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“I can’t hire a bodyguard,” Dani cried.
“You don’t need one. You have me, every night under this roof with you until this nightmare is over.”
She went still. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks as she stared at him in disbelief.
Aaron took a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping away the tears. Then he locked into her gaze and didn’t move.
The silence between them grew as they took each other’s measure. Finally, it was Dani who broke the silence.
“You would do that?” she asked.
“In a heartbeat,” Aaron said.
Her face crumpled. “But why?”
“Because that’s what I do, and because knowing you pleases my heart, and I want you to be safe. Is that reason enough?”
Surrendering to the offer, she nodded. “It is enough.”
Satisfied that she’d agreed to let him help, he was all business.
“I don’t suppose you have a picture of this Alex Bing?”
Dani frowned. “No. But pull up a mug shot of Tony Bing and that’s the same face. They’re identical. I never could tell them apart.”
“Okay then,” Aaron said. “Now back to my initial reason for being here. I need to show you these still shots we pulled from security footage. All you have to do is say, ‘Yes, it’s him.’ Or ‘Nope, wrong man.’ Again, there’s no right or wrong answer. We just need your truth.”
“Yes, all right,” Dani said. The first one she looked atwas all the confirmation she needed, but she looked at the rest before she answered. “Yes, that’s definitely him. Is he still in the area?”
“No, he’s long gone, but this is a huge lead. I’ll let the chief know so he and the sheriff can proceed. After I get off work, I’ll go home long enough to pack some clothes. Is there room in your garage for two cars?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Okay, then I’ll park there.” He stood a moment, then asked. “I’m curious as to how he found you. Are you in contact with any of your friends from Monroe? Like teacher friends or the like?”
“No. My parents are deceased. I don’t have siblings, and my old friends are all back in New Orleans. I haven’t been in contact with them in ages.”
“Did Alex ever visit you in Monroe?”
“We didn’t hang out or anything like that, but he knew where I lived, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said.
“If he was set on finding you, the first place he would have gone was to where you used to live then, right?”
She nodded.
“And he would have discovered you were gone. Maybe even learned you were moving.”
“Possibly,” Dani said. “I mean, my landlord is the one who agreed to let the movers in to pick up my things when I was ready to move. Why?”
“If he was determined to find you, he would have been watching your apartment, waiting for you to come back. But then he finds out you’re gone. Maybe he talksto the landlord and finds out you’re moving. Landlord won’t tell him where you’re going, but all he has to do is wait for the moving van to show up and follow it. Straight to you,” Aaron said.
Dani shuddered. “That’s something Tony would do. Stands to reason Alex would, too.”
“It’s just a supposition,” Aaron said. “But it also gives me a good idea of how serious he is in following through on his threats.”
“I feel like a sitting duck,” Dani muttered.
“Don’t. Just do what you need to do throughout the day. You can’t hide from him. Likely he already knows where you live, and he’s not going to bust in on you when you’re awake, anyway.”
