Page 222 of Faking the Goal

The detective opens another section of the file.

"As part of the investigation, we took a much closer look at Mr. Kirk Michaels."

My heart starts pounding.

"We interviewed him by phone, confirmed that he's currently living in Melbourne, Australia, and checked his travel history."

He glances down at his notes before meeting my eyes again.

"At this point, we haven't found anything that places him back in the United States around the time of the break-in. We also checked his entry records. There's no indication that he's re-entered the country since he started his training in Australia."

The room suddenly feels much quieter.

Matthews folds his hands over the file. "So based on everything we've been able to verify so far, Mr. Michaels is not our primary suspect. Right now, we believe you're dealing with someone else."

Someone else.

Just like I've been afraid of.

And God, part of me wishes it were Kirk.

Because at least with Kirk, I understood the why. Twisted as it was, I understood it. I knew our history. I knew what had gone wrong between us. I knew exactly where his obsession had come from.

But if it isn't him, then I'm left with nothing except a faceless man in a black hoodie.

A helpless laugh slips out of me. "I just..." I rub my forehead. "I wish I knew what I was doing to make someone become this obsessed with me. I'd stop. Whatever it is... I'd stop."

"Hey."

Kentaro's voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts immediately.

I look at him.

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Don't start blaming yourself for this."

"I'm not trying to—"

"You are." His thumb moves slowly across the back of my hand. "You're trying to figure out what you could've done differently, like there's some version of this where you behaved the right way and none of it happened."

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

"Maybe you smiled at him once. Maybe you were nice to him. Maybe you had a conversation you forgot five minutes later and he didn't." His gaze stays fixed on mine. "People like this can take something completely ordinary and turn it into whatever they need it to mean. That isn't on you, Trouble."

He gives my hand another squeeze.

Detective Matthews nods. "He's right."

I glance toward him.

"One of the questions I hear most often from stalking victims is, 'What did I do to cause this?'" His voice stays calm. "And most of the time, the answer is nothing."

I lower my eyes.

"Someone who becomes fixated like this can build an entire relationship in their own mind without the other person ever participating in it. A smile becomes flirting. Kindness becomes affection. A casual interaction becomes proof that there's some connection between them."