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He stared at her so intently that the hair on her arms rose. She couldn’t remember anyone ever studying her like that. What was he looking for? Her reactions to what she was saying? An indication of how she’d behave? She had no idea. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Did he do anything that disturbed you?”
Zoe shook her head slowly. “I asked myself that after he killed my father. How did I not realize he was obsessed with me? How did I not know what he had planned? But I guess he was really good at hiding his… his fixation.” She sighed and slumped in her chair. “I was a really young eighteen, and a complete nerd. I had just started dating a guy -- my first boyfriend.” Her mouth quirked in a tiny smile. “It was innocent, but maybe that’s what set Ethan off.”
He started to reach for her, then snatched back his hand. “Most men would appreciate your nerdiness. Your agile brain.” Including him. “Sounds as if your love for computers and programming paid off for you.”
She stared down at the table, trying to hide the tears welling in her eyes. “Yeah, I have a successful business. Plenty of money. But my focus on computers and coding in high school cost my father his life,” she said in a low voice.
Spence leaned across the table and this time he grabbed her hand. Held tightly to her fingers. “No. You didn’t cost your father his life. You think Ethan Davies wouldn’t have noticed you if you hadn’t sat next to him in your coding class? He would have found you. You had something his twisted brain needed. Ethan Davies is the only one responsible for your father’s death.”
Zoe raised her head and stared at Spence. She saw nothing but conviction in his gaze. He believed every work he’d said.
She untangled her hand from his but squeezed it quickly before letting him go. “Thank you, Spence. I guess I needed to hear that.”
He set his fingers on top of hers, his hand warming hers, then let her go. She missed the heat of his fingers over hers. “The charm he sent you is the first time you’ve heard from him since the night your father died?”
“Yes. The States Attorney told me Ethan had tried to send me a letter while he was in jail, awaiting trial, but the sheriff intercepted it. The attorney read it and put it in his file.”
“You have any idea what it said?”
Zoe shook her head. “No. And I don’t want to know.”
“I’ll call the sheriff’s office and have them send me a copy.” His mouth tightened. “But based on the fact that he sent you that charm after thirteen years, I’m guessing what he said in the letter was his justification for going to your house and bringing the gun. He didn’t mean to kill your father, but that doesn’t make him any less dead.”
“I thought the reason he went to Middleton Psychiatric Hospital was to heal him. Get him past his obsession with me. They wouldn’t have let him go if they knew he was still fixated on me, would they?”
“I don’t think so. But it sounds as if Ethan Davies was very smart. Smart enough to fool the people at Middleton into thinking he’d dealt with his obsession. After five years, they said he was fine and released him. That was eight years ago, and he hasn’t tried to contact you until now.”
“What do you think he’s going to do?” she asked.
“Honestly? I have no idea. People who are fixated on something or someone are unpredictable. You think they’re going to zig, then they zag. But the charm is proof that he’s still obsessed with you. And since the package was postmarked Seattle, we know he’s here. We’re going to act accordingly.”
“What does that mean?” Zoe asked. Fear shuddered through her, but she straightened her shoulders. She might be scared, but she wouldn’t succumb to it.
She wouldn’t let Ethan win.
She drew a calming breath. “What do I have to do?”
Spence studied her for an uncomfortably long moment. “That’s it?” he finally said. “You’re not going to tell me to get out? That you don’t need protection? That you can take care of yourself?”
Zoe shook her head sharply. “Hell, no.” She leaned toward Spence across the table. “One thing I’ve learned running my company? Stay in my lane. I write the code for new programs. Develop them. I meet with people who want to buy my products, although I’m doing less of that now that I’ve hired some salespeople. I don’t micromanage my employees. I try to hire good people and let them do their thing.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, I’m a control freak, but at least I’m aware of it and work to control it. I suspect everyone who’s started a company wants to micromanage everything. But I know I can’t do that. Not if I want to succeed. Every once in a while I have to step in, but I try to keep it to a minimum. I know what my employees are doing, and how well they’re doing it. I don’t interfere unless I have no choice.
“You’re the expert at bodyguarding. I called Annie,” she shook her head, “I mean Mel, and she sent you. So I’ll listen to what you tell me to do and try to do it.” Finally she smiled. “Unless it’s stupid. I don’t do stupid.”
Spence nodded slowly. “Okay, then. You and I should get along just fine. You handle your business, and I’ll handle your protection.”
“Great. Where are you going to stay?”
He stared at her as if she had two heads. “I’m staying right here in your apartment, of course. Where did you think I’d stay?”
“At a hotel. There are several close by.”
“Maybe I misunderstood,” Spence said carefully. “What happened to staying in your own lane? How do you expect me to protect you if I’m not close by?”
“My condo is safe,” Zoe said. She almost added ‘duh’ but caught herself in time. “There’s a doorman. No one can access the elevator without the key, and that’s in the doorman’s possession at all times.”
“Right,” Spence said, shaking his head. “Your doorman isn’t a police officer. He doesn’t have a gun. How’s he supposed to stop someone who’s determined to get to you?”
