by B. J Daniels
When she’d found the note under her windshield wiper, at first she’d thought it was an advertisement.
Instead, scrawled words had been written on the sheet of paper.
I’m watching you.
This time you won’t get away.
I am going to miss your long hair.
The paper began to shake in her fingers. She had felt him watching her. It hadn’t been her imagination. He was out there and he wasn’t through with her.
She read the words again, all easily visible in the diffused light from the closest streetlamp. All her bravado fell away. The man wasn’t giving up. He was out there. Maybe even watching her right now, wanting to see her fall apart.
McKenzie slumped against her car as she looked out into the darkness, unable to pretend any longer that she wasn’t terrified. She’d thought she could go on as if nothing had happened. As if nothing kept happening.
Suddenly, Hayes was at her side, his arms coming around her. “What is it?” His gaze took in the sheet of paper trembling in her fingers. Using his sleeve, he took it from her. “Get in my car. I’ll call the police.”
She nodded and started for his rental SUV. Earlier, she’d told him how strong and resilient she was. She didn’t feel either right now. She wanted to lose herself in his strong arms. For so long she’d made her way alone, determined not to lean on anyone, not to need anyone. Right now, she needed Hayes—and more than just to protect her.
Behind her, she heard him on the phone. Her gaze swept through the dark neighborhood. A breeze stirred the tree boughs, throwing shadows everywhere. Was he out there watching her? Enjoying tormenting her?
McKenzie quickened her step, grabbed the passenger-side door handle and flung it open. She practically threw herself into the car, slamming the door behind her. Heart pounding, she tried to catch her breath. Anger mixed with fear, a deadly combination that had her wiping furiously at her tears.
She’d never felt helpless before. It was a horrible feeling, one she couldn’t bear. Somehow, she had to make it end, and falling into bed with Hayes wasn’t the answer as much as she would have liked to.
As Hayes finished his call and climbed into the SUV behind the wheel, she turned to him. “I have to find this man.”
“I’ve called the police. They’re on their way. They’ll see if they can get a print off—”
“He won’t have left fingerprints on the note he left for me. He’s too smart for that.” She shook her head. “Nor do I believe the police will find him. That’s why I have to.”
Hayes stared across the seat at her. “What are you saying?”
“I need to set a trap for him.”
He held up a hand. “Hold on.”
“No, I can’t let him continue to torment me. I have to find him and put an end to this, one way or another.”
* * *
HAYES DIDN’T KNOW how to tell her, but decided honesty might be the best approach. “I would imagine he will find you before you find him.” He saw her reaction to his words. “He’s fooling with you because you made a fool of him the other night. He has only one option. He needs to right this. Which means there’s a really good chance that he isn’t some psycho passing through town who just happened to see you the other night. He’s a hometown psycho who isn’t finished with you.”
Her lower lip quivered for a moment before she bit down on it. “You sound as if you’ve dealt with this kind of...person before.”
He nodded. “I’ve crossed paths with several. They’re calculating, cunning and unpredictable—and extremely dangerous.”
She leaned toward him and he was reminded of their kiss. He could smell her clean scent and remembered the feel of her in his arms. “Help me set a trap for him. I don’t want to wait until it’s on his terms.”
“It’s not that easy—”
McKenzie drew back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. You have your brother’s wedding and you’re leaving town—”
“Do you really think I can leave you now?” He thought of that strange feeling the moment he’d looked into her eyes three nights ago—not to mention the kiss just moments before. He took her hands in his, reveling at the touch of her skin against his. This woman made him feel things he’d never felt before, never dreamed he would ever feel.
“I can’t let you go after this man alone. I’m staying until I know you’re safe.” He wasn’t sure he could leave even then and that scared him more than he wanted to admit.
He thought of his brother Tag coming to Montana for Christmas and falling for Lily. Now Tag was getting married and talking about settling in Big Sky. Hayes had thought his brother was nuts to leave behind everything like that.
Hayes felt as if his head were spinning. All he knew for sure was that he had to protect this woman—whatever it took. He couldn’t think beyond that, didn’t dare.
“I won’t be safe as long as he’s out there. You said so yourself. I don’t see that I have a choice.”
A car turned onto the street. The headlights washed over them. Hayes glanced in his rearview mirror as the cop car pulled up behind them.
Hayes didn’t have a choice, either. He leaned over and kissed her quickly before climbing out with the note that had been left on her windshield. Like her, he doubted there would be fingerprints on it. Just as he doubted the police would be able to find this man, given how little they had to go on.
The only thing Hayes didn’t doubt was that the psycho would be coming for McKenzie.
* * *
THE POLICE OFFICER bagged the note her attacker had left and promised to let her know if they found any prints. McKenzie could see that Hayes wasn’t holding out any more hope than she was.
