A million horrifying scenarios had all run through his brain at breakneck speed and every one was scarier than the one before. His heart had lodged in his throat and he’d barely brought the vehicle to a stop before he was jumping out and running into the house, paying no heed to the shouting officers telling him to stop. He wouldn’t stop until he saw Mallory safe, sound, and in one piece.
He should never have left her unprotected this morning. It had seemed so calm and normal. He’d fixed the coffee and kissed her goodbye as she climbed into her car, heading off to work. He didn’t want to think that was the last time he’d see her alive.
Barely able to breathe, he’d rushed in to the house and found her standing in her bedroom, quite alive and seemingly unhurt. He wanted to see it with his own eyes, though, and hear it from her lips. If anyone had dared to touch one hair on her head, he would hunt them down like dogs.
Then come to find out the perverted bastard had stolen her bra and panties… And now there were more flowers.
This was escalation with a capital E.
He wasn’t overreacting anymore. This wasn’t going to go away easily. This asshole was in it for the long haul.
Just as the cop had said, there was another vase of red roses on the porch with a card sticking out of the top. Without pondering the prudence of his actions, he plucked the card from the clip and tore it open.
“Stop right there.” Mallory’s hand covered his, her tone hard. “You’re acting like a bull in a china shop. Let’s think this through. If someone really is stalking me, they might want to check that card and envelope for fingerprints or whatever those police labs do. Also, that card isn’t addressed to you. It’s to me. So hand it over.”
Shit, she looked mad. But…
She wiggled her fingers, her brows raised in expectation. Dammit. He handed over the envelope.
Gingerly, holding only the corners, Mallory slid the card out and read it. Her face went pale and her lips pressed together. Whatever it said, she looked like she might throw up. His own belly was churning with anger and bile. This prick needed to be stopped. This wasn’t funny or romantic.
She held it out so he could read it.
I wish you had been home when I stopped by. I’ll come back another time.
Fuck. That was a threat. A boldface threat. She wasn’t staying here tonight. Or any other night until they caught this guy.
“You’re coming home with me.”
He didn’t make it sound like a request because it wasn’t. If she refused, he’d simply pick her up and haul her very fine ass over to his car and put her in the back seat. He wouldn’t leave her here alone. End of story.
He didn’t give a shit if he was overreacting after what they’d seen at the rest stop. He didn’t care if he was suffering from some sort of trauma and he needed to work through it. She wasn’t spending another second under this roof.
When she didn’t speak right away, he figured she was thinking up a reason to stay there which was madness. “I mean it, Mallory. You’re not staying here.”
The color still hadn’t come back into her skin and her hand visibly trembled, holding the card. She was scared whether she wanted to admit it or not.
“I’m not arguing.”
There was a first time for everything.
* * *
Mallory had to hand it to Carter; when he was determined to do something he did it all the way. He’d somehow managed to help her pack up her belongings while telling the police officer in charge why those flowers weren’t a welcome gift. While the cop had been sympathetic it was his opinion and that of his partner that she was being harassed by someone that had seen her on television. Maybe some kids that wanted to scare her.
Why did kids always get blamed for everything? No teenager was dropping a hundred bucks a pop on roses and fine chocolates.
She’d gone immediately numb when she’d read the card. The cold had spread from the tips of her fingers all the way through her veins until she couldn’t feel anything, not even the beat of her own heart. It was far easier this way. If she allowed herself to feel the swirling emotions she’d shoved away in her gut, she might lose control. Cry. Scream. Puke. Cry again. Rail against the universe.
This wasn’t fair. She’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. If Carter had driven any slower or faster or if there had been bonus scenes after the movie credits, she might not have been a witness to that poor man’s death. She certainly wouldn’t be dealing with some crazed stalker and panty thief. In twenty-four short hours this had gone from a slight nuisance to a full-blown threat. She’d barely had time to catch her breath.
Now she was sitting on the guest bed in Carter’s house, a place that was becoming more familiar to her with every visit. He’d placed her bag by the closet, inviting her to spread her things out. There was room in the closet and the dresser. The bathroom across the hall was all hers. She’d be staying here for the foreseeable future since her own home had been tainted. She didn’t feel safe there anymore and it didn’t have anything to do with the flowers and candy. It had everything to do with someone rummaging through her personal items after managing to break the lock on her front door. She’d always thought she was secure behind that lock. She’d been living in a fantasy world.
A big dog. Maybe two big dogs. And a loud alarm with an electrified net. She wasn’t sure that even then she’d feel safe.
As if on cue, Tiger entered the bedroom, tail wagging and tongue lolling out. He needed petting apparently and to his credit he wasn’t too proud to beg for it. He placed his head on her knee and looked up at her with the most beautiful brown eyes.
Reaching out, she stroked his silky fur and he wriggled closer. “I do feel a lot safer here with you and Carter. Maybe I could take you home with me. Do you think your daddy would miss you? I bet you’d miss him.”
She allowed herself the luxury of simply stroking Tiger’s fur and cooing sweet things in his ear. It would have calmed her if she was currently allowing herself to feel anything. She could unpack but she didn’t have the energy.
