Page 37 of The Stalking King

Now—fuck—now, I’ve just made it personal.

CHAPTER 15

LIA

Ipull up outside the townhouse, leaving my POS car and walking down the street. I’m stunned by how clean these streets are, no litter, no graffiti, no people playing music loudly or asking me for change. I feel out of place, like I don’t really belong here.

I’ve got butterflies in my stomach as I walk up the stairs. After a hard shift, I’m kind of over feeling guilty about it. Yeah, he watched me when he shouldn’t have. Yeah, this is beyond complicated.

But can’t I just let go for a little while?

I remind myself that nothing is set in stone. We don’t even have plans. I sent a heart emoji and he told me he’s taking that as a yes, but I don’t know exactly what that means.

Then I push the door open and see a path of rose petals leading from the entranceway toward the dining room at the back. My breath catches. My throat tightens. I’ve always thought of myself as the type of woman who doesn’t care about romantic gestures, but now I wonder if that’s just because I never had a man I’d want that from.

He walks into the corridor, holding a single rose in his hand. His eyes burn with intensity, focused entirely on me, it’s difficult to imagine them being gray and cold.

My instinct is to downplay this, to say something cynical. But I can’t fight the feeling that bubbles up inside me… Is this what other women experience while I’ve been on the sidelines? Not all of it, not the violence, the fear, the danger. But this feeling, bubbling up within me, that I deserve better than a TV dinner and an exhaustion that never leaves me.

He walks forward slowly, and gently slots the rose into my hair. He kisses me with a tenderness I never would’ve guessed he was capable of. But when I grab onto his arms, he groans and pushes me against the wall.

I want to be swept away with him, but I put my hand on his chest. My body threatens to rebel when I push him away, my hand curling around air. He steps back, a wry smirk on his lips.

“Thanks for that,” he says. “I was getting carried away there…”

“I could tell,” I say, smiling.

“I’ve got news about Daniel.” He takes my hand, and I don’t fight it. A piece of me knows I should, but I bury it deep. I’m thinking about this date and nothing else.

“What?” I ask, heart pounding.

“My associates tell me he wasn’t involved in this life. He was in a lot of debt from multiple attempts at going to college. The most likely scenario is he was desperate and hired because he was expendable. Once he had his hands on the phone, one of Vale’s men ran him off the road. But there must’ve been a complication before the phone could be collected. Maybe a witness.”

I shake my head. “That poor young man. I don’t know him, but I know he deserved better than that.”

He leans down and kisses me on the cheek. “You’ve got a kind soul, Lia. I know he must make you think of Evan.”

“I’m touched you even remember his name.”

He looks at me sideways. “Of course I do.”

He leads me into the dining room, which is also covered in rose petals. Something delicious is cooking in the oven. I breathe it in.

“Lasagna?” I ask.

He smiles, nodding. “I asked my brother what regular people eat, and he said this was a safe bet.”

I gesture at my clothes. I’m wearing a hoodie and scrubs. I’m still sweaty from the hospital. “I should change,” I say.

“If you want, you can,” he replies. “But you don’t need to. You’re more beautiful in sweats than most women are in gowns.”

“Now you’re definitely love bombing me.”

He chuckles. “I think you need to have a heart for that.”

“Ha, ha,” I mutter, shooting a mock glare at him. “We both know you have a heart.”

“Now, I do.”