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As we entered the elevator that would take us up to Archer's office, I couldn't help getting a little anxious about what it was he had to tell me. What else could top some freak, psycho murderer that possibly wanted me dead? When the elevator doors opened, we made the short walk to his office, my feet feeling like I was walking through quicksand I'd been so nervous about this news. His assistant waved us in, and I barely even registered her presence as I tried to figure out, what now? Walking into his office, we found Archer typing away on his laptop.
When he glanced up at us, he practically jumped out of his chair, heading straight for me, engulfing me in a tight hug as he kissed the top of my forehead. "I'm so glad you're here, and safe. I was so worried about you."
Pushing back from his chest, I asked. "What's going on, Archer? Gage said that you have something else to tell me?"
Motioning towards one of the chairs in front of his desk, he told me. "Please, I want you to sit down and then I'll tell you everything." When he rounded his desk, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he called out to whoever it was. As the door opened, Riker walks in.
"Hey, Sloane. How are you doing?"
"Well, I've been better, don't really like getting threatening notes on my car and all."
"I was sorry to hear about that."
"Thank you. I don't mean to be rude here but can someone please just tell me what the hell is going on, and what this new bit of information you have to give me is?"
Letting out a heavy breath, Riker moved over to Archer's desk, picking up a file. Placing the file in front of me, he put his hand over the top of it so I couldn't open it. "First, I want you to know that this research was not done maliciously. It was done due to a true concern for your safety, and it's a good thing we did it, now we know what we're possibly dealing with here."
Growing impatient, I snapped out. "Okay, so can I see it now?" Riker begrudgingly removed his hand and flipped the folder open. The first thing I saw was a picture of Jared. "What the hell?"
CHAPTER
27
Archer
When Riker told methe information he had uncovered about Jared, I wanted to jump in my car and race to get to Sloane as fast as possible. The idea of a murderer possibly being after her was more than enough to deal with, but now having to deal with two threat possibilities was going to put me on a permanent edge. I needed this whole thing straightened out, the BDSM murderer caught and I needed to figure out just how dangerous Jared really was. My first instinct was to take Sloane straight home and lock her away, where no one would be able to find her. But knowing my angel the way I did, she would have fought me to the ends of the earth if I even tried that. Seeing the look of fear in her eyes when she entered my office was like a punch to the gut. I hated seeing her upset or afraid and would do anything to take it all away. Sitting here as I watched her go through Jared's file, I waited for her response. "So, is he? Are you telling me? What is it exactly that you guys are trying to tell me with this? That he was with me because I look like these two girls? Or that he's going to try and hurt me?"
"Honestly, we aren't sure. But I wanted you to see this, so you’d know just who it is you're dealing with. He's not a rational man, Sloane." I told her.
She glanced down at the file again. "He didn't seem that off to me, I mean, obviously he's had issues in the past, but he might be better now. And maybe it's just a coincidence that I look like these girls. He wouldn't be the first guy to have a type."
Seeing that she wasn’t taking this as seriously as I wanted her to, I knew I needed to have a private chat with her and make her see things my way. "Riker, Gage, would you two please excuse us? I would like to talk to Sloane alone." Both of them gave me a nod and left my office. Following them over, I locked the door behind them once they are gone. Turning around, I walked back over to my desk where she sat. "I need you to start taking this very seriously, Sloane." I pointed at the open file to drive her attention to why I was worried.
"It's not that I don't take this seriously Archer, it's just really hard for me to wrap my brain around it. I mean the Jared that I know is not the same guy you have here in this file. I'm sitting here reading all of this and trying to think to myself if I noticed anything off about him during the time we dated. The only thing that comes to mind is how possessive he was with my time, but that's it. You're the same way, too though, if not worse with the wholeminething, so I don't see how it’s an issue at all. I mean, like I said, the guy has obviously had some problems, but people do change, Archer. Maybe he got better."
Not able to keep the smirk off my face about her possessive comment towards me, I wiped it away just as fast as it appeared. I still needed to get through to her just how seriously I needed her to take this. "Sloane, the stalking issue in college wasn't that long ago, it's only been four years since it happened." Thinking to myself how I could get her to see things my way, I decided to try the sympathetic seduction approach. Taking her hand in mine, I leaned down to kiss it. "Would you please just do this for me Sloane, and stay away from him? You mean too much to me. I can't stand the thought of something happening to you."
