by Olivia James
Steeling herself for the inevitable meeting, she opened the door after Eric rang the bell. He was dressed in khakis and a button-down shirt, his usual attire when he worked. Given the time of day, he might be on his way to the restaurant.
So why did he stop here?
She'd opened the door but didn't step back to let him in, instead standing in the small opening and hoping he'd take the hint that he wasn't welcome.
"Hey, Shaw. I'm sorry to just drop by but I thought we needed to talk."
Nodding, she stood her ground. She was getting to practice boundaries again.
"Eric, what are you doing here?"
"Some guy stopped by the restaurant to talk to me. He said that you're having issues with some guy–" He broke off and tried to peer over her shoulder. "Listen, this would be more comfortable if we could talk inside. Can I come in?"
Keeping on hand on the doorknob and the other on the frame, she took a small step forward.
"I don't think that would be a very good idea, actually. We can talk right here."
A flash of irritation crossed his features but then vanished as he mustered a smile.
"I just want to talk, Shaw. That's all. I'm worried about you. That guy–"
"Luke," Shaw interjected. "His name is Luke Brewster."
"Right, right. Brewster. He gave me his card." Eric reached into his breast pocket and retrieved the small white rectangle. "Anyway, he asked me if I knew anyone that might be harassing you and I told him that I didn't."
"Did you change your mind? Did you think of someone?"
He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "Well...no. But it's all I've been able to think about since I talked to him and I was just so worried about you. I wanted to see you."
She didn't want to see him. He wasn't a bad person - that she knew of - but their relationship hadn't been going anywhere. They didn't have much in common and his sense of humor was far different than her own. It had been a relief to end it. They hadn't dated that long to be honest, although he had seemed to be far more optimistic about their chances than she had been.
"I don't think this is a good idea," she finally replied. "I can't see how this would help."
"I was just thinking that maybe we could have a cup of coffee. Talk a little. Maybe we'll think of someone that might be bothering you."
What do I tell my viewers? What scripts do I give them to set boundaries?
"I'm afraid that won't work for me but thank you for offering. It was very thoughtful."
"It's just a cup of coffee. Not dinner or anything."
"That's not really the point, Eric. I just don't think it's a good idea."
To her surprise, Eric threw up his hands in frustration. "I'm just trying to help you."
"And I appreciate that, but you already talked to Luke. If you think of anything else, you can give him a call."
Pressing his lips together, he blew out a noisy breath. "You're being difficult. It's not a big deal."
Eric was the one being difficult, and frankly, Shaw was getting damn tired of people accusing her of being difficult when she wouldn't give into whatever they wanted her to do. It was really starting to piss her off.
"I don't want to argue with you."
She heard footsteps and then a shadow fell across Eric. "Shaw, is everything okay?"
James. Her neighbor from across the street who had been missing the last few days. He was standing on her porch steps scowling at her ex-boyfriend.
"Everything is fine. Eric was just leaving."
Eric opened his mouth to protest but then he simply shook his head and turned to go. "Fine, I guess I am leaving. I was just trying to help but forget it. Deal with it yourself."
With a huff, Eric stomped down the steps and jumped into his car, gunning the engine as he backed out of the driveway. The relief she felt as his departure was taken over by her trepidation at having James at her door.
"He doesn't seem like a happy man," James observed. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Shaw assured him. "He came unannounced and surprised me. I don't think he'll come back. Thanks for checking on me."
Until Luke had pointed out how strange James was she'd never given him a second thought. But now...
"You're welcome. Glad I could help. I was just going to work on replacing my mailbox. I think someone must have driven by last night and hit it accidentally. It's all dented."
She looked over James' shoulder and sure enough the post that the mailbox sat on was definitely leaning.
"That's terrible. Did you hear anything?"
"I didn't but I found it that way when I went to get my morning paper. Probably some kids did it."
Why did everyone blame kids? Shaw had never understood that. Adults did plenty of crappy stuff too.
Her first instinct was to tell him that she had a doorbell camera newly installed and that she probably had footage from last night. It might not help as she doubted that they could read the license plate, but it might be worth a shot.
Her second instinct was to shut the hell up and not tell him anything. The whole point of having hidden cameras was so that people didn't know they were being filmed. Although as Luke had pointed out, so many people had cameras now it shouldn't be a surprise.
"That's too bad," she said instead. "I'm sorry that you have to replace it."
James smiled and shrugged. "It's okay. I'm going to replace it with a nice blue one. I always meant to do it when I moved in. The white one was fine, but it always looked dirty to me."
"Blue will look nice with your house."
"Thanks, I think so. If you're sure you're okay, then I better get back to it. It's supposed to rain this afternoon."
"I heard that too. Thank you again for checking on me."
"Anytime, Shaw."
She stood in her doorway as James strode back to his own garage before closing the door and locking it behind her. This day had been far too eventful. All she'd wanted to do was get some work done but the universe was clearly against that happening. She was exhausted and catching a quick nap wasn't going to solve that problem.
