by Elle James
Cage glanced over her shoulder into the drawer.
The drawer held all her underwear. Every one of the pairs of panties that she had folded neatly were scrambled and laying in disarray.
“He touched all of them.” Emily shivered.
Cage slipped an arm around Emily, pulling her against him. “He might have been searching for a trophy,” he said. “I’ve heard of stalkers taking items of clothing. Usually, the panties or bras of the women they stalk.”
“I know this,” she said. “I studied it in school. But this goes beyond the textbooks. It’s far too close to home.” She swallowed hard. “It’s happening to me.”
She checked the other drawers. Nothing had been disturbed in the shorts and T-shirts. She entered the bathroom and found her razor lying on the edge of the tub, not in the soap dish where she usually kept it. She lifted it and found dark stubble on the blade. She dropped the razor. “He used my razor. This guy is creepy. It makes me want to torch the entire place. I feel like my things, my space has been violated.”
“Because it has,” Cage said. “After the police have come and gone, you’ll want to gather what you need. You’re staying out at the ranch.”
“I won’t argue with you on that. I don’t feel safe here at all.” She waved a hand toward the dresser. “But I’m not wearing any of this until it goes through the washer on as hot a temperature as I can get it. I need to sterilize that bastard out of everything he’s touched.”
“We can do that,” he said. “After the police lift fingerprints.”
A Colorado Springs police officer arrived within five minutes, dusted for prints, took their statement and asked them to drop by the station to give their fingerprints so they could rule them out when they matched to the ones they’d collected.
Once they were gone, Emily grabbed a suitcase from her closet and stuffed clothes in it. The last thing she put in the suitcase were panties from her drawer. She picked them up with the tips of her fingers and shuddered as she dropped them into her suitcase. “I almost want to burn them and start all over.”
“You can do that,” Cage said.
“I know it’s silly, and it’s just clothing, but a stranger touched them.” Emily trembled.
“He invaded your personal space, your safe space.” Cage pulled her into his arms and held her close. “You have every right to feel the way you do.”
Emily nodded and rested her forehead against his chest. “I don’t like feeling…vulnerable.”
“I get that.” He smoothed a hand over her hair and tipped her chin up. “I’m here to protect you. I’ve got your six.”
She nodded. “Thank you.” Then she squared her shoulders, stepping out of his arms. She placed her toiletries kit on top of the pile of clothing, closed the suitcase, zipped it, grabbed her photo album and headed for the door. “Come on, I can’t stay here another minute.”
She was out the door and standing on the landing waiting when he closed the door and locked it behind him. He slipped an arm around her waist as they descended the stairs and returned to his truck.
Emily tossed her case in the backseat, climbed into the passenger seat, and buckled her belt. She wasn’t even sure she could ever go back to the apartment. It might be a day or two before she felt even close to comfortable going back inside. She knew she would have to soon and get the sugar off the comforter. She might even burn the comforter, although she had only bought it recently.
“Where to?” Cage asked.
“The VA hospital. I want to start going through my patient files.” She gave him directions, and he headed out. She looked back at her apartment as they left. “I don’t think I can ever live there again. If he got in that easily, how would I ever feel safe there?”
“Maybe once we’ve caught the guy, you’ll feel better about it.”
She shook her head. “Nope. There’s no way I’ll feel safe in there again. I’m not sure I’ll feel safe anywhere. The guy’s been in my Jeep, he’s been in my apartment, and he spray painted Gunny’s building out in the middle of freaking nowhere. He knows me. He knows when I’m going to be out, when I’m not going to be in my vehicle, and when he can spray paint the outside of my friend’s building without being caught. He’s watching me.” She shook her head. “I don’t know that I’ll ever feel safe again.”
“Well, as long as we don’t know who it is and he’s not behind bars, you’ve got me looking out for you.”
Emily reached across the console for his hand.
He took hers in his and squeezed it gently. “I’ve got your six. Stick with me, girl.”
She nodded.
“Like glue,” he said with a wink.
Emily had never been so glad to give up a little bit of her freedom for the promise of protection by a former Army Ranger. She was so thankful to have him with her she could kiss him. Oh, who was she kidding? She could kiss him even if he wasn’t her bodyguard.
Chapter 7
They had to make a detour to the police station to record their fingerprints to make sure that the prints that the forensics team had captured were not hers or Cage’s. Finally, they were on their way to the VA hospital where Emily was now even more determined to search through her files to find a patient who could possibly be behind the bizarre and frightening behavior. She had already been mentally cataloging those with whom she’d recently had one-on-one therapy sessions.
When they arrived at the VA, Emily turned to Cage. “I have a key to get into my office area, but I’m not sure I can take you in. You wouldn’t make it past the security guard. He would want to see an employee identification badge since it’s after hours. The best you could do is walk me up to the door, and then wait out here until I come back out. I’d hate the thought of you sitting out here in the parking lot for so long. I might be a couple hours going through the files.”
Cage frowned. “You sure I can’t sneak past the guard?”
