Chapter 5
No matter what Jace did, he couldn’t stop thinking about Taryn.
He paced the living room as his mind went over everything again and again, trying to sift through his foggy memories.
Was it just coincidence that he swore she had been in his home the night before?
Was it mere happenstance that he believed he’d pulled up beside her earlier?
The answer was no.
He hadn’t seen her in years. Hadn’t heard from her via text, email, or phone. Just hours after she’d sent him that final text, her cell number had been disconnected. Now, all of a sudden, he’d seen her twice in two days.
“Thought I saw her,” he corrected himself.
He’d been too drunk the night before to know for sure. And today . . . well, he couldn’t be positive there either. The driver had been at an angle where he couldn’t get a good look at her profile. But he’d known it was her. A gut feeling.
Jace halted. The car. The Camry might be one of the most popular vehicles on the roads, and the color made it easy to blend in.
But he wasn’t going to give up. He could’ve made things easier on himself if he had caught the license plate number, but that wouldn’t stop him.
Just before he turned and headed to where he’d left his keys, he paused.
“She left you,” he said aloud. “She didn’t bother to tell you to your face or allow you to talk to her to get more of an explanation. For months, you did everything you could to find her. Why would you chase her again?”
The simple reason was that he loved her. No amount of anger over her leaving or her absence had changed that.
“She obviously didn’t love you as much as you thought she did. Only someone so self-centered would leave so callously.”
Jace frowned. While that was true, she hadn’t left on her own.
Her father, brother, and younger sister had all gone with her.
It reminded Jace of his time in the military when they were closing in on targets and entire families would steal away in the middle of the night, carrying only what they could hold in their hands.
He ran a hand down his face. Was that what happened? Jace shook his head. No, that couldn’t be. Because if Taryn and her family had been in danger, she would’ve come to him for help.
“Unless she couldn’t.”
He was searching for explanations that weren’t there, just as he had when Taryn first left.
The need to punch something was great. Before he put his hand through a wall, Jace spun around and stalked to his keys.
He swiped them from the table and strode from the house, anger in every step.
He didn’t realize he wasn’t sure what to do until he was in his truck with the engine running.
He could always go to his friends for help.
They would do everything they could for him, but they had already done so much.
He could call Cash, Cooper’s Air Force buddy who had turned into a highly sought-after private investigator.
Then there was Marlee, who was also a PI.
But for some reason, Jace was hesitant to do any of that.
He wasn’t sure why. Following his gut had never led him wrong before.
However, he was quickly reaching the end of his rope.
Soon, he would contact Cash or Marlee and see if they could find Taryn.
After the two most recent incidents, Jace couldn’t help thinking that Taryn was in Clearview. And if she were, then he would be able to find her. No one knew the roads like he did.
Jace put his truck in reverse and backed out of the drive.
He returned to the intersection where he thought he’d seen Taryn in the car.
After he pulled into a nearby parking lot, he surveyed the businesses and buildings.
His gaze then went to the street he was sure she had pulled onto.
It had some hotels as well as a few businesses.
He waited until it was clear and pulled onto Main Street before moving into the left lane and turning onto Oak.
Jace drove slowly, his gaze scanning the right side of the road, looking for any vehicle that even resembled a silver Camry.
Oak was long and straight with a few side streets branching off, but he remained on it.
When he reached the end, he turned around and made his way back, keeping his gaze focused to the right as he scanned for the car he’d seen.
Just as he was about to circle back to the intersection with Main, he spotted a back drive leading to a hotel. Jace quickly turned in and circled the lot. The moment he found the silver Camry parked at the end under a tall pine tree, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t been seeing things.
Jace stopped the truck and looked around for an empty parking spot close by.
Luckily, he found one behind him. He backed into it to look straight ahead at the hotel and still keep sight of the car.
With his vehicle in park, he pulled out his phone and typed the license plate number in, just in case.
He left the truck idling because of the heat.
But his tinted windows kept him partially hidden from anyone who might be looking.
After about thirty minutes with no movement, Jace lowered his windows a few inches and turned off the engine.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been on a stakeout.
He’d helped Danny and Ryan a few times when they needed extra eyes.
The sweltering Texas heat didn’t make things comfortable.
Sweat ran down his back and his face. When he could stand it no more, he started the truck again.
A loud sigh escaped him when a blast of cold air hit him in the face.
He closed his eyes in enjoyment. When he opened them once more, he just made out the back of a woman with long, dark hair as she climbed into the Camry.
His heart rate quickened because he knew right then that it was Taryn. Just seeing her from the back confirmed it. It was the way she moved, how she held herself. In those brief seconds he’d seen her getting into the car, he knew without a doubt that it was her.
He didn’t take his eyes off her as she backed out of her spot and drove away.
Jace saw her pull onto Oak and head toward the intersection with Main.
He waited a few moments and then followed her.
He was two cars behind when he pulled to a stop at the light.
When it turned green, she made a right and drove for a quarter of a mile before she pulled into a restaurant parking lot.
By the time Jace drove in behind her, she was already inside. He parked several spaces from her and contemplated his next move. He could wait and see where she went after she ate. Or he could go in and confront her.
There was so much he wanted to say to her. How many times had he had imaginary conversations with her where he told her how hurt he was, how much he missed her, how furious he was that she hadn’t told him goodbye to his face? That he loved her still?
Jace fisted his hands, arguing with himself over what to do. There were pros and cons to both options. The more he sat and thought about Taryn being back in Clearview without talking to him, the angrier he became. And yet he was thinking of staying in his truck instead of talking to her?
“Fuck that.”
