Stalking

by Calle J. Brookes

  Other Titles

  By

  Calle J. Brookes

  Paranormal

  Dardanos, Co.

  The Blood King

  Awakening the Demon’s Queen

  The Healer’s Heart

  Once Wolf Bitten

  Live or Die

  The Seer’s Strength

  The Warrior’s Woman

  The Wolf’s Redemption

  A Warrior’s Quest

  The Wolf God & His Mate

  Out of the Darkness

  Warrior Blind

  Dardanos, Co: The Adrastos

  The Outcast

  The Forlorn

  Romantic Suspense

  Watching

  Wanting

  Second Chances

  Hunting

  Running

  Redeeming

  Revealing

  Stalking

  Coming Soon

  The Witch (Dardanos)

  Waiting (PAVAD prequel)

  STALKING

  Calle J. Brookes

  The Lost River Literary name and imprint are the sole properties of independent publishers Calle J. Brookes and B.G. Lashbrooks. They cannot be reproduced or used in any manner; nor can any of their publications or designs be used without expressed written permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, or locations, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  Copyright © 2014 Calle J. Brookes

  Cover by B.G. Lashbrooks

  All rights reserved.

  STALKING

  A

  PAVAD: FBI Romantic Suspense Novella

  Chapter One

  Emma Reynolds would always draw his attention, no matter who else was around. She probably always would. J.T. Thompkins saw her the instant he entered the political science building.

  Other guys watched her, too, but Emma had no idea the effect she had on men. On him.

  She hurried across the lobby to meet him. His hands immediately slicked with nerves and he felt his cheeks flush.

  J.T. pushed his glasses back into place and tried to gain control of himself. He wasn’t a stupid teenaged boy anymore, too nerdy to catch the girl of his dreams. He was a sophisticated, well-respected federal agent with one of the best field offices in the country, the best actually. And he was almost thirty years old! At least eight years older than most of the co-eds in this building. Than her.

  So why did one beautiful woman freak him out so badly?

  “J.T.” She wrapped her hand around his forearm, and—call him crazy—clung to him. That wasn’t like her, not at all. He hugged her for a brief moment.

  “Em? What’s wrong?” He studied her for a moment, trying to be objective. Her nose was red from the cold, strands of her long strawberry blonde hair peeked out from beneath a Christmas tree knit cap.

  And her green eyes were frightened. J.T. stood up straighter and put his hands on her waist. He resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and tell her not to worry. Promise her he’d take care of whatever it was. Always. He couldn’t stand it when she was upset about anything. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  “It’s probably nothing. And I’m sorry to bother you at work. I should have just called campus security or the police or something—“

  “Emma… just tell me what happened?”

  “Someone broke into my car.” Her voice broke, and he realized just how close to tears she was.

  “Where is it? Was anything taken?”

  “No, something was left.” She trembled against him and wrapped a finger in the scarf hanging down from his neck. She was pushed against him, and she was scared. Had he ever seen her scared before? Other than the time her sister was shot? Not Emma, she was fearless. What was going on? “What?

  “A rose. And a note, I think. I didn’t stay in the parking lot long enough to read it.”

  “And you’re certain someone broke in? You didn’t leave it unlocked?” He didn’t think she was freaking out over nothing. That wasn’t the way Emma Reynolds operated; if something had scared her, there was probably good reason. “Let’s go take a look.”

  She nodded, then shocked him to his toes by grabbing his hand and clinging. “Thank you... I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Why didn’t you call your dad?”

  “And have him go overboard? After what happened to Kelly last year, I don’t want him to freak.”

  Her older sister had been a victim of a stalker that had focused on Kelly’s entire forensics team. The stalker had even set off explosives in the building where Kelly—and J.T. and Dan—worked. One clerk had been killed, and both Kelly and Ally—Emma and Kelly’s step-mother—had been injured. “And I knew you would be just as good.”

  “Hardly.” Her father was one of the best agents J.T. had ever seen. He’d consider himself lucky if he ended up being even half as good.

  He took one look at the duct tape residue on her window and the tape lying all over the snow.

  He’d offered to fix that window for her three months ago, but she’d smiled at him and said she was fine with the peace-sign printed tape for the time being. Said it gave the car character. “Still taping the window, I see.”

  “I’m rethinking that after today.” She shivered and he doubted it was fully from the cold. “I unlocked my door, and the… present… was in the passenger seat. I got out of my car, found the tape, and then immediately went back inside. I called you from the lobby. I figured better safe than sorry.”

  “Smart thinking.” He had on his gloves, but was careful to handle only the edge of the envelope.

  He slid the note out and open. He read. “Your gift was done by your lover with care, in hopes that together…we will soon be there…’’’ He looked at her after he read it. “Something from a boyfriend?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not dating anyone, J.T. I haven’t since before coming to St. Louis.”

  Wow. That had been a long time ago. Why hadn’t he known that? “Why?”

