by Sofia Grey
She read it to him. It sounded even worse aloud.
There was silence for a moment. “Have you told AJ? Or Jordan?”
“No. They’re not picking up their phones. Everyone’s out. I’m here on my own.” She shivered, despite the sunlight blazing down.
“Okay.” He sounded calm and reassuring. “Keep ringing AJ and the others. You know how hinky the phone network is there. They’re probably between cell towers. I’m wondering how they got your number, so he’ll probably ask you that. Have a think about who you might have given it to.”
She nodded before remembering he couldn’t see her. “Yes, I’ll do that.”
He yawned softly, and there was the click of a zippo lighter down the phone line.
Daisy smiled through her tears. “You’re not smoking dope in your old bedroom?”
“Yeah.” His humour was clear. “Like I said, I’m recreating the whole fourteen-years-old-again thing.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve got a four-pack of Stella under the bed, as well?”
“Stella? You’re joking, aren’t you? It’s Boddingtons, actually. I couldn’t afford Stella Artois when I was fourteen.”
Boddingtons had been one of the major breweries in Manchester. Despite the unsurpassed beauty of New Zealand, Daisy felt a pang of homesickness for the city where she grew up. The brief chat was enough to restore her equilibrium just a fraction. She could breathe again now.
She promised Charlie that she’d keep trying to contact Alex, said good night, and then disconnected.
Okay. She’d keep her shit together. She could do this.
She stabbed at Tanner’s number again, then Jack’s. Then she tried Alex. And Jordan.
What if something had happened to all of them? That was crazy. Jordan was in Wellington, at the tech conference with Jack and his team. They were nowhere near Alex’s group.
Why didn’t they pick up their phones?
Was she safe? What if the stalker was here now? Outside, somewhere? They might think Callum was here, with Daisy.
A noise in the kitchen almost made her jump out of her skin.
She stood on the deck, phone clutched to her chest, and scanned left and right while she searched for her sneakers. If she had to make a run for it, she didn’t want to go barefoot. Her heart beat triple-time, and the pulse echoed in her ears. Where could she go?
“Good morning. I’m making coffee. Would you like some?” It was Jordan’s new consultant.
Not the stalker.
Daisy let out her breath in a giant whoosh, feeling giddy with relief. Dear God, she felt like the biggest idiot in history. She wasn’t alone at all.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice like cut glass. “Did I startle you?”
She tried to find a friendly smile. In truth, she wanted to throw herself at him and cling tight like a toddler hanging off her father’s leg.
“I... umm... Yes.”
He stepped onto the deck, one hand held out to her. “It’s Daisy, isn’t it? I’m Aiden Bradley. We met briefly, the week you came to work for Alex and Sylvie.”
“Yeah, I’m Daisy. I’m sorry, I don’t remember meeting you. There were so many people that week, it was a blur of faces.” She shook his hand.
He smiled, and she had to admit, he was pretty. He looked like that sexy lawyer from the courtroom drama currently steaming up the network. He didn’t hold a candle to Charlie, though.
“No matter. I’m sorry if I interrupted you.” He released her and turned to go back inside.
Daisy lurched forward, pathetically relieved to have some company. “No, it’s okay. I mean, you don’t have to go, if you don’t want to.” She was babbling. She tried to speak calmly. “It’s just... Well, I’ve had a text, and it upset me.” She swallowed the tide of fear that rose again at the memory of receiving the text. “And you startled me. I thought I was the only one at home.”
Aiden cocked his head to one side and regarded her. “If it’s none of my business, please say so, but if you want to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”
*
Juli threw herself into the conference on Monday.
For the opening day, there were only a few short presentations from visiting speakers. Jordan gave the welcome speech, but the bulk of the day was spent on the trade stalls, promoting TM-Tech and talking business with competitors and customers alike.
