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The term makes me stiffen. I’m not fucking ready for that yet. Not by a long shot. Tinsley is never getting married.
“I’ll relax when you tell me your name. You’re not a cop, so what are you?”
He curls his lip at the mention of the police, and another red flag waves in my mind. I don’t like this at all. My every instinct screams for me to take Tiny and run, but she doesn’t seem scared. A bit nervous but not fearful.
“It’s Alec. That will have to suffice for now.”
I chuckle, but it’s hollow. “I don’t think so.”
“Dad, just listen to what he has to say,” Tinsley pleads.
I meet her stare, finding her own anxiousness too obvious to ignore, and nod reluctantly. “Fine.”
Alec pulls his hands from his pockets, a cell phone in the left one. “I’ve been talking to Noah here since shortly after he woke up, but I figured I’d come introduce myself formally once I had some concrete proof for you all.”
Noah doesn’t deny it. “Alec is who I thought was a PI for hire. Turns out he makes a better liar than a detective. Fortunately for us, he didn’t lie to me about who Tinsley’s stalker is.”
I freeze, gawking at the newcomer. Did Tinsley know Noah was looking for a PI? That he supposedly hired one? From the subtle awkwardness radiating from her, I’m inclined to say no.
“How do you know who it is?” I ask.
“Let’s just say that he pissed off the wrong group of people. We’ve been looking for him for a while now but lost his trail a few weeks ago when he dipped into America. He popped back up on our radar when he arrived back in Toronto,” Alec explains, flexing his tattooed fingers as our eyes meet. “It would appear that you have a history with him as well, Braden.”
My blood runs cold with dread. Tinsley sucks in a breath, but I can’t bring myself to look at her right now. This stranger knows my name, but that’s not what’s most concerning.
It’s that I could have somehow been the one that put her in this danger.
“Tell me what you know,” I demand, taking a step toward him.
His eyes latch onto the movement, and his fingers twitch, as if wanting to reach for something. “I have the footage from the store Noah stopped at before he was attacked. It doesn’t show the stabbing, but it catches enough leading up to it to confirm the man’s identity.”
“Show it to us,” Noah hisses, the words cruel, unforgiving.
For the first time in my life, I find myself grateful for his anger. It means he’ll keep my daughter safe. Deep down, I’ve always known that, but I refused to acknowledge it. If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to hate him and pretend that he wasn’t in love with Tinsley.
Alec is quick to unlock his phone and open it to a dark video. He offers the slim device to Noah, and I move to stand beside my daughter. I’m completely unprepared for what I fear I’ll see on the screen. A thousand prayers to the man upstairs wouldn’t be enough to settle my nerves. Each second that passes with us watching the black screen feels like an eternity. My palms are slick as I wipe them on my thighs and set an arm on the back of the bed, behind Tinsley’s head.
Noah’s grip on the phone makes his fingertips turn white before he’s pressing Play. The screen brightens slightly, just enough to make out the dimly lit street outside the corner store at the entrance of their neighbourhood. For several moments, nothing happens. Not so much as a bird flies in front of the camera. But in a blink, that changes. I recognize Noah as he steps into the store and disappears.
“Forward the video ten minutes,” Alec instructs.
Noah does, and the same empty street fills the screen until he stops, playing the video at normal speed. We watch the screen as he steps out of the store with a plastic bag in his hand, and then Tinsley adjusts herself on the bed. She presses her mouth to Noah’s arm and whispers something I don’t make out. It’s most likely an apology. One she’s been repeating since I called and told her something had happened to her best friend.
Nausea swirls in my stomach at the reminder of the state I found Noah in, but I force myself to focus on the screen again. I’ll see it all again in my nightmares tonight.
In the video, Noah walks down the street and out of the frame of the video. It’s not two minutes later that another figure appears, following him at a slow pace. My lungs tighten, the air inside of them getting choked off.
The stranger turns to check behind him, and the world stills as the camera catches a grainy view of his face. I yank my arm from behind Tinsley and stumble back a step.
“Dad?” she asks, alarmed at my jerky movements. “Do you know who that is?”
Alec makes his presence known again with a rough laugh. “You’re white as a sheet, Braden. Have you seen a ghost?”
I try to speak, but no words come out. Alec doesn’t wait for me to collect myself before he’s speaking again, disgust ringing in my ears.
“His name is Cole Travis, Tinsley. And I think he’s infatuated with you because you remind him of your mother.”
* * *
