Jace was silent for a moment and Stella cast him a glance that seemed to spur him into speaking. “It shouldn’t be my mom who made you feel wanted. It should have been me. I didn’t want to pressure you. I was trying to give you space while assuming you felt what was between us.”
Stella slid her hand over the center console and rested her hand on his thigh as he drove. “I feel it too, Jace. I might not have said it enough, but thank you. Thank you for staying with me after the fire. I was worried it was just out of some sense of duty.”
“I’m doing it because I care about you, Stella. I want to be with you.”
Stella’s heart beat faster as they pulled in front of her house. And then her heart stopped.
16
“Jace,” Stella gasped. The window to the left of the front door was broken.
“Call the sheriff’s department. Get behind the wheel and lock the door. If you see anyone other than me come out of the door, drive away as fast as you can.”
“Jace!” Stella reached for him, but he was already out of the SUV. “What are you doing?”
“I’m seeing if he’s still here. Get behind the wheel now.” Jace didn’t sound like a small town doctor anymore, he sounded a lot like his uncles. Stella gasped when Jace pulled a gun from the small of his back and began to head toward the front door.
Stella vaulted over the center console and got behind the wheel. She locked the door and called the sheriff’s office to report the break-in. She didn’t even remember what she said to them, because at that moment Jace disappeared from view and her whole world stopped.
Jace heard the crunch of the broken glass under the soles of his shoes as he crept into the darkness. The door had been unlocked, but he hadn’t seen any kind of transportation when he’d scanned the area.
Jace froze in the darkness and closed his eyes. He took slow breaths and listened. Nothing. No footsteps or heavy breathing so Jace ventured deeper into the house. He crept quietly around the living room before heading to the kitchen.
Nothing was out of place. It didn’t look as if anything had been stolen. Jace paused in the kitchen doorway. He’d skirt the island and look in the garage next.
Jace kept his eyes scanning the shadows as he slowly stepped forward. He stopped at the island and used the gun to sweep the area. Nothing. This was so strange. Jace took another step forward. His foot hit something hard and he fell forward. He tucked and rolled so the hit wouldn’t break anything. His breathing stopped as he hit the floor with his curved shoulder and rolled up with the gun aimed.
Stella’s leg bounced as she kept her hands on the steering wheel. Time seemed to have nearly stopped moving. While the clock in the SUV showed it has been three minutes, it felt more like three hours. She knew from experience it wouldn’t take long for someone to get here. Suddenly the front door was flung open and Jace raced out.
Nothing was going to stop Stella from getting out of the SUV. Not even a firing squad when she saw Jace running toward her with an unmoving Jimmy in his arms. The dog’s head hung limp over Jace’s arm, his body bouncing as Jace ran.
“Jimmy!” Stella screamed, her voice shrill with panic.
“He’s alive, but his breathing isn’t good. Get in the back, Stell,” Jace ordered as she turned and ran back to the SUV. She flung open the back door and crawled in. Jace nudged Jimmy’s head toward her as they scooted him onto the seat.
Jace climbed in behind the wheel and slammed the door shut. “Hang on.”
Jace floored the SUV. Stella braced her feet on the seat in front of her and hugged Jimmy to her as Jace tore down the drive.
“Hello? Ma’am? What’s happening?” It was the sheriff’s office secretary.
Jace tossed the phone from the cup holder and Stella scrambled to grab it. “Someone tried to kill my dog!” She burst into tears.
“Tell her to tell the deputies I’m taking you to the vet clinic. Then hang up and hold on.” Jace’s voice was calm but demanding. He was the anchor in the storm she needed as she repeated what Jace had told her and then hung up. “Hold on.”
Jace took the turn onto the main road on two tires. In the distance, she saw the flashing lights of the deputies, but they flew by heading in the direction of her house.
“Call Katelyn Davies’s cell,” Jace ordered his car’s virtual assistant.
The phone picked up after a couple of rings and Stella heard Jace’s Aunt Katelyn’s voice fill the SUV. “Jace! I swear I didn’t know what your mom had planned.”
“Someone hurt Stella’s dog, Jimmy,” Jace said in that same calm but direct voice he’d used on Stella. “I’m heading to your clinic now. ETA three minutes.”
“Marshall, I’ll be back!” Katelyn yelled as Stella heard the sound of running feet and then the jingle of keys. “Status?”
“I don’t see blood, but he’s unconscious.”
“Does he have any health issues?” Katelyn asked as Stella heard a car start.
“No. He’s six years old with no issues,” Stella said as clearly as she could as she cradled Jimmy in her arms. “He’s trembling,” Stella said before the tears caused her to bite her lip. She had to stay in control.
“Seizure?”
“I don’t think so,” Stella told her as one of the three deputies’ cars they were passing slammed on his brakes. Stella heard the squealing of tires, and when she glanced back, she saw the deputy was now following them. Jace’s cell phone began to ring, but Jace didn’t cut off from Katelyn to answer it.
“Could he have eaten something poisonous?” Katelyn asked.
“I don’t think so. I have everything locked up. I don’t leave any food out that he could reach. Everything is in containers. Jace, were any of them knocked down?”
“No. Nothing was out of place. But someone had broken into Stella’s house. They smashed a window and came in the front door.”
“Was your dog loose or in a crate?” Katelyn then asked.
“Loose. He never gets into trouble,” Stella answered.
“Poison,” Katelyn said with certainty. “They probably fed him treats so he would let them inside. Jace, do you have any hydrogen peroxide in your car?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes, but if you can, get him to swallow some. It will induce vomiting. I want to see what he’s eaten. I’ll see you there, okay?”
“Yup,” Jace said, hanging up. “My bag is behind you. Grab it and I’ll give it to him as soon as I get there.”
Jace’s phone rang again and he answered it.
“It’s Luke. I’m going to pass you to escort you to wherever it is you’re going.”
“Vet clinic.”
Jace hung up again and didn’t slow a bit as the cruiser flew past him. They raced toward Keeneston before making a sharp turn and then down another street.
“Hang on.”
Jace turned hard into a parking lot and stopped. A deputy Stella hadn’t met yet pulled open her door while Jace picked up Jimmy and placed in him the grass at the edge of the parking lot.