CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“So, what exactly are you wearing?” Alyvia asked, amusement clear in her voice.
Charley balanced her phone between her ear and shoulder as she double-checked herself in the full-length mirror. “Dark skinny jeans. A brown off-the-shoulder top and flats.”
“Flats?” Alyvia groaned. “You’re giving him bare collarbone and not even a hint of heel on a date?”
“It’s dinner, not a red carpet,” Charley argued, smoothing a wrinkle along her sleeve. “Besides, the last time I was at Ray and Jessica’s place, I almost face planted in the driveway, and I was wearing flip flops. I think I’m safer in flats.”
“You’re not denying it’s a date, though,” Alyvia teased.
Charley rolled her eyes, even as a smile tugged at her lips. “It’s not a date. It’s dinner. At Ray and Jessica’s.”
“Right. You keep telling yourself that. Meanwhile, you’ve changed your earrings twice.”
Charley glanced at the little dish on her dresser and mumbled, “That’s not the point.”
Alyvia laughed. “You’re nervous.”
“I’m not. Okay, maybe a little. I’m just trying not to overthink it.”
“You’re doing a terrible job,” Alyvia said. “Listen, I have to run, but call me tomorrow. I want to hear all the details.”
Charley laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Yup. And you’re smitten. Have fun.”
They hung up, and Charley took one last glance at herself.
The outfit was casual. The soft brown top slipped gently off one shoulder.
She’d left her hair down, letting it fall in soft waves, and kept her makeup light.
She kept reminding herself that it was just dinner, but the anticipation buzzing in her chest said otherwise.
She looked at the clock on her nightstand. Pierce would be there in fifteen minutes.
Her eyes flicked to the stack of files on her desk, where ribbon-cutting prep had taken over the last few days. Everything was ready for the doors to open. The building passed inspection, and the media had been invited. Volunteers were all scheduled.
But the sense of accomplishment hadn’t come without unease.
Earlier that week, another envelope appeared. This one had been dropped inside the building’s mailbox, just like the first one. No markings. No return address. Just a single piece of paper inside, with three words in the same handwriting: Operation Storm Current.
Charley had stared at it for a long time. The name wasn’t unfamiliar. She remembered hearing about it on the news. It was part of a year-long brutal conflict overseas. The kind of operation that came with loss and legacy. And now it was connected somehow to a growing mystery she couldn’t ignore.
She’d tried to cross-reference it with the three names from the first envelope. She had scoured the web searching for any clue, but she got nothing.
But something lingered. It was a feeling like the truth was right there, hiding just beneath the surface. She had a feeling that the person who dropped the last note was the stranger she had encountered a few weeks ago. She had hoped that he would make himself visible.
With this last note, she made up her mind that it was time to say something.
She had planned to give Alex a call over the weekend and fill her in on the situation and get her opinion on what to do.
She thought about asking her uncle, but since these things were happening at the foundation, she would rather talk to Alex first.
A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts.
She quickly crossed the apartment, brushing invisible lint from her jeans as her nerves sparked again with every step.
She opened the door. And there he was.
Pierce stood in her doorway, looking like every dangerous and tempting thought she’d been trying not to have since she met him.
He wore jeans that fit perfectly against his thighs and, from her angle, his ass as well.
The hunter green button-up, rolled at the sleeves, revealed his strong forearms, which should have come with a warning label.
His brown hair was slightly tousled, his smile easy and warm, but his brown eyes were focused entirely on her.
Charley felt as if her brain had short-circuited.
So much for playing it cool.
◆◆◆
Pierce pulled into a parking spot in front of Charley’s apartment building. His hands gripped the steering wheel as if it owed him something.
It’s just dinner, he told himself. Dinner with friends at Ray and Jessica’s house. A place he’d been to a hundred times before. It wasn’t a big deal.
Except this time, he wasn’t rolling in solo, grabbing a beer, and stuffing his face with tamales. This time, he was picking up Charley.
And his stomach had absolutely no business acting like it was jumping out of a plane.
