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She leads me through the club in the direction she thinks Andy went in and my heart starts to beat normally as soon as I spot her. She's talking to some guy who has his hand on her wrist. I stalk toward her. What the fuck is going on between them? I don't like the way he's touching her. I'm about to rip his arm off her when she pulls out of his grip and spins right into me. I catch her before she falls backward in the impossibly high heels she has on.
She blinks up at me. "Brad, what are you doing here?" she asks, straightening herself up. I glare at the guy, and he takes off into the crowd.
"What are you doing here? Who is this guy?" I throw the question back, trying to work out what the hell is going on.
"My ex." Her ex? The one who cheated on her? What is she doing here with him? He could be the fucker who took the photo.
I glance in the direction he took off in but he has already disappeared in to the haze of people.. "Why were you talking to him?"
"Why are you here?" she asks me again.
"He's here somewhere. I had to come and make sure you were alright."
The fear is back in her eyes instantly. "Who?" she asks, even though she already knows the answer.
"Your stalker. He started messaging me tonight. He sent a picture of you dancing with your sisters. He must be here somewhere." I scan the room as I'm saying it, but it would be impossible to see anyone in this place if they didn't want to be seen. It's so dark in here.
She glances around, her eyes going wide. "He's here? Get me out of here, Brad, please."
I can see the panic take over. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and usher her out of the club as quickly as I can and straight to my car.
Jasmine follows us and jumps in the back seat. "I'll message the others, let them know where we are."
Andy's panicked face looks over to me. "What the hell is going on? Brad, how do you know he's here?"
I hand her my phone, I have nothing to hide. If whoever this is thinks they can fuck up my chances with Andy by showing her shit like this, then they're wrong. She's a smart girl and will see it for what it is. She scrolls through the messages, then looks up at me, accusation and hurt in her eyes. "What is this? Did you have dinner with your ex-wife tonight or something?" she snaps angrily.
I can see her trying to process what she's seeing. "No," I assure her. "I ran into her out the front while I was getting takeaway tonight. I haven't seen her since the dinner I told you about, I swear, but whoever this is must have been watching me tonight and took the opportunity to take a photo to make it look like something more than what was there."
She looks at the image then back to me and I know she's not totally convinced. She has been burned in the past and this is bringing up her trust issues, I can tell. "There is another image from tonight as well." I point to the next photo. "He must have taken the photo of me then driven straight here to watch you."
"Show me, Andy." She hands my phone to Jasmine. "Yeah, that's us from tonight alright. Shit, I just got goosebumps, this is creeping me out, guys. Who the hell is it?"
"I thought if I didn't see you anymore, they would leave us alone," Andy says sadly, almost to herself.
I take her hand. "It's not that simple, Andy. I would say this guy is to the point where he is obsessed with you. He's not going to leave you alone until he gets what he wants. That's half of what I was so worried about last weekend. He gets me out of the picture and it's easier to get to you when you're alone."
"I'm not alone, though, I'm here with my sisters."
"You weren't when I found you."
"I was just talking to Jamie, he wanted to apologize. I didn't even think about the stalker." She glares at me. "You think I'm stupid, don't you? That this is my fault that he was able to get so close to me tonight." I can see how upset she's getting, her voice trembling, and I know she's on the verge of tears.
"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I just think that we need to be really careful from now on, and that's why I want to be with you, so I can take care of you and make sure he can't get anywhere near you."
I hear Jasmine say, "Aww," in the back of the car, and I remember that she's there.
"I am stupid. I keep thinking this will just go away, but it won't. I really thought if I broke it off with you, they would leave me alone, but it doesn't matter what I do. They're not going to give up, are they? What does he even want from me?" She starts to cry, and I grab her, pulling her toward me.
"Hey, it's all going to be okay, you're safe with me." I look at Jasmine as I say it, and she knows my words mean nothing, just as I do, but what else can I do right now? Some sicko is trying to mess with Andy, and it's working.
"Have you guys maybe thought that it's not some guy who's obsessed with Andy but a female who's still in love with you, Brad?" asks Jasmine. "That's why they started messaging you tonight, Brad."
I look at her. "You think it's Madeline?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. This could have all been set up by her tonight. I'm just thinking out loud. Who stands to gain anything with you two breaking up? Maybe she figures if Andy's out of the picture, you'll take her back or something?"
"She did come on to me pretty heavy tonight."
