Paxton's Promise by L.P. Dover Page B

wasn’t my ex who put them there and other than that, I don’t know of anyone who would’ve done it.”
    “What about Paxton? Could it be him?”
    “I know for a fact it’s not.”
    “And how do you know that?”
    “I just do.” Reaching into my purse, I pulled out a pen and grabbed a napkin on the table. “I’m going to give you my number. If you see anyone at my door, I want you to call me.” I wrote my number down and passed it to him.
    “You know, I have some friends at the station who owe me a favor. I could get them to run the prints on the letters, if there’s any on them that is.”
    “Really?” I asked, wide-eyed. “You’d do that? I didn’t really want to go to the police about this, but if you think it would help that’d be great.” The notes were in my back pocket so I pulled them out and handed them to him.
    He stared down at them. “It’ll probably take a couple of days, but I’ll see what they can do.”
    Sitting back in my chair, I sighed and took a sip of my coffee. “Thank you. I appreciate you doing this for me.”
    About that time, something caught the corner of my eye. I squinted and focused my attention on the blue sports car headed our way.
    Cliff sat back in his chair and put the notes in his pocket with an amused smirk on his face. “It looks like your boyfriend found you,” he quipped, taking another sip of his coffee.
    Paxton obviously didn’t know I was with someone else because when he saw Cliff, his expression went from passive to livid. Slamming on the brakes, he got out of the car and glared at us.
    “He’s not my boyfriend,” I said as I got to my feet. He sure as hell was acting like it though. “What are you doing?” I asked incredulously.
    His nostrils flared. “I could ask you the same thing. Whoever that is, say goodnight. The date’s over.” Cliff chuckled, drawing both mine and Paxton’s attention. Paxton clearly wasn’t in the mood to be provoked. “Is there a problem?”
    Smirking, Cliff gestured toward us both and shook his head. “No, I’m just curious to see how she handles this. Gabriella doesn’t seem like the type of girl to put up with someone telling her what to do.”
    “Oh, so you know her now?” Paxton growled. “Who the fuck are you?”
    His anger and possessiveness was turning me on. Hot damn, he was sexy when that little vein bulged on his forehead.
    Cliff didn’t move an inch. He stayed perfectly comfortable in his chair. “I’m her neighbor. And yes, I’d say I’m getting to know her quite well.”
    Paxton stepped forward, but I blocked him and put a hand on his chest. “Pax, stop. You’re acting like an idiot. Why do you even care? I thought you were over me. Cliff’s my friend and has been kind enough to help me out with something.” I glared up at him and hissed. “Why don’t you just go back to your blonde from the track?”
    His scowl turned into a mask of confusion. “What are you talking about? Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?”
    “Don’t flatter yourself. I think you need to leave. I’ll be back when I feel like it.”
    “Sorry, but that’s not going to happen,” he said grabbing my hand. “You made a deal and you’re going to keep it.” He pulled me toward his car and when I looked back, Cliff got up from the table, his smile gone.
    “I don’t think I’d do that if I were you,” he warned. Slowly, Cliff reached behind his back and my eyes went wide. Was he reaching for a fucking gun?
    Paxton stopped, but he didn’t let me go. “Gabby, so help me God, either get in my car now, or get in the Hummer and follow me home. I don’t want this night to get ugly.”
    “Then put the testosterone away and let me handle this.” Reluctantly, he let me go and walked back to his car, keeping his venomous stare on Cliff.
    Cliff never took his eyes away from Paxton, even when I was safely away. “Please tell me you’re not going back to his place. I can take you to your apartment if you need me