The conference hall filled up, and she spent the morning with Nick Anderson and his marketing people, watching them schmooze potential customers. There was definitely a knack to sales, and Nick was a star performer. He kept drawing her into conversations, and she smiled and answered questions, and handed out TM-Tech pens and trinkets. She much preferred working in her labs, directing operations and brainstorming designs, but this was part of her role too, and she wanted to make a good impression.
She caught glimpses of Jack, busy patrolling the hall and presentation rooms. It was as well he kept his distance today. If he came too close, she’d just about ignite. Talk about lighting the touch-paper and retiring to a safe distance... With Jack, she wanted to be silly, to giggle and tease and hug herself with glee.
She’d given up on seeing him last night, when he sent her a text close to midnight.
Hey. Sorry the meeting ran late. If you’re still awake, we could have a drink or something.
Her reply took seconds to compose and send.
Hi you. Or something sounds good... Your room in 5 mins?
As soon as she walked into his room, he caught her in his arms and pressed her against the wall. She now understood what it meant to be kissed senseless. Sex with Jack ticked all her boxes, and then some. Exciting—check. Demanding—check. Exhausting—check. Phenomenal—double check.
She didn’t get much sleep, but Gods, it had been worth it.
Standing next to Nick at the TM-Tech booth, Juli held back a yawn and shook another hand. Focus. She had to stop mooning over Jack. He couldn’t be as perfect as he seemed. He was a man, and they all had at least one fault. Maybe he cut his toenails in bed or left his used towels on the bathroom floor. Or maybe this was his normal behaviour—bang the women he was acting as bodyguard for—and when this assignment was over, he’d move on.
As long as nobody got hurt, she was fine with that.
Philip hovered on the edge of her mind, but with some effort, she pushed the thought away. They were over, even if he wasn’t totally on board with that yet.
She needed coffee. A triple shot latte with at least two sugars.
She shook more hands and handed out drinks coasters and pens.
If Jack invited her to his room again tonight, she was going back to her own bed at some point. She couldn’t function with fewer than five hours of sleep, and tomorrow she was due to be presenting a keynote speech.
The buffet lunch was delicious, and Jack joined her as she loaded a selection of mixed salads onto her plate. “You look tired,” he said and smirked. “Maybe I’m too much for you.”
“Maybe you’re pushing your luck.” She gave him a mock glare. “If that’s your best chat-up line, you need to do some work on it.”
He didn’t look repentant. “That right? Damn. I’ve never had any problems with it before.”
“If you want to get into my good books, you could get me some coffee. I’d be really grateful.”
“Is that all I am to you? Someone to fetch you caffeine?” He leaned close and put his mouth against her ear. His hot breath against her skin tangled up her insides. “Watching you wearing that short skirt is fritzing my brain out,” he whispered. “I want to drag you into one of the meeting rooms and fuck you against the door. But that wouldn’t be professional, right?”
She suppressed a whimper at the image he conjured. She was totally down with the idea, but it was impossible. At the moment, anyway. “You’re still here,” she whispered. “And I’m still waiting for that coffee.”
He chuckled. “I’m on it.”
It was no accident, the way his hand trailed over her a
ss when he left. She turned to watch him stroll out of the hall, digging into his pocket for his phone as he walked.
Damn. She’d be imagining that scene all afternoon. She huffed a breath. She was all hot and bothered now, her body buzzing from that close encounter. Never mind his brain fritzing out. Hers short-circuited whenever he was near. How did he do it?
She added some Caesar salad to her plate, and looked further up the table to see what else was on offer. Perhaps some chicken? There was a bowl of fresh spinach leaves with bacon and cranberries that looked delicious. She took a helping, grabbed a bread roll, and headed for a table, to wait for Jack’s return.
The dining room was thinning out, with delegates returning to the trade hall. She’d need to go back soon, too. She watched the doors as she ate. Okay. So maybe she was taking her time, in order to have another few minutes with Jack.
One of the delegates caught her attention. He stood by the lifts, his profile to her. The elevator door opened, and there was a second when he shifted position and Juli saw his face properly.
Yanni.
