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Janet licked her lips. Swallowed. “Bob knows what to do if he comes back?”
“He does,” Spence said. “Push the panic button is job one. Then act like Davies is just another delivery guy.”
Janet jerked her head toward the door. “I suspect Zoe is wearing a path into the rug in there.” Her gaze dropped to the bag in his hand. “That’s what he brought? Shake Shack?” She snorted. “Clearly he doesn’t know Zoe very well.”
“How could he?” Spence said as he headed for the office door. “It’s been thirteen years since he saw her.”
As soon as the door clicked open, Zoe rushed toward him. Grabbed his arms, and her hands were like vises. “Did you get him?”
Seeing the fear on her face and terror in her eyes, Spence dropped the bag of food onto the floor, peeled her hands away from their hard grip on him and drew her into his arms. He wanted to make sure Zoe knew he had her back. Knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She needed some comfort, and he needed to comfort her. Wrapping his arms around her, he nestled her into his chest. Treasured every soft puff of breath that whispered over his neck as she clung to him.
“He got away,” Spence said, smoothing his hand down her back, over and over. “Something must have spooked him. Or he lost his nerve.”
“What… what did Bob say about him?”
Spence tightened his arms around her. “Just that he said he was delivering a meal for you. When I asked if Davies seemed nervous or excited, Bob said he was tapping his fingers against his leg. But nothing else struck him as… off.”
Zoe tightened her grip on him. “I think… I think he used to do that in school. During a test, or if he was nervous. I’d forgotten he did that.” She burrowed closer and took a deep breath. “Do you think he’ll be back?”
“Almost certainly,” he said, stroking down her back as he spoke. “I told Bob to push the panic button before calling up to Janet’s desk.” He couldn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to her head. Inhaling the flowery scent of her shampoo. “Mel’s going to ask the Seattle PD to do regular patrols past your condo and this building. Probably won’t stop Davies, but maybe it’ll make him nervous. Spook him.”
Zoe eased away from him. Narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think he’s going to back off. Do you?”
Spence sighed and grabbed her hands to keep her close. He missed the feel of her curves pressed against him. Missed the strength of her arms as she held him tightly. He was trying to comfort her, but he was comforting himself, as well.
“No,” he finally said. “Backing off isn’t consistent with any of his behaviors. I’m going to contact Mel again today and ask her to dig into his life. I want to know what triggered this renewed interest in you. If she can find out, it’ll give us more insight.”
They stood together, holding hands, studying each other. Zoe’s short, panicked breaths slowly steadied. Finally, Zoe untangled her hands from his and took a step back, putting some distance between them.
He wanted to snatch her back into his arms. Inhale her sweet, fresh scent. That would be a huge mistake, but he wanted to savor her warmth. Feel her ragged breaths against his neck. Hold her close.
But Zoe’s brief moment of vulnerability, of neediness, was gone. The CEO was back in control. So Spence shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her. Zoe would hate that he’d witnessed what she’d see as a weak moment.
To distract her, he grabbed the bag from where he’d dropped it onto the floor. “Is this something you’d eat?”
She frowned as she stared at the bag with its distinctive logo. “Not now, I wouldn’t,” she said slowly. “I haven’t eaten meat in a long time. But that night at our house when he killed my dad, I tried to distract him by saying that if he left, we’d get a burger the next day at a restaurant I knew he liked. That we could talk then.” She swallowed. “Do you think he remembered that?”
“I suspect Davies remembers every interaction he had with you. Obsessions dig in their claws and don’t let go. He’s had a long time to think about everything that happened that night. Everything that happened since he first noticed you in school.”
Zoe shivered. Toed the bag of food farther away from her. “You going to take a look at that?”
“I am. But not in here. I’ll go into the conference room next to your office.”
She frowned. “Why not in here?”
“Because I don’t know what’s in that bag. I don’t want you or anyone else around when I open it. In case there’s something dangerous inside.”
She sucked in a breath. “You think Ethan would try to hurt me?”
Spence shrugged one shoulder. “Not at this point, but I can’t dismiss the stalker’s ‘if I can’t have you, no one else can have you, either’ playbook.”
Giving the bag another sideways glance, she waved her hands toward the door. “Go ahead.”
Spence slid on another pair of vinyl gloves and a disposable mask, then picked up the bag and headed toward the conference room. After he closed the door and set the bag on the table, he grabbed a pointer that was on the easel holding a white board. He wiggled the pointer into the bag and spread the sides apart.
When nothing happened, he moved closer. Looked inside and saw nothing but a wrapped burger, a box of fries and a milkshake. He took them out, one at a time, and studied them.
Shrugged. He’d never eaten at a Shake Shack, but the food didn’t look disturbed. The burger was still tightly wrapped. The milkshake hadn’t been tilted so that the liquid coated the sides of the clear bubble top. And the fries looked undisturbed.