He shut off the engine and climbed out. Taryn owed him an explanation. And if by some chance it wasn’t her . . . well, then Jace would go straight to his therapist.
As he walked toward the entrance, he wasn’t sure if he wanted the woman inside to be her or not. If it was, then he might finally get some answers to the many questions that had formed over the years.
If it wasn’t her, then he would hire Cash and find her once and for all.
He needed closure. Both mentally and emotionally.
His therapist had told him exactly that, when Taryn had first left.
But he hadn’t been ready to consider it.
Now, he was. He wanted to move on with his life, and he couldn’t do that until he had the closure she hadn’t given him.
He pulled open the door to the restaurant and walked inside.
Jace removed his sunglasses and paused beside the hostess as she greeted him, letting his eyes adjust to the dimness of the interior.
He hung his sunglasses on the neck of his shirt and ignored the hostess as he scanned the occupants until his gaze landed on Taryn.
She sat facing the door, her head lowered as she looked at the menu.
“Sir?”
He blinked and looked at the petite brunette staring at him expectedly. “I’m meeting someone,” he answered the hostess. Then he pointed to Taryn. “She’s right over there.”
Jace walked toward Taryn, his heart beating rapidly as all sorts of things ran through his head. Her thick hair was much longer now, the dark strands falling over to one side as she leaned her head into her hand and slid her fingers through the curls.
This was the first time he’d gotten a look at her face in years.
The sight was like being kicked by a horse.
He halted, unable to move. He had seen her so many times in his dreams, but looking at her now was like seeing her for the first time all over again.
She had taken his breath away back then, and she was doing it again now.
Her oval face had delicate features, but her eyes were large and slanted slightly upward at the corners.
Dark brows arched over her beautiful green orbs, the color the most unusual thing he had ever seen.
There were no words to describe it. Her eyes had been the first thing he’d noticed about her all those years ago.
The second was her lips. Wide, full, and utterly sensual.
With just a smile, she could have him on his knees.
Even today.
But those were only a few of her assets. High cheekbones, an hourglass figure that made his mouth water, and a laugh that could make anyone smile completed the package. She was stunning. The kind of striking that caused people to stop and stare because they weren’t sure she was real.
The kind of beauty that generally went to someone’s head.
Not Taryn. She could’ve had any man she wanted.
For a brief time, she had chosen him. Those two years had been the best of Jace’s life.
They had made a great team. Or at least he’d thought they had.
And the sex . . . it had been mind-blowing.
He’d fallen head over heels for her in just a few days.
Hell, he’d loved her at first sight. Jace had known almost immediately that he wanted her in his life forever.
Suddenly, Taryn looked up from the menu. The instant their eyes met, she stilled, surprise registering as if she hadn’t been prepared for this moment. She straightened slowly, her arm falling to the table as her lips parted in shock.
Jace watched disbelief and astonishment cross her features, one emotion at a time.
She slowly lowered the menu, and her hair fell back into place as she licked her lips—a nervous gesture he’d picked up on early in their relationship.
She glanced away and took a drink of the water that had been placed on the table. Then, she slid her gaze back to him.
“Jace.”
A shudder went through him at the sound of his name on her lips once again. He wasn’t sure approaching her was a good idea. He realized he wasn’t prepared for any of it, no matter what he had told himself. Not the sight of her, not her reaction to seeing him, and not the smooth sound of her voice.
Not the fierce, undeniable desire she still stirred within him.
He’d been raised to be a gentleman, but all of that went out the window as the hurt and pain of the last few years welled up within him.
He wanted to shout at her, to release all the fury he’d held inside for so long.
He wanted to shake her, to kiss her. To hold her against him and feel her soft curves as he tasted her sweet lips.
It surprised him how he could hold onto so much anger and passion for the same person.
The two emotions swirled around each other, twining together until he couldn’t tell one from the other.
But the one thing he knew for certain was that she still had the ability to make him crave her as no one else could.
He walked the rest of the way to her table and slid into the booth without asking if it was okay. He didn’t take his hat off or even offer a smile. The pain pushed past the desire then. “Where have you been?” he demanded.
Her eyes lowered to the table, showing him long lashes that used to tickle his cheek as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I know you’re angry?—”
“You don’t know a damn thing,” he said over her. “You left. In the middle of the night. And you thought a quick text was enough?”
“I know.” She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “You don’t get to say that without an explanation.”
“I—” she began as she glanced toward the door of the restaurant. She paused, her face going pale. She shifted uncomfortably. “Can we do this another time?”
“I’ve been waiting years for answers. I’m not going anywhere.
” He wanted to look over his shoulder to see what had caused her discomfort.
But he wasn’t going to take his eyes from her.
The fact that she was so obviously upset caused him to want to protect her, which only pissed him off even more.
But he wasn’t entirely sure that she wasn’t playing him.
She cut her eyes to the door again, then lowered her voice. “Please.”
He sat back and put one arm along the back of the booth. “No.”
“Jace. Go,” she urged.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching. He looked over to find a man in a suit. Jace gave him a once-over, noting the man’s impeccable features. He was good-looking, and the stranger knew it. That didn’t upset Jace, though. He was pissed because the man was there to see Taryn.
“Hello,” the stranger said to Taryn, shooting her a smile. “I didn’t know we were having company.”
“We aren’t,” she said and looked pointedly at Jace.
Jace was about to tell them that he was staying, but a man could only take so much abuse before he reached his limit. And he was far past his. Without a word, he rose from the table. He looked the man in the eye and gave him a nod, then walked out of the building to his truck.
Once inside, he turned up the music and pointed the vehicle toward his house, the need for alcohol too strong to resist.