Page 56 of Forced By an Obsessive Bratva Stalker

He laughed on the other line. “Don’t beat yourself up. I’m not mad.”

He should be mad at me for only using him when I needed his help.

I lowered my head, fingers rubbing my eyes. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“It’s fine. Really,” he said. “What’s up? How can I be of help?”

I hesitated, already feeling bad about my behavior. “Are you busy right now?”

“Uhh…not really. Why? Do you wanna meet up?”

“Yes, please,” I answered. “If that’s not too much to ask.”

“No, no, no, it’s fine.” He cleared his throat. “Where’d you have in mind?”

***

Less than an hour later, we met at my favorite café. I got there first, but before I walked inside, I spotted him across the street.

Jimmy waved at me, quickening his pace as he approached the shop. “Hey,” he greeted me, his hazel eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Hey.” I smiled back at him.

“Wow!” he said softly, his gaze sweeping over my body. “You look…amazing.”

I raised my brows; my smile remained. “Jimmy, I’m dressed in my regular outfit, and my hair is a mess.”

“Just take the compliment, will you?” He adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses.

“All right.” I laughed lightly. “If you say so. Thank you.”

“See? That wasn’t so hard.”

I spotted the leaf in his dirty-blond hair and asked teasingly. “What, did you run through the woods to get here?”

His eyes squinted slightly. “Why? What do you mean?”

“You got a little something in your hair.” I reached out to brush it off.

“Ohh. Thank you.”

Jimmy helped me with my backpack after it slipped off my shoulder. He even opened the café door for me and didn’t move until I was already inside.

“Awww. Such a gentleman,” I said in a soft tone.

He followed me inside, and we sat at my usual spot, laptops on the table. I waited for him while he picked up our orders. Jimmy knew exactly how I liked my coffee. Black. Neat.

“Here you go.” He placed the cup on the table in front of me.

“Thank you.” I looked up at him with a smile.

He sat across from me. “All right. So, what’s this about?”

I leaned in. “Can you pull up the CCTV footage from the festival on campus?”

“The one from weeks ago?”

I nodded.