How the hell could he just let a sweet, submissive firecracker like Morgan go?
“Oh.” Deke laughed. “Morgan has you by the balls. You’re strung out on this woman. Bad. Not that I blame you. She looks like one sweet little fu—”
“Shut up. Don’t put Morgan in the same gutter as your mouth,” Jack snarled.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he’d done nothing but confirm every one of Deke’s suspicions.
Shit!
Deke laughed.
Jack did his best to unclench his rigid jaw. “Let’s talk shop.”
His buddy held in a wide grin. “Sure. We can do that. Who among our suspects do you think is Morgan’s stalker?”
“Could be anyone.” Jack shrugged, struggling to relax. “I doubt it’s the college boyfriend with the wife and kid. I tend to think she’s right about Brent Pherson. A pro football player on the road can’t be taking pictures of her at her house. So that leaves her former fiancé, her production assistant, or some random twisted fan.”
“I suspect ol’ Reggie has all the makings of a sicko.”
“He’s not as loyal as Morgan thinks. Hell, I paid him to get close to her, to pass my info and bio to her for the show. He took my money without asking questions and sent me her personal email address and IM info. But then he threatened me with everything short of castration if I so much as looked in her direction.” Jack grimaced.
“So he sold her out, then turned on you. Nice.” Deke sighed. “Was he more jealous boyfriend than protective father?”
“Hard to say over the phone. Could have been either.”
“He bears watching. In digging yesterday, I found out he managed to avoid prison time for sexual assault due to a technicality.”
Surprise ricocheted through Jack. “Really? Holy shit.”
“Yep. I wonder if Morgan knows about Reggie’s past.”
“I doubt it. She says he’s like a surrogate father to her. I don’t think she’d feel that way if she knew he might have a hobby as a ra**st. But we also need to see if we can rule out any creepy neighbors and fans, just in case but—”
“My gut tells me this is someone Morgan knows, someone she trusts. That his identity is going to shock her to her toes.”
As he gripped the arms of his chair, concern for Morgan gnawed at Jack’s calm. This guy wasn’t patient, and Jack was sure it would be a whole lot scarier before they finally caught the bastard and put a stop to his shit.
“Exactly.”
“So you have to stay close to Morgan, watch her twentyfour/seven,” Deke pointed out.
Wasn’t that going to be a big help in unknotting his gut and getting his head screwed back on straight?
“Yeah.”
With a toss of his head, Deke howled with laughter. “And you want her again so bad you can’t see straight.”
Jack sighed. He hated being a transparent as glass. “Yeah.”
The question was, revenge or Morgan? Which should he choose?
“Take care, Morgan.” Deke paused at the cottage’s front door late that afternoon.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
From his lofty height, he looked down, his unusual blue eyes swirling with concern. He cupped her shoulder gently. “I’m going to have these original photos examined for any forensic evidence we can find. In the meantime, Jack will take care of you.”
Morgan had liked Deke right away. His angular face softened up with a smile. He just seemed…nice. Definitely strong enough to protect. And he was easy to joke with. Probably easy to talk to, as well.