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“They’re together?” Camille claps her hands together, beaming at her husband. “This is so exciting, darling. You know, I was worried when you summoned us all in here like this, but this is wonderful. I’m so excited. Who’s giving me a grandbaby first?”
“Cami,” Mom mutters, her eyes narrowing as she stares at my dad. “I don’t think that’s why we’re here.”
“Oh.” Camille’s face drops. “Mike? What happened?”
Mason walks in next, followed shortly by Jaylinn, both looking thoroughly confused as well.
“What’s this all about?” my brother asks.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Emma says, her features knitting with worry. “This is becoming more and more ominous by the minute. Is it about the stalker?”
Dad nods, his expression stoic as he strides across the room to close the door Mason left open. Then he turns to face the group gathered around the conference table. Fast and concise, he lays out the facts as they stand now. That more pictures have been received and what they are, along with our newfound suspicion that the friend Vincent made is the stalker.
No one says a word when he’s done, and since Vince is looking more and more like he’s gone into some kind of trance, I turn and squeeze his hand. “Vince? Have you looked at any of the stuff he’s been saying recently?”
“No.” He lets out a heavy breath, hanging his head between his shoulders and letting go of my hand to run both of his through his hair. “I’ve just been trying to ignore the whole thing. I knew he wouldn’t just disappear, but I was kind of hoping he’d be caught before I had to think about him again.”
“We were all hoping for that,” I say softly as he keeps running his hands through his hair, tugging at the longer strands on top of his head. “This friend of yours, Justin, did you tell him anything about your family or mine? Or really anything at all that might be relevant?”
He snaps his gaze up, and I can see the denial that’s coming before, suddenly, his expression crashes into a frown and he nods instead. “Yeah. I did. It was nothing bad, but we were talking about weird things we’ve done while traveling, and I told him that I had to piss in a bottle on the bus once because Jay was taking forever in the shower and Maxim told me I couldn’t go out the window.”
“Okay, is that it? Did you mention me or Mason or anyone else?”
He shakes his head, his eyes dropping down to his hands now clasped together between his knees. “No, not directly. I might’ve said something about the tease that lives in my gilded cage. I don’t know. I was hammered. The dude was nice. We got along great.”
He looks up again, this time to frown at both of our dads. “He was there when you found me outside the bar. Why are you guys acting like you didn’t know I spoke to someone that day?”
Jonathan’s lips press into a firm line. “By the time Mike and I came around the corner, you were alone.” He glances at Maxim. “Did you see the guy?”
Maxim squints at Vincent. “No, I didn’t. I saw a guy when I first came around the corner, but it looked like he was just passing by. As soon as I looked away from you again, he was gone. I know you said you made a friend, but there was no one there and… I don’t know. I guess I just thought you were wasted and you’d struck up a conversation with the bartender.”
“Okay,” Dad says authoritatively. “You’re the only one who saw him, then. That’s the point here. You said something to him about a gilded cage? Did you use those exact words?”
He nods, and my extremities go cold as I lift my phone and open the folder where I’ve been storing all the guy’s messages. “Have a look through these, baby. Tell us if there’s anything else you spoke to the guy about that jumps out at you.”
“Why?” he asks, his usually vibrant aquamarine eyes flat and pleading.
I give him a sad smile, putting my phone in his hand. “Because he’s been posting about how you’ve been locked in a gilded cage against your will, talking about how you’re being teased and tortured by your ‘so-called family’ while he’s the one you really want to be with. You said you swapped travel stories?”
He dips his head in a nod, and I take a deep breath, reaching out to put my hand on his forearm to reassure him.
“He’s mentioned traveling with you several times, saying you could’ve had the world, seen the world, if you were with him. I kind of just thought that he was a little bit in love with you, but all that stuff only started after that day in Zurich. It makes sense if he’s been referring to something you discussed with him all along instead of just random dreams he has for you two.”
“Fuck.” Maxim whistles between his teeth. “Do you know anything about him other than his name?”
Vincent takes a deep breath, mulling it over before he shrugs a shoulder. “Not really. His name is Justin. He’s backpacking through Europe, and he’s got some hilarious travel stories.”
“Was he already in the bar when you got there?” Jonathan asks.
“No. He came in just after I did. Struck up a conversation but then didn’t really seem interested in talking to me anymore. I was lonely, though, and desperate for a distraction, so I kept talking to him.”
Dad sighs, scrubbing his palm over his chin. “He opened the lines of communication and then waited for you to come to him. See if you’d reject him in real life or invite him in. I’m pretty sure that’s what that was about. Thank God you appeared to accept him. I hate to think about what he might’ve done if he thought you were rejecting him. Did he ever get close enough to you to get your phone?”
Vincent nodded. “I think so. I thought I’d gotten pickpocketed, but maybe not. Honestly, we drank a lot. He picked up the tab for it all too.”
Dad perked up. “How did he pay?”
“Cash.”