  Chapter Two

  Because the guy she wanted had yet to get the hint, that was why. And short of getting totally naked in front of him and shouting her feelings out at the family dinner table next time he came over for Ally’s pot roast, she feared J. T. would never get it.

  Emma had even asked him to the movies and the theatre. Both times he’d misunderstood her intent and thought it was a ‘just friends’ kind of thing.

  She’d thought about trying one more time, but what if he was just trying to not her feelings? Trying to let her down easily?

  Maybe J. T. just wasn’t interested in anything romantic with her? And the sweet, kind, wonderful guy he was, he just didn’t know how to let her down easily?

  She hadn’t answered his question yet, had she? “There’s a guy I’ve been interested in for a while. But he doesn’t seem to be interested. And somehow I don’t think he’d do this.”

  “Are you sure? Sometimes we guys can be pretty stupid with a beautiful woman.”

  “No. I’m sure.” Should she just say it outright? She’d tried that before. In the middle of the movie theatre.

  It hadn’t quite ended up the way she’d intended—the kid who’d been on J.T.’s side had spent the entire movie talking computer tech jargon with J.T.

  She opened her mouth to tell him, but the words just wouldn’t come. Instead, she diverted his attention back to the car. “What do we do next?”

  He stared at her for a moment, then looked at the car. “You’re absolutely certain you don’t know who would do this?”
<
br />   Emma considered it. “No. I don’t know who would go this far. And all of my friends would have at least picked up the tape instead of tossing it on the ground. They broke into my car, J.T.” And she would admit it—that scared her.

  Her dad dealt with the darkest side of humanity every day—and so did Kelly and Ally. And Emma had certainly seen enough evil when she’d lived with her mother all those years. Emma wasn’t ignorant of the bad that could happen.

  Not at all.

  “It scared me. A lot. I should have called my dad—“

  ***

  Wet, green eyes, and a soft mouth that trembled. J.T. melted, right there in the parking lot. “Ah, Em… don’t look at me like that. I can’t take that.”

  Before he even realized he was doing it, he dropped the note back into the passenger seat without looking and then pulled her against his chest. Emma fit perfectly. “It’s ok. I’ll keep you safe. No matter what.”

  He just held her, right there next to her vandalized car. Finally, he pulled away, but wrapped one hand around her smaller one. Her fingers were so cold. Where were her gloves? “We’re going to have to file a police report. To be on the safe side.”

  “My dad’s going to have to know, isn’t he?”

  “Yes. And he needs to know. Unless you plan to move out until we catch this guy?” She lived with her dad, step-mother, and their five children—all under the age of sixteen. He knew how Emma’s mind worked, and her heart. She’d do anything to protect those kids.

  “That’s what I’m going to do.” Resolve hit her face. “I’ve got some money saved up. I’ll get a hotel room—“

  That wouldn’t do. How many dead bodies in hotels had he seen with the FBI? There was no way he’d let her stay in a hotel alone. “No. You’ll stay with me.”

  He’d recently purchased a house from the head of forensics and it was definitely big enough for him and Emma. The woman he’d purchased it from had had seven kids. It was a great older house. He’d been lucky she was willing to make him such a good deal, and he’d snapped it up on impulse.

  “But we don’t know how long it will take to find… this person. I can’t impose on you that long.”

  “It’s not imposing. Today was my last day at work until January 15th. I can keep you safe. And we’ll work with your dad to find this guy before I have to go back.” And having her with him, where he knew she’d be safe sounded absolutely right to him.

  “I really don’t want to call my dad.”

  “I’ll do it. We’ll get him, and Cody or Sam over here as soon as possible. We’ll find this guy. I promise you that.”

  Chapter Three

  Calling her father went about as well as she’d thought it would. He’d gone into over-protective father mode in an instant. But J.T. calmed him down enough to keep Emma from ending up handcuffed to her father’s side for the next few weeks.

  She had no doubt the two men she cared about the most in this world would be able to find the freak responsible for the note.

  But that didn’t mean she wasn’t half-tempted to hold her father’s hand until the scary time passed. Ironic, since she’d been separated from her father for fifteen years, only reuniting with him by accident when Kelly transferred to the same field office.

  If holding her dad’s hand wasn’t an option, cuddling against J.T.’s chest probably wasn’t one, either. No matter how much she wanted exactly that. She looked at the two men.

  They were a lot alike, in some ways. Both were about the same size and build. J.T.’s hair was blond and it sometimes looked like he’d forgotten to comb it. Her dad’s was a mix of gray and light red. J.T.’s eyes were a very pretty gray, when you looked closely. Her dad’s were the same green Emma saw in the mirror every morning. She and her sisters Kelly and Gracie had all inherited their father’s eyes—something their mother had hated about all three of them.

  Her dad wore a suit, like he normally did. J.T. had on trousers and she suspected a sweater.

