“Josh, that’s fucked up.”
“I agreed, but he wasn’t wrong. We probably would have waited until now anyway. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t blowing it out of proportion.”
“Hold on.”
I get up and grab my phone. I send Travis a text telling him to get his ass over here, then I go back to the table. “So, you really think this person is after me?”
He nods. “Or, well, let’s just assume it.”
“Why should we assume that?”
“It’s better to be overly safe than sorry.”
The headache is starting to grow. I don’t get them often, but I know caffeine will help, so I get up and make some coffee. Josh doesn’t say much while I grab a k-cup and make my coffee. Then I settle back at the table. “Sure you don’t want something to drink?”
He shakes his head. “Do you have any questions?”
“Oh, I have questions,” I say, sipping at the hot liquid, which burns my tongue. Yep, it’s just a complete crap day. “Should I be worried about my safety here?”
He shakes his head. “We’re going to increase patrols on your street.”
“The LOLs will notice.”
“No. You saw that prowler posting on the Express, we’re going to use that as an excuse if we’re asked.”
I sigh. “Should I leave town? Maybe if I leave, he will too.”
He settles his hand on mine. “We’ll keep you safe. And it’s best if you stay here.”
Before he can continue, there’s a sharp knock at the front door. It opens and Travis walks in, worry etched on his features. That is before he sees Josh’s hand on mine. His eyes narrow and his nostrils flare slightly. Most people wouldn’t notice it, but I’ve come to know all of Travis’ expressions and behaviors. It happens when you work so closely with someone—or you’re desperately in love with that person. Still, I’ve only seen this expression when he’s been dealing with Carter lately.
“What’s going on here?” he demands.
Josh drops his hand away and looks back at him. “I was telling Nancy what else we found.”
“He also told me that you told him not to tell me.”
There are too many tenses of tell in that sentence alone, but I don’t care. He opens his mouth, but I hold my hand up. “We’ll deal with that later. He has more information now.”
Josh goes through everything he told me before Travis showed up.
“We need to leave town.”
I love the whole ‘we’ part of that sentence, like we’re together. I cross my arms beneath my breasts and glare at him. “Listen, dude, you aren’t the boss of me. And I was just getting to that with Josh.” I look at the sheriff. “Should I leave?”
“That’s up to you. I don’t know that you would be safer in San Antonio if that’s where you’re thinking about going.”
I could go stay at Grady’s. He has a mansion with security and a live-in chef. Although, being around Syd and Grady is sickening. They are so damned sweet together, but, ugh, it’s a little hard to take. I gave up my show and the man I have been in love with for over two years. I don’t think I could take the two of them 24/7.
“You could go to Grady’s.” The fact that Travis said exactly what I was thinking doesn’t matter.
“What do you mean you think it won’t be any better?” I ask.
“If he’s stalking you, he will just go to San Antonio. Once a stalker makes contact, the game usually goes up a notch. He will want more time around you, and he will get bolder as time goes on. The thing is, here, he would stick out like a sore thumb.”
Travis makes a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and, dammit, it’s sexy.
“Not right now, Josh. We are in the height of tourist season. Lots of new people in these parts.”
“He’s right,” I say, hating that I’m agreeing with him once again.
Josh nods. “Yes, and that is an issue. But here in the neighborhood, it would look odd if someone one of the LOLs don’t know is skulking around. And I know that Grady probably has guards and a fantastic security system, you will need security if you go out in San Antonio.”
“Dammit, you’re right. But, I’m sure At Home will handle that.”
“I don’t work for them anymore.”
Josh shows no signs of surprise, so I figure that Travis told him. “Grady says you’re still part of the family.”
It takes a second, but then it hits me what he just said. I turn to him, my eyes narrowing. “So, you told Grady, but not me? Poor little woman can’t handle the big bad stuff?”
He rolls his eyes and mutters something under his breath that I don’t quite get.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. Just, Syd agreed.”
“You told Syd?” Why does that hurt? It shouldn’t. She’s his sister, and they are close. They tell each other a lot more than other male/female siblings do, and they are in each other’s lives more than others. Still.
Again, he rolls his eyes. “I called Grady because I thought he should know about it and she got suspicious. She called me.”
That doesn’t make me feel better, well, maybe just a little. I turn my attention to Josh. “You think that I should stay here? I mean…”
“Listen, right now, we have a theory that this is someone who is stalking you. Like I said, I could be wrong.” But he doesn’t think so. Most people look at the lanky sheriff with the almost ever-present smile and think he’s affable, and maybe even a little slow. But he was a member of the Texas Rangers at one time, and I know he also did undercover work. His instincts are probably pretty good about things like this.
“Staying here makes her a target. I don’t like it.” Travis crosses his arms over his massive chest.
“If she has a stalker, she’s a target no matter where she goes. We might be able to control it here. San Antonio, it’s all faces in the crowd. I do have a suggestion though.”