The cop walked around the neighborhood, shone his flashlight into the bushes and trees, but to no one’s surprise, found nothing.
“He’s right,” Hayes said after the officer left and he walked her back to her car. “The best thing you can do right now would be to take a long vacation somewhere far away from here.”
They stood under Montana’s big sky. Millions of stars glittered over their heads and a cool, white moon now buoyed along among them. The June night had turned crisp and cool. This far north even summer nights could chill you. Especially if there was a killer on the loose.
“Do you really think the man would forget about me?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer because they both knew that answer. “I can’t run away. I would always be looking over my shoulder. No, I have to end this here and soon.”
Hayes groaned. “How did I know you were going to say that?”
She shrugged and met his gaze, losing herself in his dark eyes. It would have been easy to get on a plane with him and go to Texas and pretend none of this had happened.
But it had happened. Not to mention, she had a business here, people who were counting on her. She wasn’t going anywhere—not that Hayes had given her the Texas option to begin with.
She felt strangely calmer as she leaned against the side of her car and looked at the Texas cowboy standing by her. Once she’d settled down enough so she could actually think clearly, she’d made the decision quickly—just as she’d done with her business.
She couldn’t wait around for this horrible man to try to abduct her again and do nothing. If Hayes wouldn’t help her, then she would figure out something on her own. She’d been on her own and done all right. She wasn’t going to let one crazy psycho change that.
“I have another open house tomorrow.” She held up her hand before Hayes could argue. “As you said, he knows who I am. He also knows where I am going to be. For all I know he was one of the people who came through the house earlier. I could have talked to him.” She shuddered at the thought and hugged herself.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised that he was one of the men who came t
hrough today,” Hayes said. “Seeing you feeds whatever it is that drives him. He likes seeing you scared. He’ll play with you until he’s ready to make his move, until an opportunity presents itself.”
She was no fool. She was still scared, but knowing that the man wanted her scared made her determined not to let her fear hold her back. “So you’re saying it could be a while before he makes his move?”
“Possibly. Unless you give him the opportunity he needs—like at an open house. You do realize this is speculation based on what I know about men like this. As I said earlier, they’re unpredictable. I could be completely off base. There is no way to know what he will do next.”
She nodded, considering this. “He feels safe because I didn’t see his face the night he attacked me. If you’re right about what drives him, he won’t be able to stay away.”
Hayes took off his Stetson and raked a hand through his thick, dark hair. She recalled the feel of those fingers when he’d taken the nape of her neck in his hand during their kiss.
“If you’re determined to do this, then I’m staying down here in the valley tonight. I’m also going to the open house tomorrow,” Hayes said.
She shook her head. “He won’t make his move as long as you’re around.”
He stuffed his hat back down on his head and stepped to her to take her shoulders in his hands. “He’s just waiting for the chance to get you alone again. He will make that happen with or without me around because he knows I can’t watch you all the time. I’ll be there tomorrow, like it or not.”
McKenzie knew she didn’t have the strength to tackle this tonight. “All right,” she agreed. She had mixed feelings about having Hayes around. On one hand she would definitely feel safer, but he was a distraction she couldn’t afford right now. She had to think clearly.
“He’ll come to the open house tomorrow.”
Hayes nodded in agreement. “That would be my guess. He’s trying to build up his confidence. Being around you and you not knowing how close he is...well, that will make him feel more in control.”
“Is there any way to get photos of everyone who comes through the open house?”
“Consider it done. I’ll also talk to the police about running the license plates of those who show up.”
She smiled at him. “I do appreciate what you’re trying to do to keep me safe.” She sobered as she looked into his handsome face. “I don’t like involving you in this. If this man is as dangerous as we both suspect—”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll follow you to your condo. But first let me check your car.”
McKenzie watched him look under and around her car before popping the hood and checking the engine. “You can’t think he’d put a bomb under my hood.”
“Not really. But I do think he might disable your car so it stalls on the way to your condo and while you’re trying to figure out what is wrong...”
She got the idea. Distraction. That’s how she’d fallen into the man’s snare the first time. A memory of the dark night at the grocery-store parking lot flashed before her. She’d been fiddling with her keys, her mind on the phone call and Gus. Gus, she thought with a silent curse. Maybe she should have called the police after she found him on her doorstep at the condo. Was this note merely him trying to scare her? Or was it from the man who’d tried to abduct her?
As she looked out into the darkness, McKenzie wasn’t sure who would be caught in the trap she hoped to set for her would-be abductor. Whoever he was, she didn’t feel him out there watching her. But he had been there. A psycho who, for whatever reason, had set his sights on her.
* * *
AT HER CONDO, McKenzie unlocked the door while Hayes surveyed the neighborhood. He hated that there were too many places for a man to hide. Also, because Bozeman was so small, he had to assume that the man knew where she lived.
