Secrets and Lace: A Dark Romance Thriller (Fatal Hearts Series Book 1) by Dori Lavelle

of hair behind my ear. “When you come back, we have to go to the cops.”
    Panic tightened my throat. “I don’t think we need to get the cops involved.”
    “What are you so afraid of? This is a crime. Someone is trying to hurt you. Why are you so against going to the police?” He leaned forward with each word until his breath and his suspicions were hitting my face. What did he suspect?
    “I’m not.” My chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.
    “Good. If you get another card, I will personally take you to the cops myself. If you hadn’t been so against it, we could have gotten them involved already.”
    “I didn’t want to make it a big deal, since we had suspected it was a simple prank.”
    “Someone sending you blood is not a damn prank. They could be dangerous.” He closed the space between us. His face was so close to mine that his anger burned my skin. Rage exploded in his eyes. “I'm trying to protect you. If there's anything you’re keeping from me, I want to know. I need to know the truth, so I can come up with a plan. What is it, Chloe? What are you hiding? I know there is something going on that you're not telling me. Who do you think this person is? We both know it isn’t Owen.”
    “I’m not hiding anything from you.”
    He looked at me for a long time, his lips pressed together. “I can't shake the feeling that you're lying to me.” He leaned back, a vein throbbing on the side of his neck. “I came here today because I wanted to look you in the eye, to search for the truth. I don't think I'm leaving with it.”
    I reached out my hand and grasped his. “I'm sorry you feel that way. I don't know what to tell you.” I swallowed my tears. “Please, let's forget about this and move on. Let's get excited about our wedding again.”
    “You understand why it's hard for me to move on, right? You are my fiancée, my future wife. If you’re in danger, I want to be involved. It's my job to protect you if I can.”
    “Yes, I do. And I love you for it. I don't think there's anything more to worry about.”
    I wished I could close my eyes and open them again to find it had all been a bad dream. That I wasn’t in any kind of danger, and there were no shadows chasing me.
    Miles reached for me and held me so tight I felt his heart beating against mine. He kissed the top of my head and then moved his lips to mine, brushing them lightly. “I never want anything to happen to you, you hear me? I'm here if you ever need me. You can tell me anything.”
    “I know.” I kissed him, enjoying the comforting feel of his lips. Then I leaned back and met his eyes. Most of the anger had melted away, leaving only traces.
    “In any case, when you come back to Boca Raton, I want to hire a bodyguard for you, somebody to watch you to make sure you're safe. Just until we’re sure you’re not in danger.” His expression softened even more. “We could also hire a private detective to look into it. Maybe they'll find something.”
    “No, that’s not necessary.” Panic swirled in my stomach. A private detective would be a bad idea. They would dig up my past and find out the truth in no time. Miles would know everything about me. “I want us to move on with our lives.”
    “Fine, if that's what you want.” A shadow passed across his features and he pinched the bridge of his nose.
    “Are you okay, baby?”
    “I'm exhausted. The merger is proving to be a little more complicated than I anticipated.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I need to get back to the office. Do you want to stay, or are you coming back with us?”
     Relief rushed through me. I couldn’t let it show. “You’re going back already? I thought you were staying a while.”
    “I wish I could, but I have a lot of meetings to take care of.”
    “Okay. You two can go ahead. I think I should stay until tomorrow. I want to make sure my mom's okay.”
    Miles nodded. “Your mom seems nice, by the way.” He smiled for the first time