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“Exactly,” Henry sighs. “Whoever this person is, they’re very smart. There’s no pattern here. I took a look at the handcuffs you sent in for testing. I found out where they are manufactured, but it’s an online shop. And the delivery was done to a bogus address.”
Ian stills. “The handcuffs? The ones from when I was helping you move?” I purse my lips and nod. His jaw tightens. “This asshole got into your house.”
“Or was invited in,” Henry interrupts. “A house party, a dinner. It’s not that uncommon for that to happen. You moved all your stuff to your old home. Anybody could have walked in.”
“I haven’t thrown any parties in a while.” I glance at Philip. “I mean, aside from the one I threw for you and Charlotte. That was months back, though.”
“We haven’t established an exact timeline for when this thing started,” Henry raises a brow. “This could have been around that time. Something you said or did probably set this person off. They know your routines too well for this to be a stranger. It’s probably somebody you know and interact with.”
“That could be anybody.” My voice is now strained. “I work with my clients, my teams. I know everybody in the building, even the janitors.”
Henry studies me. “Well, you’re being watched. I can put two plainclothes detectives on you to keep an eye but the fact that your relationship with Ian pushed your stalker to such extremes means he is very obsessed with you, more of a romantic kind.” He pauses. “Are you sure you haven’t received anything else? Messages, letters?”
I shake my head. “Just photographs. Of me.”
I try to pull my hand away from Ian, my body chilling at the realization that I am putting him in danger, but he won’t let go.
He gives me a pleasant smile and embraces me.
“I don’t believe it has escaped your stalker’s notice that you’re tossing out his gifts. It’s probably a combination of that and Ian staying with you that pushed him to today’s incident. Things will only get worse from here.”
I want to curl into myself, this crawling dread in my bones making me want to leave the room along with all the problems that are being thrust upon me. However, I force myself to slowly breathe to calm myself down. “What about the email address that I got the message from?”
“Bogus. Fake one. Created and discarded within minutes of you receiving that email.” Henry watches me like a hawk. “Are you sure you haven’t seen that guy again?”
I shake my head.
“Maybe you should take a vacation?” Fergus suggests.
I raise my brows at him. “Are you suggesting I run away?”
&n
bsp; Henry interrupts then. “It won’t matter. Either she’ll be followed, or the stalker will wait. I need to know your daily schedules, everything.”
“Jenna,” I said automatically. “She handles everything. She’s been down with a cold for a week or so, but I have her address on file.”
“And how long have you known her?”
I smile warmly. “Since college. We lived in the same dorm.”
Henry nods. “I’ll have a word with her then. You look after yourself.” He nods at everyone else and leaves.
“Well, I should—” My words die when I see everyone glaring at me, and I immediately change the ending of that sentence, “—go to bed. I should go to bed and rest.”
Even as I mute the conversation that breaks around me, I start planning how to escape to the office.
It’s easy to cover stitches with makeup.
It isn’t easy to ignore the man glaring at me from the table across the coffee shop.
It had taken a lot of threatening to finally get Jacob to take me to my meetings. I had finally told him that if he didn’t drive me, then I would just take a taxi.
That offended the older man, and he begrudgingly drove me to this meeting. However, he chose to sit in the restaurant to keep an eye on me.
The client I am supposed to be meeting is one of my older ones. He just set up a new company and wants me to spearhead its PR department. I smooth my blue jacket and cross one leg over the other, impatience in my blood.
The sooner this meeting ends, the sooner I can get back home. Ian was called away to an important meeting the moment we had stepped back into my apartment and I know he will be a few hours. So, I am taking this opportunity to wrap up my meetings he insisted I cancel.