Fuck. She recapped his appearance from the other day. The slightly olive complexion and collar-length dark hair were distinctive, but when she saw his twinkling eyes, she knew she didn’t make a mistake.
He was here, and that meant he was still looking for her.
Chapter Twelve
Jack had three missed calls from Daisy. Something was wrong. When he phoned her, it dropped instantly to voicemail, and he left a brief message. “This is Jack, returning your call.” He dialled Tanner next, but he didn’t pick up either. They were possibly talking to each other right now.
His phone beeped with an incoming call. This time, it was Juli. “Not made it to the coffee cart yet,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “Do you want something to go with it?”
“Jack. He’s here. Yanni. I just saw him.” She sounded spooked.
—the fuck? “Where?” He spun on his toes and gazed around the crowd. The lobby was busy with delegates coming and going. Nobody looked familiar. “Where are you? Where did you see him?” And then, after a beat— “Are you sure?”
“I’m in the trade hall, trying to find Jordan. I saw Yanni from the dining room. He was getting in a lift. I called you right away, but your phone was busy. And yes, I’m positive it was him. Thanks for doubting me.”
The hint of snark in her voice would normally make him smile, but he was too angry with himself for that. He took his eye off the ball for three minutes and missed the fucker.
Jack blew out a tight breath. He’d kick himself later. He needed to stay cool and figure out where the fuck Yanni went. The conference was taking place on the top floor of a six-storey hotel, so it was a good guess that his quarry was on his way to the exit. And since Jack was in the lobby, he was well placed. There were three banks of elevators around a central atrium. He circled them, checking the floor numbers on display, while calling Tanner at the same time. None appeared to be going express to the ground floor, but two of them were already here and about to go back up.
Tanner picked up, and Jack launched right into it. “Yanni’s at the venue. Juli saw him. Any idea how soon our backup team will be here?”
“Jean-Luc and Darcy just arrived in Wellington. I’ll divert them, to meet you at the hotel. In the meantime, Daisy’s had a text from the stalker. She’s pretty freaked out, but Aiden’s at the house with her, and Callum is with me and Alex’s group.”
“Shit.”
“Yup. We’ll be there in a couple hours. Cellphone reception sucks on this road, so if you need me, leave a message.” Tanner disconnected.
Another elevator was about to arrive in the lobby, and Jack positioned himself where he had a good view of the occupants. Two young women emerged, but that was all.
God damn it. If Jack’d been quicker to get down here, he might have intercepted Yanni. Punching something hard was an attractive idea but pointless.
Jordan called him next. “Juli said he was wearing a conference lanyard, so he must have checked in. We’re pulling up the lists of attendees, to see if we can identify him.”
“Okay. There’s no sign of him downstairs. I’ll talk to the main desk and try to get access to that CCTV. Keep Juli with you.” Frustration leaked into his words. Maybe Jordan would do a better job of guarding her than Jack had.
Thanks to Jack’s liaising with the hotel security team during the setup yesterday, they were quick to respond to his request for camera footage from the lobby and the conference areas. He’d review it later, to find what time Yanni arrived and where he’d been. For now, he wanted to see if the guy was caught leaving.
Of course Yanni wouldn’t make it easy to find him. There was no direct view of his face or profile, but three people had left in the last ten minutes, who were strong possibilities.
The first wore a peaked cap that obscured his face. The second had a phone pressed to his ear and his hand acting as a shield. The third held a newspaper at the wrong angle in every camera shot, bar one.
“Come on,” murmured Jack. “Show yourself.”
The camera on the main exit caught him as he stepped out onto a crowded sidewalk.
“Gotcha.” His triumph was short-lived. Because of the positions of the cameras, there was little other information of use. The conference lanyard was visible, but his business suit made him blend with ease into the throng of corporate attendees. Jack had fucked up.
He checked that the lobby staff and security team had current mugshots of Yanni and Jack’s phone number, in case Yanni returned to the conference. There was nothing to waste by being thorough.
He returned to the top floor. The need to see Juli, to make sure she was okay, burned in him.
