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Damn idiot. “Pick four new numbers. Don’t use a relative’s birthday or part of your social security number. The best alarm codes and passwords are random.”
“Four random numbers, huh?” She nibbled on her thumbnail while she thought. “How about 0325.”
Rock repeated the number in his head. “Sounds like a date.”
“I know. You said it couldn’t be a birthday. It’s not. Besides, I have good memories of that date.”
Whatever. If she wanted some random date for a code, he’d let it go. He punched in the new number, but something about it bothered him. “Why March 25th?”
A corner of her mouth twisted upward and she sighed. Rock rolled the date around in his head. He cringed when it came to him. “The hockey game.” How’d he forget that date?
She gave him a poke in the shoulder. “You almost found yourself on the couch tonight, Captain Raimono.”
“Nah, you’d never send me there. You’d miss this too much.” Rock pulled her against him and pressed a hard, hot ki
ss on her lips. She opened for him right away and her tongue slipped into his mouth, again showing him that her passion rivaled his.
Not now. He couldn’t make love to her in a cold basement. If he kept kissing her like this, he’d forget why and lower her to the rough concrete floor then strip her naked. “Ally.” His voice echoed off the walls. “We still need to call the cops, and you wanted want a gun lesson. We gotta stop and get those things done.”
She paused, her lips pressed against his neck. Then she exhaled, her breath a warm whisper across his skin. “Right. I forgot. My phone’s upstairs. Do we need to go somewhere special for the gun lesson?”
She was stalling. No doubt about it. Allison could stall all she wanted. Nothing would change his mind about getting the cops involved now. Rock shifted back. Her body pressed against his made thinking difficult. “Today we’re goin’ to review gun safety and stuff so we can do it in the kitchen. If we have time Wednesday or Thursday, I’ll take you to the range for some actual shooting. Come on upstairs. You’ve got a call to make.”
***
Allison wished she knew more swear words. None of the ones in her vocabulary did justice to the current situation. A stalker. She had some crazy person following her around, breaking into her house, going through her things, and even taking the time to use her computer. She’d read about such things happening, but she had never dreamed it’d happen to her.
Before her talk with Connor this morning, she’d written off everything as mere coincidence. She’d kept telling herself her imagination had been overacting and Rock was being overprotective. When Connor confirmed the deadbolt on the back door had indeed been locked when they left for the office, she’d realized she could no longer deny all the evidence. While she may have forgotten to turn off a light or two, Connor would never forget to lock a deadbolt before they left. And now the police were about to get involved and make the situation even worse.
Out in the foyer, she heard Rock’s voice as he greeted the officers the department sent over. When the doorbell rang, he’d insisted he answer even though they were expecting officers. She’d never had a boyfriend so protective and concerned for her safety. Having him around so much was the only bright side to this whole terrible situation. Even before the day the bullet flew through his window and he protected her without a thought to his own welfare, she’d suspected she’d loved him. Everyday since then had only reinforced her belief. Best of all, she knew he cared about her. No one acted the way he did if they didn’t care deeply.
“She’s in here.” Rock’s voice grew louder as he led the police toward the living room where she waited.
Two men entered the room behind Rock and her immediate thought was talk about an odd couple. Both men appeared to be close in age and were dressed in a similar fashion, however that was the only thing they had in common. While both appeared fit, one of the officers had to be close to seven feet tall because he towered over Rock while the other gentleman wasn’t much taller than her. And while the shorter man didn’t have a single wrinkle on his face, he also didn’t have any hair in his head, unlike his partner who had short, dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard.
“Good afternoon, Miss Sherbrooke. I’m Detective Wilson and this is my partner Detective MacLean,” the taller of the two men said, extending his hand toward her.
“Nice to meet you. Please sit.”
Both men took seats opposite her on the sofa while Rock sat next to her and reached for her hand.
“Miss Sherbrooke, on the phone you said someone has been following you. How long have you suspected this?” Detective Wilson said, getting right down to business.
“Since the first week in February.” Talk and get it over with, Allison thought before telling him everything about the night of her car accident.
The detective asked her numerous questions about that night; then they asked what other events made her believe she had a stalker.
“Have you received any gifts or strange phone calls?” Detective MacLean asked, taking over the questioning.
“I guess you might call them strange. I’ve gotten some calls where no one talks, but I can hear them. And I did get one gift at work. A bear with candy was delivered. The card didn’t have a name on it.”
“Do you still have it? Or know where it came from.”
“Sorry, no. I threw it away, Detective. The card didn’t have a store name on it either and the receptionist at work didn’t remember anything about the delivery person when I asked.”
Across from her, Detective MacLean frowned and jotted something down on his notepad. “You mentioned someone has been in your house. Can you tell us more?”
A shiver skated down her spine and she shook. Rock squeezed her hand before he released it and put an arm over her shoulders, pulling her close. While the gesture didn’t change the situation, it did stop the trembling as the warmth from his body seeped into hers. More than anything, she wanted to snuggle closer and stay there forever. The two detectives in the room kept her from doing anything more than enjoying the sense of security Rock provided.
