Page 140 of Stalkers Anonymous

He swings the doors open. Hailey’s eyes go wide as she takes it all in.

“Whoa,” is all I can manage.

It’s a stakeout suite. A stalker’s paradise. The walls are lined with foam soundproofing, and there’s a workstation built into the left wall—three monitors, a laptop dock, two sets of headphones on a hook. There’s a small fridge mounted under the counter and a bench seat along the right wall that looks just soft enough to sleep on. Blackout fabric covers the rear windows. The only light source is mounted above the workstation—a neon-pink sign that reads, in bold font: STALKERS ANONYMOUS.

Hailey, who has not said a word for thirty whole seconds, leans into the back of the van and looks around, then turns to Tyler. “Question.”

He’s too eager to answer. “Yeah?”

“Did you make that sign yourself?”

“I commissioned it under a different name and had it sent to the wrong address. I waited for them to deliver it, then swiped the package off their porch.”

I nearly jump back when Hailey all but squeals, clapping her hands together. “I love it!”

But I’m more skeptical than she is. “What happens if you get pulled over and they ask to see what’s in the back of the van?”

Tyler grins widely, like he’s been waiting for one of us to ask. “Cole, if I am ever pulled over by a cop and that cop opens the back of this van, the sign is the least of my problems.”

Hailey grabs my arm excitedly, making chills roll over the entirety of my body. Fuck, I’ve missed her and her touch. I’ve missed this so much.

“Your therapy group has a neon sign.”

“I am aware.”

“In their stakeout van.”

“I can see that.”

Her attention turns to Tyler. “Can we go in?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He waves us in with the most boyish grin I’ve ever seen.

Hailey climbs up carefully onto the bench seat, and I follow her in. The bench is, in fact, soft enough to sleep on.

My girl folds her hands in her lap with exaggerated politeness before she says, “I was told there are stakeout snacks.”

Here I am, in complete awe at the elaborate surveillance setup, and Hailey is asking about complimentary snacks.

“We have organic granola bars, Greek yogurt cups, chocolate truffles, and Jessica keeps us stocked with everything she needs to make a charcuterie board. She’s obsessed with them. We’re all secretly obsessed with them.”

“This is magnificent.”

“Thank you. We really tried to think it all through.”

Hailey reaches up and very gently taps the bottom of the neon sign. The pink light flickers.

Tyler doesn’t say anything, but he looks practically giddy. This van is so obviously his favorite toy.

Hailey turns to me and stares with an expression I can’t read. After a second, she reaches up and pats my cheek.

“I think I love your therapy group.”

Chapter Thirty-Five: Hailey

It took less than twenty-four hours to find Lars Winters.

I’m still not really sure how Austen tracked him down, but Lars has been hiding at his aunt’s house less than ten minutes from my apartment this entire time. Initially, that idea made me physically nauseous, but the more I thought about it, and the more the group went over the plan with me, the easier it became to imagine revenge.