  He wasn’t a classic jock good-looking kind of guy. J.T. was definitely the more bookish and sensitive type. That was one of the things she most loved about him.

  He’d made a point of checking on her the day after Kelly was hurt—both times Kelly was hurt. And he’d answered her questions about why someone would do the evil things to her sister that Kelly hadn’t deserved. J.T. had been there the day she’d showed up on her dad’s doorstep with Gracie in tow. She’d actually kidnapped her sister that day, but it was the only way she’d known to help her family. Her true family, not her mother.

  Emma had always known the father she’d not seen since she was very young was out there waiting for them after their mother had stolen them from him years ago.

  Emma had never stopped looking. She’d checked the internet over and over, looking for some signs of who their father had been. Her mother had hidden their birth certificates and changed their names. All they had had to go on was Kelly’s memories of their father and the life they’d left behind. And Dan Reynolds, a cop, hadn’t been all that uncommon. Emma had been looking into another lead in Portland when her sister had called and said the man was alive in St. Louis.

  Emma had been plotting how to rescue her younger sister Gracie from the boarding school her mother had stashed her in before Kelly’s call that day.

  When their father’s location had been revealed to her, Emma had hopped into her car—dressed as her sister Kelly—and used Kelly’s FBI credentials to fool Gracie’s school into thinking she had permission to get Gracie.

  Their mother had banned Emma from Gracie’s school the year before, because Emma had stood up to the woman yet again.

  But all of that was behind them now. They had a good life and a great family in St. Louis with their father and his new wife. Ally and Kelly had actually been close friends before the forensics team transferred to St. Louis.

  It had been a little difficult for Kelly to accept that her best friend and her father had gotten involved, especially so quickly. Add in Ally’s unexpected pregnancy that resulted in baby D.J. and baby Meghan, it had been a whammy for Kelly.

  For Emma it had been perfect, a second chance at a real family for all of them. Gracie was happy, Emma was happy, Ally’s two kids from her first marriage were happy, and Emma thought Kelly was almost happy.

  But their dad tended to be a little too overprotective sometimes. Of all of them.

  He’d asked her four times if she was ok. And he’d hovered over Sam, the forensics tech, while she dusted the VW for prints.

  “I don’t think we’ll get much from the outside of the car, or the tape. It’s too wet out now. We may get lucky on the inside of the car or the note. But to be honest, the guy was probably wearing gloves,’’ Sam said to J.T.

  He’d stayed at Emma’s side the entire time she was explaining to her father what had happened. It had taken every bit of strength she had to pull her hand out of his before her father had arrived.

  She didn’t know when it had first become clear to her how she felt about J.T. But she remembered the surprising rush of heat she’d felt the first time she’d hugged him. How perfect it had felt then.

  He’d stiffened against her, then pulled away.

  She’d never figured out why, unless he just didn’t like touched. She knew he wasn’t gay—he’d had dates since she’d met him—but he’d never turned his attention on her that way.

  And she didn’t know what else to do to get his attention on her.

  “Dad, I’ll be ok. I’m going to stay with J.T. He’s got plenty of room.”

  “And I have plenty of time off. I’ll find this guy, Dan. You can count on that.”

  “I’m trusting you with my baby, J.T. I don’t think there’s anything else I can say about that. I thought you had plans for your vacation?”

  Emma looked at J.T. “I don’t want to mess with your plans. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I just plan to paint the rooms on the first floor of the house. The G
lendowers had just gotten started rehabbing when I bought the place. And my dad is planning to come up to help in time for New Years. That’s still three weeks away.’’

  “How did you get so much time off?”

  “I saved it up. I never go on vacation—unless it’s to drive to my dad’s now and then. So I had the time. No big deal. But, I’m sure it won’t take that long to find this guy, Em. Most stalkers are pretty stupid, really.”

  She’d avoided using that term to think about the person responsible. She didn’t want to think about someone stalking her. She shivered again, and wrapped her arms around her middle.

  J.T. shocked her when he slipped out of his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Emma pulled it tight and tried to forget that it smelled like him.

  She had it bad for him, didn’t she? She’d thought she’d convinced herself to move on. Maybe not.

  “I just want to find him and stop him before he does anything stupid.” Or evil or frightening or whatever. She tried to think of anyone she may have done something to, someone she may have met who would think this type of act was appropriate.

  She couldn’t. “Dad? How much longer will this take? I want to get out of here.”

  “I’ll have your car driven back to the house. You can ride with me. Get your things, eat dinner. Then I’ll drive you over to J.T.’s. Or J.T. can come over for dinner. How’s that sound, son?”

  Her dad really liked J.T. and J.T.’s best friend Josh Compton. They’d been at his place grilling steaks the first time she’d met them. Or… trying to. J.T. was notoriously bad around anything involved with food prep.

  One of the reasons she suspected he showed up at her dad’s around dinner time a few times each week.