With the door open, she could hear Carter speaking to someone on the phone.
“Let’s go see what Daddy is doing, okay?”
Tiger’s ears perked up and he led the way back into the living room where Carter was finishing up his conversation. He gave her an encouraging smile when she sat on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her. Tiger took of residence on the adjacent cushion.
“I was just talking to Jason. He’s headed over here to discuss what we need to do to find out who this person is. I agree that the police aren’t going to be able to do much. We’ll have to do most of the legwork.”
She shrugged and scratched the dog behind his ear. “They don’t have much to go on. Thousands of people must have seen the news. He probably paid for these flowers with cash, too. Unless someone recognized him when he ordered them, we have nothing.”
Carter came to sit on the arm of the couch, his fingers stroking her soothingly just the same way she was petting the dog. It would be funny if it wasn’t her that needed it.
“We have more than you think. There are traffic cameras around your neighborhood that might have seen him come and go.”
“He probably came through the park. That’s what you said.”
Carter nodded. “He might have but even the park has cameras. There are also traffic cameras around the florist shop. If we can find someone who was in both places, that’s someone to look at.”
That actually didn’t sound too bad.
“And if we can’t find that?”
“Then we talk to the florist, to your neighbors, anyone and everyone that was around in the last few days. If someone has been watching your house, they’ve been seen or caught on camera. We can ask – very politely – for any footage from household security cameras, too. Someone might have got him on film.”
“If my neighbor Dara didn’t see anything, no one did.” Letting her head fall back onto the sofa cush
ion, Mallory groaned. “My brothers told me to put in a security camera but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. If I had, we’d know who it was. I’m so incredibly stupid.”
Sliding into the small space between her and the arm of the couch, Carter lifted her onto his lap. He rubbed her spine and pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“Honey, there is no way you could have foreseen this shitstorm. Cut yourself some slack. We’ll find this guy.”
“In the meantime, you have a roommate. Whether you want me here or not.”
That brought a grin to his too handsome face. “Actually, I kind of like having you here. Tiger likes it, too.”
The dog seemed to understand Carter’s words and scooted closer so she was completely surrounded by grinning male and drooling canine.
She liked it. This was really nice.
I could get used to this. But should I?
Chapter Nineteen
‡
Carter could hardly believe his ears. His cousins weren’t taking this seriously.
“Do you think I’m overreacting? Because I have to tell you, I’m getting fucking tired of hearing that. This is not a coincidence. Someone is stalking Mallory.”
Jason and West exchanged a quick glance and then both of them shook their heads. West held up his hands in a sign of surrender.
“We agree that there’s too much going on here for it all to be a coincidence. We also agree that Mallory shouldn’t be alone in her home until this is all cleared up. He is clearly escalating and quickly. Almost too quickly.”
That captured Carter’s attention. “What do you mean…too quickly?”
Mallory entered the living room with a tray of coffee. “I thought you might want this.”
Jason smiled and accepted a cup. “Thank you. It does look like it might be a long night.”
She turned her attention to West. “I’ll echo Carter’s question. What do you mean about it being too quick?”
Leaning a hip against the back of the couch, West seemed to struggle to answer. “Of course there are no absolutes but this went from zero to sixty in what feels like seconds. In my experience, stalkers like to toy with their victims. They’d call it courting and dating. They watch for a long time, have casual contact but rarely even address the woman directly. He might get a job delivering pizzas if she orders all the time, or maybe he’s the barista where she gets her morning coffee. This contact will often sustain him for a long time.”
“Until it doesn’t,” Jason said, sinking down onto the sofa. “Then the escalation begins. He watches more. Maybe takes pictures. All the while he’s fantasizing but his fantasies seem real. He feels like he has a relationship with her, that they’re close, maybe even falling in love. All this is happening behind the scenes and the woman might not even be aware that the stalker exists.”
“So what’s making this one go so fast?”
West scowled and took a sip of the hot coffee. “We don’t know. Maybe he’s triggered seeing you with Carter.”
“My guess,” Jason said. “Is that this isn’t a stalker at all. This isn’t obsession. This is someone messing with you after you were on television. They’re enjoying scaring you, watching you react.”
Mallory threw up her hands. “Why me? What did I ever do to them?”
“Nothing,” Jason said flatly. “Not a damn thing. You simply might resemble someone they don’t like or maybe they saw you at the exact wrong time in their life. They’re trying to hit out or they’re sociopathic and they enjoy controlling people. It could be many reasons but this doesn’t feel like a classic stalking situation. This is someone playing with you for their own entertainment.”
“That’s sick,” Carter said, disgust in his tone. “So what does this mean? That she’s not in danger?”
West shook his head. “We don’t know that for sure. It’s best that she stays here until we can find this guy. Better safe than sorry.”
“That sounds great,” Mallory replied. “But how are we going to find him and put a stop to this?”
Carter had the answer to her question. “We’re already on that, looking at footage and tomorrow morning one of Jason’s men will speak with both florists. We’ll find him.”