She shook her head. “Even if you did, there are security cameras. I could lose my job for letting somebody in who’s not authorized.”
He nodded. “I understand, but I don’t like you going in without me. Can we put this off until tomorrow when the hospital will be opened to the public and people have appointments?”
She nodded. “We could, but I’ll be busy with those appointments.”
“Speaking of appointments, I think you should cancel any one-on-one meetings for this week.”
She pressed her lips together. “Some of these guys really need the help, especially the ones who’ve had suicidal thoughts.”
“Can you conduct them virtually?”
She frowned. “I’ve done it in the past, and I could probably do it for the ones later in the week, but tomorrow would be too soon to organize.”
“Then cancel tomorrow’s meetings and rearrange the ones for the rest of the week that are individual.”
She shook her head. “I hate to do that to my patients. They really need those sessions. You should be able to park yourself, not in the room with my patients, but close by. And I should be all right in my group sessions.”
“I agree,” he said. “Plus, you’re going to invite me into that group session.”
She frowned. “I could only do that if you were a patient of mine.”
“Then make me a patient,” he said.
“I don’t know that I can do that, professionally,” she said. “You and I already spend a lot of time together, which makes it hard to separate personal from professional.”
“Your group doesn’t need to know that I’m not a patient. You don’t have to log me in. Just introduce me, and I’ll blend in.”
She chewed on her bottom lip.
He touched her hand. “Emily, I’m your bodyguard. I can’t protect you if I’m not with you.”
Her brow wrinkled. “And I can’t do my job with a bodyguard in the same room with my patients.”
“I can see that point with your one-on-ones, and you’re probably not in as much danger in a group set
ting, but I want to be there just in case things go FUBAR.”
She looked at him with a quizzical look. “FUBAR?”
“You know, ‘fucked up beyond all repair’.”
She grinned. “The military and their acronyms. I don’t remember Gunny using that one. I do know that he’s used SNAFU on occasion.”
Cage chuckled. “‘Situation normal, all fucked up.’ A favorite of active-duty personnel.”
“I’ll have to remember that one.” Emily turned her hand over and slipped it into the palm of his. “I know it’s your job, and you have to follow me around, but thank you anyway for being here with me. It makes it easier and a little less frightening. Look, I’ll only go in for thirty minutes and do a cursory look through my files for anyone who strikes me as a potential stalker.” She laughed. “I need to brush up on my stalker personality traits, so I know what I’m looking for.”
“If you have remote access to your files, you could do your search in the basement of the lodge. Swede can help you look up patient names to see if any have been arrested for any kind of violent crimes or if any have had any restraining orders against them.”
Emily hiked an eyebrow. “He can do that?”
“Swede can do a lot of things.”
“I thought only law enforcement officials had the ability to get into those kinds of databases.”
Cage shook his head. “Jake assures me that Swede has access to a lot of things he probably shouldn’t.”
Emily pressed her lips together. “I don’t know. I can’t share the names of my patients with Swede. It would be a violation of the Hippocratic Oath and HIPAA regulations.”
“Swede can get you set up, and you can do it yourself.”
She nodded. “I could do that.”
“And seriously, while you’re in your office, cancel the appointments for tomorrow and rearrange the individual ones for the rest of the week to conduct them virtually. If you do, you can conduct those from the lodge. Swede can get you set up in a room and make it private.”
“I’ll think about it,” Emily said. “But I do have a couple of group sessions. I can’t really do those virtually.”
He nodded. “And I’ll be there with you for those.”
“Deal,” she said.
They got out of the truck and walked toward the building. When they reached the door, Cage gripped her arm and turned her toward him. “I really don’t like leaving you here.”
“I’ll be okay. There’s a security guard. If I need anything, I can call him. The VA hospital has its own police force.”
“Yeah, but they can’t be everywhere at all times.”
“I know, but I’m sure they’ll respond if I have any difficulties, and nobody should be able to get past them without an employee badge.”
Cage’s eyes narrowed. “Have you considered that it might not be a patient but a fellow employee, or even one of your peers?”
Her eyebrows formed a V over her nose. “I hadn’t really thought about that.” Her eyes narrowed and she stared into the distance. “Actually, I know even less about my peers than I know about my patients. But my gut feeling is no, at least I think no.”
“Anybody you know having difficulty in their marriage? Single guys who’ve hit on you in the cafeteria?”
“No,” she said, “I don’t recall any incidents that would raise warning flags for me.”
“Well, think about it,” he advised. “If any of your peers are there in the hospital on their day off, be wary.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“And that goes for any support staff as well, like administrative support and janitors. Just be aware at all times. When you get into your office lock the door behind you.”
She laughed. “For what it’s worth, whoever my stalker is has been pretty good at getting past locks in cars and in buildings and he knows my phone number…my personal phone number. I don’t advertise that anywhere.”
“It’s in your employee records,” Cage pointed out. “Anybody with access to the employee database would know it or be able to get to it easily.”