“What’s that?” I ask, not liking the way he’s looking at me. From the apology I see in his eyes, I know I am not going to want to hear his suggestion.
“Travis should stay with you.”
I don’t look at the man in question. Still, I sense his stillness. I have a feeling he didn’t know Josh was going to suggest that.
“Listen, guys, I know you’re having…issues. But, with another person here in the house with you, it makes it harder for someone to bother you while you’re at home.”
“I have a first-rate security system.”
“Which you don’t always set,” Travis growls.
I glance at him. He’s frowning, his expression dark, and it sends another beat of arousal humming through my blood. I really, really need help. Like world class help. He’s glowering at me and my panties are growing damper by the minute.
I tear my gaze from Travis and try my best to concentrate on Josh, who is nodding.
“We all know that, Nancy. And if we know that, your stalker could know it too. He could be watching your every move and notice if you don’t set the alarm.”
There is something there in his voice, something that leaves me even more worried than before. “You think this person knows me that well?”
Josh’s jaw ticks as he nods. “He, at least, has a passing acquaintance. We’re going to need to know if either of you have had any threats in the last year or so.”
“I’ll contact my agent. He handles all of that and has kept all the info.”
Josh nods as he pulls out a card. “Have him email me here. Also, we’re going to have to know if anything has been sent to At Home.”
“Texting Grady and Syd right now,” Travis says. His phone starts ringing a couple seconds later, and he takes the call, walking away from us.
“You’re going to let him stay here, right?”
I want to argue with him, but I know better. It makes sense to have him here, even if we are...having issues. “Yeah.”
“Listen, I know this is hard on you, especially since you two are going thr
ough… something, but I think it’s best. It’s better him than the security detail that the Hawthornes would want to have on you.”
“You don’t think that they would do that, do you?”
“Syd would do anything to keep you safe, so I’m pretty sure they would. That would draw attention to you in town. You know the LOLs won’t pay attention to Travis staying here.”
The rumble of Travis voice reaches us, and I can tell he’s talking to Syd. Or at least Syd is one of the people he’s talking to at the moment.
“I need you to agree to this Nancy. It’s…well, I really don’t want to put a car specifically on your house night and day.”
I study him and know he would do it. Worse, the LOLs will pay attention, it would be in the Express, and then my family would show up. They don’t give a shit about me, but they do worry about appearances. In fact, they would go overboard in protection. They would suffocate me.
“I said okay.”
I hate this. Not just because of the issues we are facing in our professional relationship, but from an early age, I had my life planned out by other people. It feels as if it’s happening all over again, some asshole doing things that make it difficult for me to just live.
“No, we don’t need y’all here,” Travis says, his voice rising.
“Is there anyone outside of emails I’ll get from your agent and At Home that could have something against you?”
“How about that Reggie dude?” Travis asks as he walks back in the kitchen. He’s off the phone and he’s frowning at me. I frown right back. Then his words register.
“Oh, yeah, hmm, it could be him, but I don’t know if he was in town by then.”
“Reggie Andrews is back in town?” Josh asks, grimness deepening his voice. It says a lot that he knows Reggie even though the creep has never lived here.
I nod. “He’s visiting his grandfather.”
“And, her grandmother was trying to set them up.”
Ugh, Travis can’t keep his trap shut. Josh looks at me. “Is that true?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. Not getting anywhere near that trash.”
He nods. “Good. We’ve never had a problem with him in town, but that’s because I tend to have someone assigned to keeping up with him when he’s here.”
“He accosted her at the diner.”
I roll my eyes. “He didn’t accost me, but he did show up there this morning. I didn’t know he was in town.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure I get someone to check out when he got here and what he’s been up to. I really wish he wouldn’t visit his grandfather.”
“You know about him?”
“Yeah, there was a complaint against him stalking a tourist, so he will be on our list.”
I know Josh said he was sure the guy targeted me on purpose, but there is something that he isn’t telling me. Something that I know he’s hiding from me, but is he hiding it from Travis?
“There’s something else,” Travis says.
Josh sighs. “Yeah.”
I can tell he doesn’t want to tell me, but Travis has apparently decided to be honest for once in this mess.
“The guy acted like he wanted to just cause a slow leak. Or at least, that’s what I thought from the way he acted. When your tire started to go flat so fast, he threw a fit.”
I blink. “Why would he do that?”
But in my heart, I already know the answer. I don’t want to admit it, don’t even want to think it, but it’s there, hanging, leaving me a little sick to my stomach.
I look between both of them, their expressions grim. “Someone better start talking.”
I need to hear someone else say it.
Josh sighs. “I think that he might have wanted your tire to go flat while you were on your way home. He wanted to make sure you were isolated, vulnerable.”
“Because he wants to hurt me.”
Josh nods. I look at Travis and see the truth in his eyes. He didn’t want to keep the fact that I have a stalker from me. He was trying to come up with a way to tell me that the guy might want to hurt me. Granted, I know that a lot of stalkers escalate, but this is from nothing to insane in a matter of a few minutes. Or at least in my world. The guy had probably been out there floating around hating me for years.