They discussed the logistics of keeping Mallory safe for the next few days. They all agreed that she’d be fine when with other people. This guy wasn’t going to go after her in public. Not the way he’d been skulking around so far in the shadows.
Mallory went to take a hot bath before bed and Carter walked Jason and West out to their vehicles. The cold air hit him and he shivered, regretting not grabbing his coat on the way. There would be snow soon, any day. He could feel it. Maybe even tomorrow.
“Thanks for coming over. I feel better after talking to you guys. I’m not a cop or Federal agent. I just want to make sure that Mallory is okay.”
Jason slapped him on the back. “We weren’t trying to bust your balls or anything. We just want to make sure that your thinking stays straight on this. You and Mallory have been through hell and something like that is going to color your thoughts and reactions. Just don’t jump to any conclusions. Be cautious, but alert.”
West fished his car keys from his pocket. “The Tremont police department has a psychologist that you might want to talk to. Specializes in what you’ve been through. It might help.”
Carter elbowed Jason. “I think I already have the number but thank you. I mentioned it to Mallory and she said she might call and make an appointment.”
“And you?” Jason challenged. “You were there, too.”
Not quite ready to admit he needed therapy, Carter shrugged. “She said something like it would be nice if we went together. You know, because we experienced it together.”
“No shame in talking to someone,” West declared, climbing into his truck. “And that poor woman in your home has to be about beside herself. First a man dies in her arms and now some asshole is playing mind games with her. Even if you don’t go, don’t discourage her from doing it.”
“I won’t,” Carter said as Jason’s phone buzzed. His cousin sighed and answered it, checking his watch at the same time. It was late for a call unless it was his wife Brinley.
“Yeah? You’re sure? Yes. Okay. I’ll call in– Never mind, he’s on vacation. Shit, okay. I’ll come there myself. Give me twenty minutes.”
Jason hung up and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “Duty calls. The firm is getting called in on a local case.”
West frowned. “Tremont police? What are they asking you to help with?”
“Not Tremont. Green Pine. They haven’t had a murder there in fifteen years so they’re requesting our help. They found a body. Man was walking his dog in the park and discovered it. We’re shorthanded with Logan out so I’m heading over there myself.”
Green Pine? A park? It was a tiny town. How many parks could there be?
“Mallory’s townhouse backs up to a park.”
West was already shaking his head. “It’s just–
“A coincidence,” Carter finished for him. He didn’t like this development at all. Not one bit. “There are a bunch of them lately. Seriously, could this be related?”
“Remember we talked about jumping to conclusions?” Jason said in a soothing tone he probably used for his baby. Carter wasn’t a child but he was worried about Mallory. “I’m sure there is more than one park in Green Pine and even if there wasn’t, it doesn’t mean that these two incidents are related. But I will check into it, don’t worry. In the meantime, I need to get going. They’re expecting me at the scene. Go inside and don’t say a word about this to her. She doesn’t need to be concerned about something that probably isn’t even connected to her situation. You’ll scare her for no reason.”
Carter didn’t like not telling her but then he didn’t know what he would say. Jason had a point. This might not be related in the least. Every town had crime but that didn’t mean that the perpetrator was the same person.
“Call me and
let me know.”
Jason nodded and climbed into his SUV, giving a wave as he left. West pulled out right behind him, leaving Carter standing out in the cold. Like a fool. Rubbing his frozen arms, he jogged up the steps and into the house.
He’d pretend that nothing was wrong and everything was fine. He only hoped it truly was.
Chapter Twenty
‡
One hot bath later, Mallory was feeling a little more human. Her life might be a mess but her relationship with Carter wasn’t looking too bad. They’d both come a long way from the terrible blind date on Friday night to a place where they trusted each other. If she hadn’t believed in his sincerity before, she surely did now after witnessing his discussions with the cops at her home and then his cousins later.
Shrugging on her robe, she slipped a brush quickly through her hair before brushing her teeth. Clean from head to toe, she padded on bare feet out to the kitchen where he was rinsing out their coffee cups.
“Did West and Jason leave?”
“They did. How was your bath?”
“Heavenly,” she sighed. “That bathtub is to die for. The whole house is, actually.”
The home wasn’t large but every inch of it was utilized efficiently. The wood floors gleamed, the stainless steel appliances shone, and the decor looked homey and inviting. Mallory wondered if perhaps his mother had helped with the decorating. He didn’t seem the type to pick out drapes and duvet covers but then she hadn’t known him that long.
“I built it myself.” Carter pressed the start button on the dishwasher and it hummed softly to life. The one in her townhouse sounded like a freight train but she could barely hear his. “I designed it and hand-picked the crew. We all did, although not everyone has a house on the ranch. Some like to live closer to town. Jason bought a fixer-upper and that’s how he met his wife Brinley.”
Mallory picked up a dishtowel with a cow on it. “Are you really into cows?”
Laughing, Carter plucked it from her hand and tossed it on the other counter. “Easton thought it would be funny to get me those as a housewarming gift with the excuse that they were blue, which is my favorite color. There are all sorts of bizarre things around here from my loving but infantile brothers and cousins. We sort of like to give each other a hard time.”
Road to Danger Page 10
