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Chapter 10
By six o’clock that evening, Spence was pacing Zoe’s office. He paused only to glance out the window at Puget Sound when he reached the window. When she turned to watch him, she spotted the whitecaps cresting on the dark water. She knew it was supposed to rain. They didn’t have a car. And she didn’t want to get in a taxi or a Lyft. She wanted to be in control, and today that meant walking home.
Shoving away from her desk, she said, “We should get going before it starts to rain.”
Spence turned to face her. “Good idea. And from now on, we’ll drive,” he said. “I don’t want to be ambushed when we’re walking to or from your office. Is there a garage in this building?”
“There is,” she said. “I have a parking space.”
He was shaking his head before she finished speaking. “Not going to use that space. I’ll drive, and we’ll park where the guests park.”
“Okay,” she said, swallowing. Everything had to be thought out in advance. Orchestrated. Planned. No more driving to Madeline’s for dinner on the spur of the moment to see how her friend Julia was doing. No more spur of the moment anything until Ethan was caught.
She glanced at Spence out of the corner of her eye. Unless it was in the privacy of her condo.
Images scrolled through her mind, and she tried to ignore them. Spence wasn’t here for those kinds of games. He was here to keep her safe and catch Ethan.
But they’d be safe in her condo. There was a doorman downstairs who had to let her guests into the elevator. And they’d buy a new lock for her back door today, so no one would get in that way.
Suddenly over-heated, Zoe sucked in a cooling breath. Yeah, they’d be safe in her condo.
“You gonna bring some work home with you?”
Spence’s voice dragged her out of her too-vivid daydreams, and she nodded quickly. Saved the program she’d been working on, then closed down her computer and shoved it into her briefcase. Grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer and stood up. “I’m ready.”
They were both silent as they rode the elevator to the first floor. When the doors opened, Bob turned to look. “Just the guy I wanted to see,” he said to Spence. “That delivery guy who came by earlier with Zoe’s lunch? I’m pretty sure he walked past the building a couple of times this afternoon. I spotted his high and tight haircut first, and I’m sure he wore the same jacket as he had on when he dropped off lunch.”
Spence stared at Bob for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “Good catch, Bob,” he said. “I’m going to call the police officer who was here earlier and tell her that you spotted the delivery guy at least a couple of times this afternoon. Maybe that’ll put a bug up the Seattle PD’s ass to add some patrols past this building.”
Zoe’s breath caught in her throat. Ethan was getting bolder. To drop off a lunch for her, then walk past the building more than once afterward? He was either becoming reckless or overly confident. Had he become unbalanced? Would he eventually do the same thing he’d done at her house? Come for her with a gun? Insist she go with him?
She knew Spence wouldn’t let that happen, but the idea of facing Ethan again made her shiver.
As if he’d felt her shiver, even though he wasn’t touching her, Spence settled his hand on her lower back. The warmth of his fingers eased her tight muscles, reassuring her. Calming her fears.
After Spence studied the street from both directions and studied shots from the building’s surveillance cameras, they exited the building into a sharp, cold wind. She shivered, and Spence wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s only a few blocks, and we’ll walk fast.”
“I know,” she said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. It had been a lot warmer this morning, and she hadn’t brought a jacket. “I know how far the office is from my damn condo.”
His fingers tightened around her for a long moment, then loosened. “Sorry. Just trying to reassure you.”
She took a shuddering breath. Blew it out. “I know, Spence,” she said, her voice low. “I’m sorry. I’m just… frazzled.”
He looked over at her, and she didn’t want to meet his gaze. “A Melbourne frazzled?” he said, a hint of teasing in his voice. “That’s gotta be a first.”
“As far as I know, it’s the first time a Melbourne has had a stalker.” She licked her lips. “I have no idea how to handle it.”
“You’re doing just fine,” he said. “You may be scared, but it’s not showing. If Davies is watching, he’s not seeing a frightened woman.”
She walked beside him for a few moments, inching closer to absorb more of his body heat. “Thank you for saying that,” she finally said. “I am frightened of him, but I don’t want him to realize that. I don’t want to give him any more power.”
“He’s not going to get anywhere near you,” Spence promised. “We’ll catch him sooner or later. He doesn’t have superpowers.”
“I know,” she said, glancing over at him and summoning a weak smile when she found him watching her. “But he’s here for me, and I know he’s completely focused on me. Hard to put that out of my head.”
“He has to go through me to get to you,” Spence said.
The back of Zoe’s neck tingled, as if someone was staring at her. She spun around but saw no one. Began walking more quickly.