Not until whomever was harassing her was caught. Then and only then, would she get a good night's sleep.
Shaw wasn’t listening to anyone but that guy. He hated that guy. Always there, always comforting her. He’d moved in so quickly pretending to be a hero. She shouldn’t be with him. It was wrong and she was bad. She was going to pay for that mistake. For hurting him. He wouldn’t let her get away with it.
20
Because Shaw's day was pretty awful, Luke had planned to have an evening out with her friends. Nothing big. Just some cheeseburgers and a few laughs. He'd promised to get her home and in bed early. Which home that was going to be was still an open question.
He wouldn't mind at all if she stayed with him again, but her independent streak was a mile wide, especially after dealing with her mother and her ex today, so she might insist on staying in her own home. If she did, he'd offer to sleep on the couch after he took care of the dogs back at his place. They wouldn't be thrilled to spend the night alone, but it wouldn't be the first time. He'd worked a lot of nights as a police officer. As long as he was there bright and early to let them out and feed them breakfast, they'd be fine.
His sister Melissa had suggested a sports bar near Shaw's home that had arcade games as well. He'd also asked Ryan to join them since Taylor was bringing her boyfriend Austin. Melissa had teased him that he was trying to fix her up with his co-worker. This wasn't the first time they had met either. So far, no sparks had flown and they seemed to have a more brother and sister thing going. At least Ryan wasn't the type of guy who would lie or cheat on her. On the other hand, it would be kind of weird to have his friend date his sister.
While waiting for their food, he and Ryan ended up shooting baskets at a basketball game. Melissa, Austin, Taylor, and Shaw were shooting water pistols into a clown's mouth to race a toy car to the finish line first.
"I didn't r
eally want to play this game," Ryan said, tossing the ball toward the hoop. "I hate basketball. I wanted to talk to you."
"So talk." It was Luke's turn to make a shot. "And I like basketball. Not as much as hockey or football, but I like it."
Ryan shrugged. "I have bad memories of gym class when I was twelve."
"Were you bullied?"
Luke couldn't quite imagine that. Ryan had an air about him that made him seem sort of...dangerous. He wasn't as big as Luke was, but he could definitely hold his own in a fight.
"Let's just say it was before my growth spurt."
Chuckling, Luke took another shot that bounced off the rim. He wasn't all that great at free throws, to be honest. "And after your growth spurt? Did they stop bullying you?"
"They did."
Typical Ryan. He never used five words when two would do the job.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?"
Ryan glanced over at the others who were talking and laughing. It looked like Melissa had won the latest race.
"Have you noticed that Austin pays your girlfriend a hell of a lot of attention?"
Kind of. Luke hadn't noticed anything strange when they'd gone out for Shaw's birthday but tonight there had been a different feeling in the group. There had been an almost imperceptible shift in the dynamics.
Somehow Austin had managed to sit next to Shaw with Luke on the other side. He'd talked to her quite a bit, asking question after question. Taylor, thank goodness, didn't seem to notice anything awry with her boyfriend since Austin hadn't completely ignored her.
Luke hadn't thought much of it because the questions were all professional-related. He'd thought that the other man wanted to get Shaw's advice about a problem but didn't want to be too obvious about it.
"He has asked her a bunch of questions tonight. What are you thinking?"
"I don't know, it was just something I noticed."
Ryan didn't bring up shit for fun. He was far too deliberate.
"You think that we should check him out?"
"It wouldn't hurt. He came into Shaw's life around the same time as the messages from what I can tell. You know how Logan and Reed feel about coincidences."
Luke felt the same way.
"Let's do a quick check on him. See if he has any skeletons in his closet. But let me tell Shaw first before we do it. I don't want to go behind her back. I told her up front about checking her neighbor and her ex."
"Just give me the word and I'll get it done."
He honestly didn't think Austin was Shaw's stalker but at this point they had to check down every path.
Before this guy got any closer to the woman that Luke was falling for. Hard.
The evening out with friends was exactly what Shaw needed to lighten her mood. She'd been feeling crappy all day long but for a few minutes tonight she'd forgotten that her life was a mess.
Except for her relationship with Luke. That was going well. Almost too well. Would he eventually get tired of the circus and dump her? She wouldn't blame him. It hadn't been smooth sailing lately. When she was rid of this stalker problem, they ought to go somewhere together for a few days to celebrate. Just the two of them. Maybe that Vegas trip?
Draining her glass of ice water, Shaw leaned over to Melissa. "I'm going to run to the ladies' room. I'll be right back."
Melissa nodded and went back to listening to Taylor tell the story about her and Austin's last date at a new eatery in town. It had a turn of the century London theme and was elaborately decorated along with waiters and waitresses dressed in steampunk outfits. Shaw made a mental note to talk to Luke about trying it out.
Making her way to the restrooms which were located at the back of the restaurant and down the hall, she quickly checked her cell phone on the way.
No new messages. What a relief.
Inside the restroom, she freshened up and put on a coat of lipstick, dropping the gold tube back into her bag. Smoothing down a stray stand of her short blonde hair, she pushed the door open to head back to the table.
