"Jace, stop being so ridiculous."

"There are personal things in this letter, Olivia."

"About me!" I screamed. I couldn't control it anymore. It was just too much.

"Yes, about you." He yelled back.

Gabe stood up and held his hands out to us. "Enough. Jace, give her the letter. She needs to read it."

"She doesn't fucking need to read it, Gabe."

"Yes, she does." Gabe replied seriously. "If you want her to answer the question, she needs to read it."

I could see Jace was having a difficult time letting me read the letter. There was a bead of sweat pooling at his hairline and the scowl he wore suggested the words on the paper weren't anything I would want to read. I was terrified. But I had to read them. I had to know.

Jace tossed me the letter, his hand immediately delving into the black mass of hair atop his head. A strangled groan left his lips as he watched me take in the words. If I felt ill before, now I felt violated.

Jace Rush,

You've ensnared her in your trap, but know I'm still here. And I still love her. She might think she's yours now, but she isn't. She is still mine. She will always be mine. I've waited for her, bided my time and played each card with thought and care and I almost had her. But then you came and ruined it all. You took her from me. Stole her.

She doesn't belong to you. I know everything about her. The ease with which she smiles, her favorite drink, her love of animals, the freckle on the back of her neck just below her hairline. She's beautiful. I see your fascination. But you aren't worthy of her. You never will be. You will hurt her. You already have. You know you cannot make her happy. Not the way I can.

I am telling you to walk away now. Save her from the demon beneath your skin so she might live a life filled with abundance. I give you this opportunity to turn away now, before I take away your choice and end this myself.

Sincerely,

Her Savior

"He knows me," the words barely sounded from my mouth. "This man knows me."

Gabe stepped forward. "All the things he mentioned in the letter are points that can be made with close observation." I knew he was trying to quell my fears with facts, but damn…this man knew me. And I hated the thought. There was no one I could think of that would do this. Everyone I knew, I believed was good. I wasn't suspicious of anyone and I didn't want to be.

I looked up to him, my eyes felt as though they were burning. "Did you know I had a freckle at the back of my neck?"

Gabe shook his head. "No. But I also haven't seen your hair up."

I turned to Jace. "Did you notice?"

He nodded as though the question was silly. Of course he knew. He probably knew where every freckle rested on my body. He knew everything about me. He was the man for me. The man I wanted to memorize every inch of my skin.

I looked straight into Jace's blue eyes. "I don't know who this is writing the letters, but what I do know is that nothing this man writes, nothing he threats will ever override the love I have for you."

The skin around his eyes softened and he closed the distance between us, bringing me into his hard chest. "You know I'll never walk away."

"I couldn't handle this life if you ever did."

I felt Jace look to Gabe, but I kept my face buried in his chest. "We're moving Olivia into my penthouse today."

"What?" I pulled away from Jace.

"This apartment is not safe for you anymore." Jace growled. "Don't argue with me about this. It was going to happen eventually anyway. Why not get it over with?"

"How romantic," I said dryly.

"Is that what you want?" Jace asked, looking down at me with warm eyes. "Romance?"

I felt odd discussing this in Gabe's presence, but if Jace didn't see the problem then neither did I. "Would it hurt to try?"