AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Max’s office was secure. He nodded to her, where she stood at the door and Max walked in with a determination that made his gut roll. She was so brave, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to pull her into his arms and hold her close to him again, to distract her with their desire, to kiss her until she forgot about a stalker and blood and being followed and danger.
She worked almost as though nothing was wrong, but Noah could see beyond the act now. He saw the tightness around her lips, the look in her eyes that spoke of feeling hunted and wanted to flatten the entire world until he knew who was doing this to her.
He worked flat out, analysing security footage, making contact with his friends in international police forces to compare MO’s, to see if there were similar characteristics to any active or historic cases. There was too much sophistication here, it wasn’t likely that Max was the first victim. But it was highly possible the stalker’s skills and abilities were improving, that he was growing bolder by having escaped detection.
Noah didn’t need to press ‘play’ on the tape to see how that ended. His eyes strayed to Max, his gut twisting hard.
* * *
“I’m finished.” She scraped her chair back, focusing on Noah, wondering why after such a short time he felt like a kind of anchor to her.
He compressed his lips, a habit he had when he was deep in thought, then stood.
“Give me a minute.”
She nodded, looking out over a bleak London, wondering if it had really only been earlier that morning she’d been in Paris staring up at a blue sky, the sun on her face fooling her into thinking she was truly carefree.
He made some calls, speaking too softly for her to hear every word, her brain too mushed to really try, and then he was at her side.
“Let’s go.”
In the garage, he took the driver’s seat, so Max shivered at the idea that the man who ferried her all over town at any hour might bear some fault in all this.
“It’s just a precaution,” he muttered, as though sensing her need for reassurance.
She clasped her hands in her lap and stared out of the window. Familiar landmarks whizzed past, but she took no comfort from how often she’d seen them.
“How do you know the way so well?” The question emerged breathless. When she turned to face him, adrenalin pounded through her.
“We came here the day before yesterday,” he reminded her.
“But you’re not from London.”
“I’ve spent time here.”
“When?”
Talking to Noah was exactly what she needed to keep her mind off things.
“For work.”
It told her nothing.
“When you were protecting someone?”
He nodded once.
“And you can’t tell me who.”
He slid her a sidelong glance. “No.”
“What if I guess?”
His laugh was rich and warm and so like a normal sound that blood pounded through her in sheer relief. She found herself smiling, curling a little in the seat to face him bodily.
“Give it a shot.”
“Will you tell me if I’m right?”
