“Did the woman?”
“Yes,” he gritted out.
Gwen mattered. She mattered more to him than anything else.
Now how the hell was he supposed to prove that to her? He’d fucked up, and he wasn’t sure if Gwen would give him a chance to get close again.
One moment of paradise…and then Chance had been plunged straight into hell.
Chapter Eight
Gwen grabbed the back of the chair. “What? A ring? We’d only dated a few weeks.” She’d kept seeing him, hoping she’d feel more for him. Feel that deep connection that had clicked for her with Chance. But…she’d never clicked with Ethan.
“It was a token of my affection. Not a marriage proposal.” His lips twisted. “But that was a screw-up. He was watching. He knew I was getting too close to you. He must have known…right after we broke up, that’s when I got the first picture.”
Gwen licked her lips. “What picture?”
He stared up at her. “Your picture. It was you, working at the gallery. You were in paint-stained jeans and you had your hair pulled back in a pony-tail. It was a close shot, one that someone must have snapped with a phone…it looked as if the guy was only a few feet away from you.” His twisted smile was gone. “I got a message with that photo. A text that said…NEVER HAPPY. I knew what the fuck he was saying. I knew he was coming after you, and that’s when I snuck into your place. I was trying to come and warn you about him—”
But he’d nearly scared her to death. “You didn’t tell me.”
His gaze shot to the mirror. “That’s because Chance didn’t let me. It’s hard to talk when a jealous rival is shoving his fist into your face.”
No. Gwen shook her head. “You had plenty of opportunities. You could have come to me later. Told me—”
“You took out a restraining order on me! I didn’t have a lot of options. I was trying to keep you safe the only way I knew how.” His breath heaved out. “Don’t believe me? I told your father. I asked him to keep guards on you. He knows what’s been happening.”
What?
“This is my fault,” Ethan continued doggedly. “I brought you into this guy’s sights, and now he’s locked on you. You have to get out of the country, you have to get away, just like Marjorie did.”
She was supposed to run? To leave her family and her friends behind? To leave the gallery she’d built from the ground up?
Gwen glanced at the little clock on the wall. It was right above the uniformed cop’s head. That cop hadn’t so much as twitched while she’d been in the interrogation room. “I think your five minutes are up.”
“You believe me, don’t you?”
She didn’t answer. “Do you know anyone who drives a black van?” Gwen asked as her gaze pinned Ethan.
He shook his head.
“That van nearly ran me over less than an hour ago. That same van was at my apartment when a man in a black ski mask raced away from the building. That man tackled me.” She considered the memory. “He was your height, your build.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then who was it? Who hates you this much?”
“Hate? Well, I’m sure Chance Valentine hates me plenty.”
“It’s not Chance.” Anger snapped in her words. He hadn’t just gone there.
“I know that.” Ethan’s jaw worked. “But Chance is pissed because I was with you. Chance thinks you’re his. Maybe…hell, this all started with Jena. Maybe she had someone in her life who thought she didn’t belong with me…someone who thought of her as his. And when Jena hooked up with me, that’s when his rage exploded. He took Jena. He tried to take Marjorie and now—”
The door to the interrogation room flew open. Gwen turned and saw Chance filling the doorway.
“No one is taking Gwen away.” His voice was guttural.
He was wrong on that. “Gwen is taking herself away,” she muttered. Because she had to think. She had to figure out who was telling her the truth.
If anyone was.
She pushed past Chance and stormed into the hallway. But she’d only taken a few steps when she stopped.
Faith was in the hallway. Lex and Devlin were there.
And so was her father.
***
“I don’t remember agreeing to talk with you,” Ethan said as his angry stare narrowed on Chance.
Chance shrugged. “You don’t have to talk. Just listen.” His fingers were loose at his sides. With extreme effort, he kept his control in place. This wasn’t the time for rage and hate. This was the time to protect Gwen. “She almost died tonight. That van came far too close to her. I wasn’t close enough to save her—”
Ethan jumped to his feet. “Then you weren’t doing your job!”
Back to that, were they? “You did go to Will.” When it came to lies and deception, he was an expert. Gwen…she was too trusting, but he fucking loved that about her. He loved that she had hope. Loved that she believed in people.
Fuck me…I just love her.
He was the cynical one. The one who didn’t believe in anything or anyone…but her.
I believe in Gwen. Always will.
“You convinced Will that there was a threat to Gwen, and he came to me.”
Ethan’s lips clamped together.
“I have to know who I’m fighting,” Chance snarled. “You said it started with Jena…but you never had proof of that, right? You’ve already torn into her past.” He’d bet on it. “But you didn’t find any scorned lovers.”
Ethan gave a quick, negative shake of his head.
“Then maybe it didn’t start with her. Maybe there was someone else, before her. I need names, man. Write down a list of your lovers. I don’t care if it was the freaking first girl you kissed when you were thirteen, I need to know.” Because the women were the key. The women were being attacked, not Ethan.
He could hear voices coming from the hallway. “Get me that damn list.” He spun for the door. He needed to talk with Gwen—
“Promise you’ll keep her safe.”
He looked back.
“If he tried to kill her tonight…again after the fire at your place…then he’s going to attack again. That’s how it was with Jena.”
The guy had said he wouldn’t talk with Chance, but he was sure talking plenty right then.
“Some creep nearly mowed her down…she thought it was just some drunk driver. So did I.” His voice roughened. “I wish I’d realized what the hell was happening sooner.” Ethan’s shoulders sagged. “Now I know…he was hunting her. Just like he’s hunting Gwen. And he’s not going to stop, not until she’s dead.”