He climbed out of the Jeep, brushing his palms over his jeans and tugging his sleeves halfway down before rolling them right back up. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth before making his way up to her apartment.
He knocked, then waited until the door swung open. And just like that, all his tactical mental prep went straight to hell.
She looked absolutely stunning. Casual, but damn. The soft brown top dipped off one shoulder, clinging in all the right places. Her dark jeans hugged her legs, her long hair falling in soft waves that made it almost impossible not to stare.
For a second, all he could do was take her in.
“I—uh,” he cleared his throat, smiled. “You look really beautiful.”
A faint flush bloomed on her cheeks as she smiled back. “Thank you.”
He leaned in and brushed a soft kiss against her cheek.
“You ready?”
She smiled. “Yep.”
She locked her door behind her, and they started walking toward the stairs and elevator. Before he could ask which one she preferred, she spoke up.
“We can take the stairs. This elevator is slow as molasses.”
Pierce nodded. He wasn’t going to complain. He wasn’t a fan of tight spaces with no exit.
“Jessica’s already texting me, asking if we’ve left yet,” Charley said, glancing down at her phone.
Pierce laughed as they stepped off the last step.
He slipped a hand to the small of her back to guide her around a chunk of missing concrete in the sidewalk.
“That sounds like Jessica. She treats every get-together like a military op, minus the camouflage. However, there is more food and a bit more interrogation.”
Charley smiled. “Good to know what I’m walking into.”
Pierce grinned. “Too late to turn back now.”
Charley tipped her head and glanced up at him through her lashes, a teasing smile tugging at her mouth. “Who says I want to?”
A surprised laugh left him before he could stop it, and something hot and satisfying curled in his chest. It was that spark in her that he was starting to crave way more than he should.
He turned his head just enough to catch the look on her face and that little smile of hers. For a second, all he could think about was hauling her closer and claiming those pretty pink lips of hers.
Instead, he let out a quiet laugh and shook his head, trying and failing to ignore the way his pulse had kicked up. Charley had no business being that damn cute and that damn tempting all at once.
Pierce dragged his hand over his jaw, trying not to grin like an idiot. God, she was getting to him. And if she kept looking at him like that, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could behave as a gentleman should.
But as they kept walking, one thought kept circling through his mind. The more time he spent with her, the more certain he became that Charley was going to be his.
Suddenly, Pierce was hit with a feeling that he hadn’t felt since his last mission.
The hairs at the back of his neck stood on end, every instinct honed by years of deployment snapping to life. It was his body’s way of sending a warning to him that something was off.
It wasn’t paranoia. It was survival. That feeling had pulled him and his team out of places seconds before they were hit. And now it whispered at him here on his home turf.
He didn’t stop walking or make any sudden movement, indicating what he was feeling. But his jaw tightened slightly as he made a mental note of every shadow, every car, every possible angle someone could be watching from.
Charley, thankfully, didn’t seem to notice. She just walked beside him, relaxed and chatting away.
When they reached the Jeep Gladiator, she paused, her brow lifted. “Wait, this isn’t the Jeep you were driving the other day.”
He turned to her with a small smile. “Good eye,” he teased.
Her eyes lit up, the corners crinkling as she smiled. “Smart ass.”
He chuckled as he opened the door for her. “I have this and the other Jeep. Though the other Jeep is what I drive the most. I figured you deserved the cleanest one.”
She laughed. “Chivalry’s not dead after all.”
He smiled, closed the door behind her, and walked around to the driver’s side. But the second his hand hit the door handle, he let his eyes flick over his shoulder. He didn’t see anything, but the feeling was still there.
They pulled out of the lot a moment later, the city lights fading behind them as they headed in the opposite direction.
Pierce kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting lightly on the gearshift. He glanced sideways at Charley as she turned to look out the window.
Part of him was already looking forward to spending the evening with her, soaking in the easy warmth she brought with her.
But another part, the part trained to read silence like a map, couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. And he didn’t like not knowing what.