“How do we know it’s a guy? I mean, it could be a woman. Women can pretend to be dudes, especially dressed that like. Look at Taylor Swift in that video she did.”
“Believe me, we’ll be looking at everyone, but from the way he walks to the size and shape of his body, I’m ninety-nine percent sure it’s a guy.”
And he wants to hurt me.
As I said before: FML.
Chapter Fourteen
Travis
Nancy leaves us alone so she can call her agent and I study Josh. There’s a fine line of tension running through him. I can see it in the way his brows lower and in his green eyes. “You’re really worried.”
He nods. “It’s hard to think that someone wants to hurt Nancy. She’s the girl next door. Everyone loves her, even here.”
My eyes narrow. “What are you getting at?”
“This is personal, yes, but it makes me think it has something to do with the show. You know what I mean? There are people who are jealous here in town. She’s always dealt with that, since she’s a Howard.”
That much is true. The Howards are known to be one of the richest families in Texas and probably the most affluent in Juniper. They were here when the hippies showed up to start their new town—aka basically taking over Juniper. I’m sure there are things I don’t know about, jealousies left over from high school. But this flamed up out of nowhere.
“It escalated quickly. Unless, she hasn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.”
I remember dropping her off last night. “It might not be anything, but her light was unscrewed a little bit when I dropped her off last night. Just enough so that it wouldn’t be on.”
“Damn. That might be something, but it might not be. Just like the flat tire. He was trying his best to give her a slow leak so it would be another inconvenience. Or it could have been an isolated thing, just like the light here. Was that a backup in case he didn’t get her tire taken care of?”
The implications start adding up. Fuck. “This is very orchestrated.”
He nods and we both watch Nancy walk back into the living room. She looks up from her phone.
“What?”
Josh sighs, and I know he doesn’t want to tell her. The truth of the matter is that it could be nothing, but it could also be something scary. Somebody wants to at least frighten her.
“Travis told me about the light being out last night.”
Her blue gaze flicks to me, then back to Josh. “It was just loose.”
“And, it might have been nothing, but the truth is, adding it to the tire issue, I’m worried.”
She rolls her eyes, but not before her face pales just a little. She’s scared, but I know Nancy. She’d be damned to hell before she would admit it. Well, to anyone but Syd.
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean that I need to freak out, right?”
She sounds confident, but I know she’s freaking out. Her voice always rises an octave when she’s scared.
“Right, and with Travis here, you should be safe. The thing about stalkers is that they are always looking for you to be alone.”
Her gaze flicks to me, then back to Josh once again. That pisses me off. I know I’m being stupid. Josh is here because of his job. But they dated at one time, a while back. Nothing serious, but it still leaves my gut unsettled.
“Okay, but I’m sure Mrs. Peterson across the street has a Ring or something. You can check with her for the video.”
“Yeah, shit. Okay, I’m going to say I’m looking for evidence of the prowler that was reported last night. She can email me the video.”
“You think that was him?”
“No. Sam Vickers walks at night. We get that report about three times
a month from Mrs. Dillon.”
“Okay, good, because if the LOLs know about this, it would be bad. Also, Marty is going to send you everything I’ve been sent in the last eighteen months. He couldn’t remember anything threatening, but he said he’d make sure you had all the weird ones. Syd already has At Home going through all their emails, but she said she would have been informed of any direct threats.”
“Okay. Well, I’m going to go chat with Mrs. Peterson.”
As soon as he says it, her phone goes off, and I know it’s Syd. Another eye roll. “Anything else?”
He shakes his head.
“Thanks.” Then she answers her phone. “What do you want?” she asks. There is laughter in her voice, and I smile. Until I look at Josh, who is studying me in that way he has. It’s probably what makes him such a good sheriff, but as a friend, it can be a pain in the ass.
“I’ll go with you.”
He nods and we go out the door and across the street.
“Hoping for cookies?” Josh says, humor lightening his voice.
“I got some already.”
Like I said, her double chocolate cookies are legendary.
The door opens before we reach it and she’s there, smiling. Mrs. Peterson is a retired school nurse, always smiling, even as she snoops on her neighbors. She’s barely over five feet tall, a small-boned woman, who has amazing skill in the kitchen. “Sheriff. Travis, were those cookies good?”
“Yes. I still have a few left. Thank you.”
Her smile widens into a grin. “Come in, boys.”
We follow her into the little house she’s lived in as long as I’ve known her. I remember she was the one who helped patch me up when I got in a fight at school. I never gave up the reason I beat the shit out of that punk Freddy Griffin, but it was because he called Nancy a slut. When I told him to take it back, he laughed in my face. It was my one and only fight in high school.
Love to Hate You: An Enemies to Lovers, Best Friend's Brother Romantic Comedy (The Fillmores Book 2) Page 13