“True,” she said. “Okay, I’ll be careful. I’ll even put a chair up to the doorknob to make sure nobody can get in. I’ll have the security guard on speed dial.”
“And if anybody or anything makes you at all uncomfortable, text me—I will get past the security guards.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Now you’re scaring me even more.”
His face lost all humor. “This is serious business. The guy has committed two crimes already. They may not be considered violent, but it could turn that way pretty quickly.”
She nodded. “Okay then, I’m going in. If I’m not out in thirty minutes…call me. I have a terrible memory.”
“Give me your phone,” Cage demanded.
“Why?” she handed it to him.
He brought up her alarm app and set it for thirty minutes. “No excuses. Thirty minutes.”
She turned and entered the building.
Cage watched through the glass until she passed the security officer and disappeared into the elevator. He didn’t return to his truck in the parking garage. Instead, he paced in front of the building. He knew he could get into the actual hospital if he wanted to go in to visit a patient, but the clinic was in a different part of the structure and the offices weren’t open during the weekend. Again, he’d have to get past the security guard and potentially locked doors to go with Emily.
Fifteen minutes passed and he’d worn a hole in the grass on the lawn outside the hospital, pacing. A text came through on his cellphone. He glanced down. It was from her.
Just letting you know I’m okay. My door’s locked. Nobody’s bothered me, and I haven’t seen anybody in the hallways. I’ll be out in fifteen.
He let go of the breath he’d held without even knowing it. She was okay. and he was worrying too much, but then he’d never been a bodyguard before, and he found that he really cared about his client. Emily was a sweet and caring woman whose job was to help people. And she did help people. She didn’t deserve to be scared to go home or be alone. It made Cage angry that someone would do this to her. When he found out who was doing it, he’d…
He had to remind himself he was living in a civilian world. He couldn’t take the law into his own hands for vigilante justice. But if the stalker attacked Emily, Cage would take him down without hesitation.
His thoughts went to the armory Jake had shown him on his first day. He needed to be armed. He had his conceal carry license. As soon as he returned to the lodge, he’d put on his shoulder holster, load his 9mm pistol and make it part of his routine to wear it every day. His hand-to-hand combat skills were good, but only if he could get close enough to his enemy to use them. If the enemy was armed, he’d have to be prepared to shoot him. He wouldn’t have time to close the distance to use his hands to stop the guy, especially if he wasn’t aiming for him but aiming for Emily. Fifteen more minutes passed, the last five with Cage watching his watch, checking it every other thirty seconds. At thirty minutes, he headed for the door, texting as he went.
Your thirty minutes is up. Where are you?
He looked up when he reached the door.
Emily was just pushing through it, wearing a smile. “I told you I’d be out at thirty minutes, and here I am.”
He let go of the tension that had been mounting the entire thirty minutes she’d been out of his sight. “Come on, let’s get back out to the ranch.”
He cupped her elbow and led her out to the parking garage. They climbed the stairs and emerged from the stairwell. His truck was where he’d left it and everything appeared normal as they approached the tailgate, but when he reached the passenger door something looked funny about the windshield.
Emily gasped at the same time Cage realized that somebody had bashed in his front windshield. The glass was completely shattered to the point that there were shards lying on the seat in front. He muttered a string of curse words, pulled out his cellphone a
nd called the police. While the phone rang, he looked around. Not only had his windshield been destroyed, his headlights had been smashed and the hood had dents, as well.
Emily started to walk away from him.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. “Stay with me.”
“We need to notify the VA Hospital’s police force.”
“And we will, but we’ll do that together.”
She pointed up at the ceiling. “They have security cameras. They might have caught who did this on video.”
“True.” He cupped her elbow, and they walked toward the stairwell, his gaze scanning the parking garage looking for movement and not seeing any. His main concern was to get Emily out of there and into the hospital where it was safer.
They entered through the door he’d paced in front of and crossed to the security desk. The guard frowned. “Dr. Strayhorn, did you forget something?” His gaze went from her to the man behind her.
She shook her head. “No, but there’s been an incident in the parking garage.” She explained what had happened and the security guard notified the VA police dispatcher.
They sent one of the VA police officers to investigate. A Colorado Springs police officer arrived soon after. Cage and Emily walked with him out to the parking garage. Soon after, the Colorado Springs police officer arrived, the same detective who’d investigated the break-in at her apartment appeared.
The detective took pictures and dusted for prints, but Cage knew already that they wouldn’t find any prints on the truck. They would find it on whatever tool the attacker had used to bash in his windshield and his headlights, if they could find that. The detective questioned them and made notes on the case to add to the file. They called for a tow truck and hauled the truck off to an impound lot where they would determine if there was any more evidence to collect before they would release it.
Cage notified his insurance company and arranged for a rental car to be delivered to the VA hospital where they waited. Two and a half hours after they’d arrived at the hospital, Cage drove away with Emily beside him in a rented four-wheel drive SUV. They sat in silence as he navigated traffic to get out of Colorado Springs and onto the highway toward Fool’s Gold, the little town on the other side of the pass.
