“You’re welcome,” he grumbled.
She rolled her eyes.
He started up the stairs.
Her eyes widened in panic. “Wait. What are you doing? Put me down.”
He tightened his hold. “Not a chance. We need to talk. No guns. No knives. And no man-eating snakes. Just you, me and the truth.”
Faye tensed in Jake’s arms. She waited until he reached the top of the stairs and set her down to open her door. As soon as he let her go, she rushed inside and whirled around to shut and lock the door. He shoved his boot in the opening, blocking her efforts. There was no way to win against his superior strength, not in a direct confrontation without any tricks. She reluctantly stepped back and let him inside.
Her skirt slid dangerously low. She was forced to grab the tattered edges and retie the veils holding it together. Her face flushed as Jake’s gaze followed the movement of her hands, lingering on her exposed tummy before sliding past the skirt to her naked thighs.
She’d flirted with him the first time she met him. But that had been so she could distract him and escape. Maybe he thought it was okay to stare at her like this because of how she’d acted last night. If he were anyone else, she’d have decked him already. But even though she was worried about his investigation, and what his presence here meant for her, she couldn’t ignore the punch in her gut every time she looked at him. Attraction sizzled between them. Why did she have to be so turned on by a man whose very presence threatened her entire world?
She stepped back to put some much-needed distance between them, and so she could meet his gaze without craning her neck back at an uncomfortable angle. “How did you figure out where I lived? And how did you manage to turn my friends against me in just a few short hours?”
“Mystic Glades isn’t exactly a big city. I drove down the main street and as soon as I saw a shop called The Moon and Star, I figured it had to be yours. When I pulled up front, Freddie came out of the bar across the street. I think she thought she was protecting you by asking me why I was there.”
“Let me guess. That’s when you lied and told her I was, what, your girlfriend?”
“I might have hinted at something like that. Freddie and Amy both thought the idea was sweet and helped me surprise you. Don’t be mad at them.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’re the one I’m mad at, not them. You might as well turn around right now and leave. You’re trespassing.”
In answer to her edict, he kicked the door closed behind him. He moved farther into the center of the tiny living room-kitchen combo. “You live here? Above the store?” He peeked into the guest bedroom that opened off the right side of the living room. It was empty, except for the twin bed and chest of drawers that had come with the place.
“Where I live isn’t any of your business.”
As if she hadn’t spoken, he crossed to the left side of the living room to her bedroom and went inside. He flicked the ballerina-pink comforter on her bed before examining the collection of figurines on her dresser. When he picked up the centaur holding a set of scales, she marched forward and plucked it out of his hand. Had she really found him appealing a minute earlier? She never could stand a bully. And she resented him forcing his way into her private sanctuary. She carefully set the figurine back on the dresser.
“Get out,” she ordered.
His smile disappeared in a flash. The cold look that replaced it had her shivering inside and wondering if his earlier smile had been a ruse to make her let down her guard. It would certainly explain how he’d gotten past Freddie’s prickly exterior. She couldn’t believe it when she’d found her friend drinking with Jake as if they were old buddies.
“Get out, or what?” he said. “You’ll call the police? I know I can get service here. I did earlier, down in your office, when I was surfing the internet.” He pulled his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and held it out to her. “Be my guest. After they get here, I’ll tell them to search their databases for Faye Star. How long do you think it will take them to figure out that Faye Star doesn’t exist? And how long before they get curious to find out why she doesn’t exist?”
The blood rushed from her face, leaving her cold. “That’s crazy.”
“Is it? I can’t find your name in any official databases, not here in Florida.” He arched a brow. “Of course, I haven’t checked Alabama yet. Maybe I need to surf the web a little more.”
Her fingernails bit into her palms. “What do you want from me?”
He stepped closer, crowding her back against the dresser. “I want the truth.”
Faye reached her right hand behind her, quietly pulling one of the drawers open a crack to grab the knife inside. “What truth?” she said, stalling for time. “You’re looking for the guy who drove that car, right? Well, I don’t know where he is. That’s the truth.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t care.” She fumbled behind her in the drawer.
Jake cocked his head. “What’s wrong, Faye? Can’t find your knife?”
She stilled and dropped her hand to her side. “What did you do, search my apartment before I got here?”
“You’d better believe I did. Self-preservation. I’ve learned never to underestimate you. It was easy getting Freddie to let me up here. I just told her I needed to use the bathroom.”
They faced each other like two boxing opponents, each waiting for the other to make the first move. But Faye knew that fighting him wasn’t an option, not without a weapon and a clear avenue of escape. Even if she managed to drop him to the floor, she wouldn’t have any way to get past him and out the door. The bedroom was too small. All he’d have to do was reach out and grab her as she jumped over him to get away. She chewed her bottom lip in indecision.
Jake’s anger seemed to evaporate as he looked down at her. “I know you’re hiding from something, or someone. That’s easy to figure out. But I’m not here to expose your secrets or dig into your past. I’m here for one reason, to find Calvin Gillette. And I believe you’re the key to finding him. If you’ll talk to me, and help me, I promise I won’t do anything that will jeopardize your life here. I won’t tell anyone where you are.” He smoothed her hair out of her eyes, then placed his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. “Help me, Faye. Please.”
It was so tempting to believe him, to believe the gentleness of his touch, the plaintive appeal in his words. She would love to trust him, ease her own burden by letting him share it. She needed to find Calvin, too. Was it possible Jake wasn’t really a threat? That would mean she didn’t have to leave Mystic Glades, leave her friends.
“Who are you working for?” she asked. “What does he want with...Gillette?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Does he want to harm him?”
Jake’s jaw tightened. “I’m not in the business of finding people and turning them over to someone who’s going to hurt them. The answer to that insulting question is a definite ‘no.’”
His defensiveness seemed genuine. Maybe the client who’d hired Jake was a friend of Calvin’s trying to find him for some reason she didn’t know about. Maybe Calvin had overreacted and had gone on the run thinking he was in trouble when he really wasn’t.
“What makes you think I know this Gillette guy? Or that I can help you find him?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
He dropped his hand to his side. For some reason, the disappointment