He had McKenzie remain by the door until he could check to make sure they were alone in the condo. The place was neat and clean and sparsely furnished. He got the feeling that she didn’t spend much time here other than to sleep.
The lower floor consisted of a kitchen, dining room, living room and half bath. Upstairs he found a full bath and two bedrooms. Just the right size for a single woman who worked all the time.
“Can you tell if anyone has been here?” he asked her when he returned to where he’d left her downstairs just inside the door.
She glanced around, clearly startled by the question. “I don’t think so. How would he have gotten in?”
“I didn’t see any forced entry, but if the man is someone you know and has access to your keys...”
“You mean like an old boyfriend?” She shook her head. “No one has a key to my condo. Nor can I recall anyone having access to my keys.”
“Good.” He met her gaze. “Do you own a weapon?”
She swallowed and looked uncomfortable. “I have pepper spray, Hayes.” His name seemed to come of its own volition. She appeared surprised as if she, too, had just realized that she’d never said it before. “I also have a spare bedroom, if you want to...” She looked away.
“Thanks,” he said without hesitation. He was planning to stay, whether she liked it or not.
“The spare bedroom—”
“I know where it is,” he said.
She nodded. “I can’t take being afraid all the time.”
“We’ll find him.” Even as he said it, Hayes hoped he wasn’t promising something he couldn’t deliver. He would find him, but before the man got to McKenzie? That was what worried him.
She glanced at her watch. “Would you like a drink? I could use one.” She headed for the kitchen.
He followed. As she pulled out a bottle of wine from the refrigerator, he said, “I’m going to need to know about everyone who came through the open house today—at least all of them you can remember. Do you have something I can write on?”
She poured them each a glass of wine before removing a notebook and pen from the small desk in the corner of the kitchen. They sat down in the living room on furniture that felt and smelled new. He doubted she had many—if any—guests over, including men. No time to date, he suspected.
That also explained why the man who had attacked her had chosen her. A businesswoman with a lot on her mind. She was a classic case of the perfect female victim. Had the man been following her? Or had he picked her at random? Hayes wished he knew. It would help find the bastard.
“Okay, from when the first person came in after you got to the open house...”
She nodded, took a sip of her wine and began to go through them. He quickly weeded out the women and most of the couples.
“There was that one man near the end...” She stared thoughtfully into space for a moment. “You might have seen him. I was talking to him when you arrived.”
Hayes recalled a tall man with a head of thick, brown hair and light-colored eyes. He looked like a former football player. In fact, Hayes recalled wondering if the man had played for the Bobcats while attending Montana State University. He’d been wearing a Bobcat jacket.
“Early forties, big, not bad-looking?”
She nodded. “He seemed interested in the house—until I saw him later when he was leaving.”
Hayes frowned. “What changed your mind?”
“You’re going to think I’m silly, but he hadn’t driven to the open house. I realized he must live in the neighborhood.”
“He could have parked some distance away.”
She nodded. “I suppose, but as I was watching him walk away, he seemed to sense me watching him and turned. It was his expression... This is where you’re going to think I’m nuts, but he turned to look back, right at me as if he knew I would be there watching him, and the look on his face...” She took a drink of her wine. “It was as if he’d put something over on me.”
Hayes felt a fissure of unease move through him. “You think it could have been the man who attacked you?”
“He was big enough.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. He mentioned that he had a wife.”
“Probably to put you at ease.”
“Maybe. It’s just that he seemed...nice, gentle even, almost shy.”
“Ted Bundy seemed the same way to his victims.”
MCKENZIE FINISHED HER wine and poured them both another glass. “Why would he take a chance like that, not just coming to the open house, but actually talking to me?”
“Maybe he wanted to see if you recognized him.”
She cupped the wineglass in her hand as she felt a shudder move through her. “Is it possible I was that close to him again and I didn’t know it?” That alone terrified her. Could she really not sense the danger?
“It’s why the cops take video of people at crime scenes and funerals. Criminals like to return to the scene of the crime. In your case, be close to one of their victims.”
“He is safe—until he tries to abduct me again.” She shivered. “If he doesn’t try again, he’ll have gotten away with it.” She felt her eyes suddenly widened in alarm. “There have been others, haven’t there?”
“More than likely. But that can help. If we find out who this man is, maybe we can place him wherever those other abductions took place.”
“You think he killed them.”
Hayes didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. “I’m sure the police are looking into other abductions or missing persons around the area.... I’ll check with them tomorrow. Tell me about tomorrow’s open house.”
“It’s out in the country. It’s fairly...isolated.”
“Then I’m definitely going to be there. Don’t worry, I’ll be discreet. You won’t even know I’m around. I’ll want to go out earlier than you. Will you be going to your office in the morning even though it’s a Sunday?”