◆◆◆
The quiet hum of the engine blended with the soft background of classic rock playing low on the Jeep’s radio. The windows were down just enough to let in the salty breeze, and Charley found herself feeling more at ease than she had in days.
Pierce drove with one hand resting casually on the wheel, the other occasionally brushing against the gearshift. He looked relaxed but alert. Guys like him were always on alert.
“I still can’t believe the ribbon cutting is next week,” she said, shifting to face him slightly.
Pierce smiled, eyes flicking toward her before returning to the road. “You should be very proud. You’ve put in a lot of long nights since you’ve been here. And it shows. The whole community is excited.”
Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. “Thanks.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, but the quiet did nothing to calm the thoughts crowding Charley’s head.
Even though she should be focusing on her time with Pierce, her mind kept circling back to the stranger and the envelopes, not to mention the unmistakable feeling that someone was watching her.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe she was letting herself get worked up over too many things at once. But deep down, she didn’t think so. She trusted her gut instinct.
Instead of waiting until tomorrow to call Alex, she decided to bring it up to Pierce.
“Do you know much about Operation Storm Current?” Charley asked as she nervously played with the hem of her sleeve.
Pierce’s head turned slightly, his expression sharpening. “Yeah. A lot of units rotated through. It was very high-risk, high-conflict. It covered a lot of ground. Why?”
Charley hesitated, then exhaled. “Because I found a piece of paper with that name on it. It was folded up in an unmarked envelope and left in the foundation’s mailbox earlier this week.”
“That’s all that was on the paper?” he asked, his eyebrows pinching together.
“Yeah. But there’s more.”
She told him about her interaction with the stranger a few weeks ago, and then about a guy she believed was the same one she met, giving Alyvia the other envelope with the paper with the three names on it.
“I’ve tried to cross-reference the names to the operation, but I couldn’t find anything.”
“What did he look like?” Pierce asked, his voice low, focused.
“Older. Probably late fifties. Shaggy Beard, Slim. Skittish. Like he was always watching his back. He was wearing a hat when I talked with him, and he had one on when he gave Alyvia the envelope.”
“Is that all?” he asked.
She glanced down before looking at him again.
She sighed. “No. There have been a few occasions where I’ve felt like I was being watched.
It happened a few times when I was leaving the office, and once at my apartment, the day I moved in.
But I didn’t see anyone. I tried to tell myself that it is probably nothing. ”
She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until Pierce’s voice cut through the silence again.
“Charley, that sounds serious. Have you told anyone about this?”
“No. At first, it just felt so random. I didn’t want to overreact, and it turned out to be nothing but me being paranoid. But after getting that last note, I was planning on calling Alex tomorrow to talk to her about it.”
“Did the guy seem threatening in any way?” Pierce asked, looking a bit concerned.
Charley shook her head. “No. I never felt threatened by him. In fact, I wanted to help him. Heck, I still do. But he hasn’t shown himself.”
They pulled into Ray and Jessica’s driveway, and Pierce killed the engine. He turned toward Charley, and she could see his jaw was clenched.
“That feeling,” Pierce said suddenly. “Back at your place. I had it too. When we were walking to the Jeep.”
Charley blinked, surprised. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want to spook you.”
“Did you see anything?” she asked, not sure if she wanted him to say yes or no.
He shook his head. “No. But that doesn’t mean anything. I learned a long time ago to trust my gut. If you don’t mind, I’d like to see those papers. I can ask around.”
Charley nodded, grateful. “Yeah. Of course.”
“But not tonight,” he added, giving her a small smile. “Tonight is about tamales and good company. We’ll deal with the rest after.”
She felt the knot in her chest ease a little more as he hopped out, came around to her side, and opened the door, offering a hand to help her down. She took it, her skin buzzing from the warmth of his touch.
She tilted her head back to look up at him. “Thank you.”
He winked as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I got your back.”
As they walked up the path, he rested his hand gently against the small of her back. She liked the way it felt. His touch seemed to ground her and made her feel protected.
And while the questions still lingered in the back of her mind, Pierce was right; tonight was about spending time with friends, good food, and getting to know the man beside her just a little bit better.