Wicked Valentine(20)
It was easy to let her sleep and rest instead of bothering her with a date. They could go out any other time. Her health was more important than tickets to the theater.
On his way to the kitchen, he bumped a small table by the entrance. When he tried to keep it from falling, he pressed on the answering machine by mistake.
There was an unheard message, the blinking light indicating it was new, that started to play before he got a chance to stop it.
“You’re fucking with the wrong person, and you’re going to regret it. This is your final warning.”
He frowned. The threat was clear in the deep voice. He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
“JT?”
“What’s up, Max? Long time no talk.” His friend chuckled. “Well, not since I beat your at poker two weeks ago.”
He grunted. When he wasn’t working for his security company, JT played poker tournaments, so of course he was going to whip Max’s ass when they played. He didn’t play because he wanted to win, although it would be nice at some point in his life to not lose in such high fashion; he played because it was a great way to spend time with his old college buddy.
“Can you do me a favor and look into someone’s phone records?” He proceeded to give his friend the information he had and played the message for him to hear.
“Yeah. No problem, man. I’ll give you a call as soon as I have anything.”
The thought of someone threatening her made his anger rise. He’d hire JT’s team to take care of her, if necessary. She was not taking the messages as a threat, or she’d have done something about it by now. From what the person had stated, this was not her first threat and she’d not mentioned it to him. He was thankful he’d bumped into the table and heard the message.
Heavy knocks at the door caught his attention, probably the food he’d ordered for them. He glanced over his shoulder to the bedroom. He’d wait awhile before waking her.
Something smelled really good. Nina’s stomach rumbled and begged for nourishment. She blinked, sat up, and glanced around the room. Where was Max?
As if he’d read her mind, he walked in carrying a tray. His sexy grin made her heart trip.
“Hey there, sleeping beauty. I have food.” He sounded as though the plate held gold. Sadly, with the hunger she was experiencing, she felt as if he was bringing her a treasure.
“And I’ll give you whatever you want if you pass it over.” She grinned, her stomach grumbling.
He winked. “I’ll hold you to that.”
She laughed and stared at the tray on her lap. The aroma of chicken, vegetables, and a buttered biscuit made her groan.
“Chicken stew,” he said.
“You are amazing.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to realize that,” he grumbled.
“I’m sorry about our date, Max.” She dug into her food.
He shrugged. “That’s nothing. We’re still spending time together.” He scowled. “You should’ve said something about your illness. I could’ve brought you home sooner. We could’ve tamped down some of the stuff we did.”
She grinned, watched his face flush, and laughed. “I wouldn’t have changed any of it.”
It became clear to her that Max was not going after her just to get into her pants, which he’d done enough times to make most men move on. Instead, he was focused on making her feel good, getting to know her, and he appeared to genuinely care for her. Emotions clogged her throat.
“Hey, are you OK?” He sat on the bed next to her and frowned.
Nodding because she couldn’t say the words, she prayed she wouldn’t make a fool of herself and start crying. Now that she wasn’t fighting it, she realized Max was the man she wanted. Her feelings for him had started way before the Wicked Valentine’s Day Ball. It had taken that night to open her to seeing him not just as a lover, but as the caring, warm man he was…the man that wanted to spend time with her.
She gulped. “I’m fine. Just tired still, I guess.” She ate in silence for a moment before his voice broke through her thoughts.
“Why didn’t you mention you’re being threatened?”
Her head jerked up. “How do you know that?”
His glare intensified. “You have a message on your answering machine.”
“Oh. Don’t worry about it.” She pushed the food around, finally gave up, and passed him the tray.
He put it on the dresser and returned to sit on the bed next to her. “What do you mean ‘don’t worry about it’? A threat is something to be taken seriously, Nina.”
She bit her lip. “I did. I’m not the kind of person to go looking for trouble, so this is new. I went to the police, but they think it’s just an ex-boyfriend who’s not ready to let go. They don’t think it’s going to go anywhere.” She shrugged. “It’s just been messages so far, so I don’t think it will get any worse.”