He found Jordan’s team huddled around a table in one of the breakout rooms. They were comparing pictures online with the images of Yanni and checking them off against a printed list.
“Hey,” said Jack from the doorway, his gaze seeking Juli. She looked pale, but determined. “You doing okay?”
She nodded. “We’re cross-matching the registered delegates against their online profiles, and then crossing them off if we recall speaking to them. There are over two-hundred people here today, but we can narrow down the list in hopes of finding what identity he was using.”
“It helps that a large part of today has been spent talking to them,” said Jordan. “We’ve been asking about their tech needs and planning follow-up sessions. It’ll take some time, but we’ll reduce the list to a manageable size.”
It was a good idea, and the anger simmering inside Jack was soothed a fraction. They were doing something positive. Until they had more, he was kicking his heels and getting in the way.
He found a quiet spot and made some calls. To Aiden, to brief him on the latest development, and to Daisy to check in with her. He was fond of Daisy, and pissed at the idea of her being frightened. They needed to cut a break soon, either on the stalker or on Yanni.
The arrival of their backup team was good news. He met the two guys at the reception desk, and took them upstairs to meet Jordan’s group.
“This is Jean-Luc, aka Lucky, and Darcy.” They’d all served together in the Marines, though not in the same squads, and Jack trusted them completely.
Jordan introduced his people. Hands were shaken, and names exchanged.
Lucky spoke to Juli, and Jack only caught the last word, Francais?
“Mais oui,” she replied, and Lucky unleashed a torrent of French.
Jack had zero idea what his buddy was saying, but he was flirting, judging by the gallant kiss on the back of Juli’s hand, and the bubble of laughter between them. He narrowed his eyes at Lucky. That shit was gonna stop here.
His blood pressure spiked when Juli flirted right back. Or did she? She might have been telling Lucky the weather forecast, for all Jack knew.
Get a grip. He needed to start thinking with his head, and not his dick. All the same, he despatched Lucky to the house, to meet up with Aiden
and Daisy, while Darcy stayed at the hotel. The logistics were getting complicated.
*
Daisy felt much better. Aiden stayed with her all day. With the stalker getting more insistent, the last thing she wanted was to be home alone. As soon as everyone was home, they’d gather together, to talk about the text that Daisy received.
Alex stomped into the lounge, Sylvie holding his hand. “We’ve had another email today. What the fuck is it with this bastard? I want this to be over.”
Daisy could sympathize with his anger and frustration. She’d bet money that Sylvie was as upset as Daisy had been, and that was why Alex was letting off steam.
“We’ll sort this out.” Tanner sounded sincere. “Our experts in Houston are working on it, along with some of Aiden’s techs. They’re trying to pull apart the coding, to trace the location of the sender. It’s a matter of time. There’s extra manpower, to make sure Callum has round-the-clock surveillance. We’ve installed additional cameras outside, and passive infrared detectors in his room.”
Alex nodded. He guided Sylvie to a seat, before leaning against the wall behind her. “I’ll read the latest one. Same sender as before.”
Dearest AJ.
Why didn’t you keep Sam’s ring for his son? I can make sure he has plenty of memories of his father, when he comes to live with
ME
Daisy shivered. It wasn’t cold by any means, but she was scared all over again.
“I’m confused,” said Sylvie. “What ring?”
“Dad died when I was twenty-one,” replied Alex. “Sam had just turned nineteen. Dad was ill for a long time, with lung cancer, and Mum gave us both keepsakes to remember him by. She gave me his gold watch, and Sam took his gold half-sovereign ring. It became one of his most treasured possessions.” He paused, as though gathering his thoughts. “When Sam died, I buried the ring with him. It didn’t seem right to keep it, and at the time, I had no idea he’d fathered Callum.”
Aiden spoke up. “So how many people would know about it?”
“Hardly anyone. The good news is that the list of potential stalkers narrows down. But it also means it’s someone who knows me well. Someone I might not expect to do this.”