But it wouldn't budge.
Assuming the damp air had made it sticky, Shaw gave it another shove with her shoulder. For a moment, she thought it was going to move but it held firm. A few more frantic pushes and she realized she was trapped in the bathroom. She couldn't get out.
But...
It was a swinging door. There was no lock on it, and it had opened just fine when she'd gone in. This shouldn't be happening. Could a door swell that much in less than five minutes? She didn't think so.
She gave the door another hard shove but the only thing she managed to do was break a sweat and probably bruise her shoulder and elbow. She was a teensy bit claustrophobic and being stuck in the small room wasn't doing her any good. She wanted out.
When she was a little girl, they’d rented a house that had a sticky back door and she'd had to kick the bottom of it to get it to open. It might be worth a try. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her leg and gave the door a swift kick with the bottom of her shoe.
It moved. A little bit. Perhaps she'd loosened it?
Once again, she put her shoulder against the door and felt it slightly budge from its position. She was sure it was going to swing open, but then...it felt like someone had pushed it closed again.
This was crazy. She wasn't going to stand in this little bathroom all night pushing at a door that wasn't moving. She'd simply text Luke to help her. As big as he was, he ought to be able to pull the door open from the other side easily.
Retrieving her phone from her handbag, Shaw noticed that she'd received a text. She hadn't heard the chime because the restaurant was so loud with the games and diners.
Another unknown sender.
This time he'd sent pictures. Of her and her friends. Eating dinner inside the restaurant. Her heart instantly sped up and she frantically tapped out a text to Luke. Dammit, this was their chance to find him.
He was here.
The son of a bitch was here. Or at least he had been, long enough to take pictures and send them to Shaw.
When Luke had received her text, he'd ran to help her without even stopping to explain to the others. By the time he'd arrived at the ladies' room, Shaw had managed to get out. A cursory inspection of the door showed that it had never been stuck. It swung freely out toward the hallway. Someone must have been holding it shut.
To fuck with her. To scare her.
Ryan had, of course, been right on his heels and now the two of them along with Melissa, Shaw, Taylor, and Austin were searching the restaurant and the parking lot for...what exactly? They didn't know what he looked like. Luke had hoped that Shaw might see someone that was familiar but so far she hadn't. Basically, he'd hoped that he'd see someone running away or acting suspiciously. But he hadn't. They'd come up empty. Again.
He'd been so close though. Was he one of the waiters or busboys? Had he been a customer at the loud table where all the guys were drinking beer and eating platters of wings? Did he even come into the dining area or did he stay out in the foyer near the hostess stand and the bathroom?
"Fuck," Luke muttered under his breath. He was tired of this shit. Tired of being made to look like an idiot, and he was really fucking tired of this guy preying on Shaw and scaring her. She didn't deserve this shit. "Fuck it all."
"That's eloquent."
"Fuck off, Ryan. I'm pissed right now."
"I get it and you should be."
"I know."
"So be pissed and then get the hell over it. We have work to do."
Ryan could be calm and businesslike because he wasn't emotionally involved. Which was kind of pissing off Luke even more.
"This guy–"
"Is going to get caught eventually," Ryan interrupted. "He's moving closer, taking more chances. Eventually he's going to fuck up and when he does, we'll be there. Right?"
"I want him now," Luke growled. Melissa and Taylor were comforting Shaw, doing his job for him. He should be over there taking care of her, b
ut he had to deal with this shit first. "He's starting to get on my nerves. Can you believe it? He was here right under our noses."
"We know something about him that we didn't know before. He can blend in really well. That means he's an average guy. He doesn't stand out. I talked to the hostess to see if she noticed anyone taking pictures and she didn't. She didn't see or talk to anyone out of the ordinary."
"I'm not sure how that helps us."
"It gives us a few clues that confirm your suspicions. Look at the demographics. Mostly male because there's a ton of games and there's sports on the television. Looks like about age thirty to sixty. Your theory about the stalker being a male sounds spot on."
"The majority of stalkers are men."
"And the majority of people in this restaurant are men. If it was a woman, she would probably stand out more. Melissa, Taylor, and Shaw are currently the only females here unless you count the two adolescents with their dad playing video games. I have to believe that the hostess would have noticed another woman. We now know something that we didn’t before."
"You have a point," Luke conceded. "So it’s likely that it's a male. But we don't know anything more."
"We can talk to the manager. Ask for any security footage."
Luke nodded, his mind already racing forward. If they could catch this guy on video, they might be able to run him through facial recognition and get a name.
It wasn't much but it was something. He needed every advantage he could get and then some. He was getting sick and tired of dealing with this asshole. It was time to shut him down and get him out of Shaw's life. For good.
21
Shaw wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel after what had happened tonight but right now she was mad. Angry. Furious, really. She was tired of all the damn drama and the games. If she could confront her stalker at this moment, she'd scream at him that this was wrong. He couldn't just get what he wanted by forcing her hand.
