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“Sorry man, there’s just nothing there. The guy always seems to wear gloves and you know how long DNA takes, but if he’s careful with prints I doubt he’d be stupid enough to leave DNA behind.”
“You’re probably right.” I start to pace the small kitchen with Rafe’s eyes following me while he sits at the table.
“I think you and I need to sit down and really go through anyone that could have done this. We’ve been brushing this to the side until now but he’s obviously not going away and now he’s following the people in your life. It’s time we start examining anyone that would want to hurt you.”
“I know. You’re right. It’s just that there are so many people it could be. You know how it is being a cop. And I worked with drug addicts and gang members in LA. The list could be a mile long.”
“Well, we’ll start with anything that happened in the six months leading up to the first letter and go from there. What did the video show?”
“Shit. I forgot about the video.” I pull out my phone and with a few taps I’ve got the feed from the front of the house pulled up. I run it back until I see a dark figure then let it play out. The person is tall and bundled up tight but is distinctly male which is what I suspected, but this is the first time I’ve been able to confirm it. Rafe steps over and crowds around my tiny phone screen.
“Hat on, head down like he knows there’s cameras. Don’t think we’ll get much from this. Make sure to forward that overto Criminalistics so they examine it just to make sure we’re not missing anything.”
I want to slam my fist into the wall. The fact that this guy just walks right up to my front door like it’s nothing is making me crazy. How am I supposed to be able to protect Oliver and Bianca when this asshole knows where I live?
“I’m going to keep them both away from me until we figure out who this is. Maybe if he doesn’t see either of them with me he’ll lay off them and refocus on me instead.”
“How do you plan on accomplishing that?”
“I’ll have Oliver stay with Gloria for a while. I don’t want to freak them out, so I’ll just tell them I’m going to be working a lot of overtime and it’s just easier if he stays with her. I’ll get over there and visit when I can.”
“And your girlfriend?” He asks with a raised brow.
“I’ll just have to tell her the truth. That it isn’t safe for her to be around me right now, that she could be in danger.” Rafe barks out a sharp laugh and I narrow my eyes at him. “What’s so funny?”
“You think the girl who attacked a gunman with only a high heel shoe because he was mean to an old man is going to just go into some kind of hiding because you think she’s in danger?”
Fuck.I let out a groan. “You might be right.”
“Of course I am. Haven’t you learned yet? I’m always right.”
“You’re also a modest motherfucker, anyone tell you that?”
“All. The. Time.” He says, deadpan. He reaches over and carefully slips the photos back into their envelope. “Look, I’ll take these down to the station and get the lab to work on them. You take care of what you need to then meet me down there. We have to start going over your list of possible suspects.”
He leaves taking the offending photos with him. The first thing I do is make a call to Gloria to ask about Oliver staying with her a while. Thank God she seems thrilled by the idea of havinghim with her. It’s just another of those times I’m reminded that I absolutely made the right choice by moving to Seattle. Gloria loves Oliver whole heartedly and would do anything for him. I feel a little guilty not telling her the full story but there’s no reason to worry her. Besides, if this guy knew who she was he probably would have included a picture of her as well. I’m guessing he’s just been lurking around my place and saw Oliver and Bianca coming and going and decided to follow them.
A shiver runs down my spine. I really don’t like the idea of this crazy motherfucker being close enough to get pictures of them. Who knows how long he’s been following them because those photos were obviously all taken on different days. It’s a major relief that I have some place to stash Oliver while this gets resolved. Hopefully we’ll have this wrapped up in a week, two tops. If we can’t pinpoint who it is through my own suspect list, we’ll have to do something to flush this guy out. I’m not going to live on pins and needles because of him.
My real problem is Bianca. Rafe is absolutely right, if I tell Bianca the truth, there’s no way she’ll take it seriously. I know her. In fact, when she hears that someone was following her it’s more likely to piss her off than scare her then Lord only knows what she would do.
I go back to pacing the kitchen, trying to think of the best way to handle this. I need to keep her safe. The thought of something happening to her causes a sharp stabbing pain in my chest that I can’t help but reach up and try to rub away. Her and Oliver are my entire fucking world.
This isn’t the FBI, it’s not like I can stash away in some safe house. Even if I tried, she would never be okay with that. Bianca doesn’t let anybody scare her off from anything.
I need her to stay far away from me. Maybe if this guy thinks she’s out of my life he’ll leave her alone. Before I can even think,my frustration comes shooting out of me and I slam my fist into the granite countertop causing pain to shoot up my arm.
“Goddamnit,” I hiss as I rub my knuckles, knowing they’ll bruise but that seems fitting. I know I’m going to deserve it because in order to save Bianca, I’m going to have to hurt her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bianca
I’m still in surprisingly good spirits considering how long of a day it’s been. Well, maybe it’s not so surprising. Not after everything that happened with Carson yesterday and the way he woke me up this morning. I can’t help the smile that crawls along my face whenever I think of him. God, not even twenty-four hours of having a boyfriend and I’ve already turned into a sappy goon.
When I left his place this morning I took the bag he had grabbed of Violet’s things and then headed over to Dad’s to pack a bag for him as well. I don’t know how long Violet is going to need to be in the hospital but I didn’t think he was going to want to be away from her. When I got there and saw them together, I realized how right I was. From the look on his face whenever his eyes landed on my best friend, he wasn’t leaving that hospital without her. The entire thing made my heart feel happy for both of them.
I was shocked when they finally let me see Violet, but Dad kept reassuring me she looked much worse than she actually was. It looked like he needed to keep saying it to reassure himself as well. If Carson hadn’t of already killed Tyler, I would have. Nobody hurts my friends like that. Especially not one assweet and gentle as Violet. Just the thought of it is enough to fill me with rage all over again.
