Page 3 of The Stalking King

“How do you know Daniel has the phone?” I ask. “In fact, if your intel is so good, can you give me his surname?”

“Wuh-what?” he grunts.

“Daniel’s surname. You want his property. You’re a federal agent, apparently. So, surely you can give me a last name. Surely, you know it.”

After a long pause, he grunts, “I’ll be back with a warrant.” He turns and hurries across the waiting room.

“That was strange,” Joel mutters. He smiles tightly at me. “Thanks. What would we do without you, Lia?”

I smile tightly. “Let me know if he comes back. I’ll kick his ass big time.”

He frowns. “I wouldn’t have given him the phone.” He says it like he’s trying to convince himself.

“Hey, I know that. I just thought you needed some backup.”

I leave, getting back to work. Thankfully, my next patient is a young woman with a broken arm. Much less messy, with no memories attached to the experience. Still, I can’t get Daniel out of my head with his curls and freckles. His appearance was so much like my brother Evan’s.

For two hours, I focus on the work. I’m walking across the hospital when I screech to a stop. My heart thundering.

It’s the man with the gunshot wound. A few months ago, he was found on the street, unconscious. When he woke and realized he was in hospital, he was livid, barking at us that he was fine. He wouldn’t give us his real name, and he didn’t have any ID on him. The first chance he got, he left. But not before I registered how… interesting he was.

Is that the right word, or am I kidding myself?

Mid-forties, tall, massively built. He wears a gray suit that matches the streaks at his temples. His eyes are sharper and more intense. His energy is even more so. He stands at the desk, leaning over the receptionist. He’s not trying to intimidate her. He doesn’t look malicious or cruel.

But he looks intimidating. His head turns. It’s like he feels me watching him.

The darkness in his grey eyes shifts, just for a moment, just like the ocean tide. His lip twitches almost into a smile. But he corrects the movement as if he can’t allow himself an indulgence like that.

My heart tugs in my chest. There’s something about his eyes that gets me. I’ve seen them in my dreams. I remember his gravelly voice, the way he said my name, how it made my insides quiver. But then he vanished. I never thought I’d see him again.

He approaches me, moving with the slow confidence of a lion. When he’s close, I can smell his cologne. Manly, musky. Tempting. No—not that. I have to crane my neck to look up at him.

“Maybe you can help me, Lia,” he says.

I swallow. “With what?”

For a crazy moment, I expect him to say something dirty. Something inappropriate. My body pulses as if expecting this, wanting it.

He finally lets himself smirk.

CHAPTER 2

MAKSIM

She licks her lips, waiting for my answer. I’ve told her she can help me. When she asks me what with, her voice grows breathy. I don’t think she even realizes. I can’t help smirking. She’s even more gorgeous in person than on video. I can see the light in her eyes. They move to my mouth, and she smiles.

Suddenly, her gaze locks onto mine.

Was she thinking about my lips, perhaps, kissing me? Just like I’ve thought about kissing her countless times?

A stranger on a screen. A woman whose beauty gripped me with an iron fist the moment I opened my eyes. A woman I’ve done everything in my power to stay away from…

Except coming here. I could’ve told Anton to handle this.

“I’m here for something that belongs to me,” I tell her.

“Oh, right?” she murmurs.