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“We did, or at least I thought we did. Our man Darwin is a real chameleon, Sheldon, which is probably exactly why he hasn’t been caught with anything lately and is still out on the streets. We’ve been monitoring the address we got from intel. Get this, the team was watching a man who looks just like him hanging out at his apartment. The window and curtains were open, and the security team could see him walking back and forth to get a cup of coffee, something out of the refrigerator, up and down, for one thing or another, all damn day. They thought they had eyes on our guy, but when I followed Alexis to her shop, we spotted Darwin waiting for her. It wasn’t unintentional, Sheldon, and now they’ve cleared out of that apartment. The only thing left behind was a shoe. They’re running it for prints, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. Weirdest fucking thing. It was like one of those high-ass platform shoes, but more like a boot. We’ll know more once the report comes back, but this guy is a calculated sociopath.”
“Son of a bitch! How’s Alexis taking it all?”
“I talked to Alexis about additional security, and she’s fine with that, but I didn’t exactly tell her why. We both know men like Darwin don’t give up. He’s going to keep stalking her. Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t have her under surveillance? We’re going to need more men, and we’ll have to set her up with standard protocols. The whole nine yards.”
“She doesn’t know why?”
He sighs. “I thought maybe you would want to tell Alexis what’s going on. I actually thought we were going to have to talk her into having more security, but quite the opposite. She didn’t question the need and seemed to take it all in stride. She even sent me a text to say thank you.”
My jaw tightens just thinking about Alexis sending a text to Nick and not to me, but I deserve that. I’ve given her no reason at all to think I care. Instead, I’ve given her more than a few mixed messages and no follow-up call.
“Darwin must have gotten spooked and figured out we were onto him somehow. He paid the server without eating the food he ordered and took off out the back door before we could get a team on his tail. We have intel trying to track him, but Alexis isn’t safe at all with that asshole out there.” As if he needs to convince me.
Nick and the team have done everything I would have done, and the fact that Darwin was just waiting for Alexis to come back to the shop makes every hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Sheldon, did you hear me? We’re going to have to get a plan in place to keep Alexis safe long-term. I’m happy to hang out with her and the backup team for a couple more days, but then I’m supposed to be heading to Italy too. We can’t just leave her without a point.”
The ding on my phone pulls me from my thoughts. I smile broadly at the message from Chase because it’s not every day the last piece of a puzzle and plan falls right into place at the exact moment you need it. I don’t realize how hard I’ve been clenching my jaw until I begin to speak. “We already have a plan, Nick. You’re bringing Alexis to me in Italy, and you’re leaving tonight.”
Chapter Six
Alexis
I’m just cleaningup my station, and Jan and Nick are talking about a series on television when his phone rings. I try not to eavesdrop on his conversation, but I glance up when I hear Sheldon’s name. Nick looks over at me, lowers his voice, and heads to a quiet corner in the shop just out of earshot.
Apparently, Sheldon has plenty of time to talk with Nick. That certainly blows my contrived theory that he’s been too busy with his job to call me all to hell. Not that I really thought it was the reason he hasn’t called or checked in on me for so long, but at least it was a possibility, until now.
If Sheldon wanted to talk to me, he would, plain and simple. I need to get that man out of my mind and move on. But that’s what I’ve already told myself, time and time again, and yet his dark hair and those molten brown eyes continue to dominate every one of my wildest fantasies. I feel my face flush at the memory of just how easily he brought me to orgasm in my dream last night and am so caught up in my thoughts that I don’t even realize Nick has walked up behind me and is holding his phone out for me to take.
“Sheldon wants to talk to you.”
I turn with a start and then gingerly take the cell.
“Why don’t you go into the breakroom? We won’t disturb you,” Nick suggests, gesturing with a nod toward the back of the shop before dropping into one of the salon chairs in front of the mirrored stations.
Jan pushes the broom she’s using to clean up from her last client toward me playfully. “Don’t make me get after you, young lady.”
“Going, going!” I mouth to the two of them before heading into the breakroom. Privacy from those two conspirators is definitely in order. Jeez! I close the door behind me with a bang just to let them know I’m onto them before settling into one of the smooth plastic chairs that go with the matching table set. I take a deep breath, psyching myself up to talk to the man who hasn’t left my thoughts for days. “This is Alexis.”
“This is Sheldon. Sorry to interrupt you at work, but I wanted to talk to you about a few things. Nick thought this would be a good time since you aren’t with a client.”
Just the sound of his throaty voice sends tingles of excitement through my body and straight to my center, which is most definitely not helping me get this man off my mind.Play it cool, Lexie. The last thing you need is for him to think you’ve been pining away for him after he didn’t even have the decency to call.“There’s always something that needs to be done in between clients, but I have time to talk right now. Is something wrong?”
“I’ve had Nick guarding your house and the salon while you’ve been recovering. He told me he talked to you about having our security team continue to watch out for you but said he didn’t tell you why. I’m not going to beat around the bush, Alexis. You have the right to know what’s going on, so I’m just going to give this to you straight.”
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding, waiting for him to tell me. “Okay, tell me.”
“They spotted the man from the diner across the street at the burger bar. He was waiting for you to return to work. I’m not sure what would have happened if he didn’t get spooked and take off, and I’m personally not convinced after learning that he wasn’t the one who caused your accident. We can’t prove anything, but a witness in the parking lot that night told police he saw a man with Darwin’s description walking away from your car. He’s stalking you, Lexie.”
“Oh my God! I was going to say you’ve got to be kidding, but damn, you aren’t the type to joke about something like this, are you? Where is he now? Should I call the police?”
His deep voice is smooth and calming to my runaway nerves. “One question at a time, okay? Our intelligence division is trying to get a lock on his location, and we have people working on his trafficking connections. In the meantime, we have a highly trained team watching for him around your salon. I’m comfortable they will do all they can to protect you, but he’s still at large and clearly has his sights on you. You’re not going to be completely safe until he’s behind bars where he belongs, so I have a proposal.”
I breathe in and then blow out, inhaling deeply to keep myself calm. I knew that guy was no good the minute I set eyes on him. A known trafficker, a killer, and now he’s stalking me. My brain is numb, but so is the rest of my body at the thought of what that means. I’m frozen in shock, and fear has grabbed my heart and is clasping it in its strong hold. Utter disbelief flows through me. I thought he’d been no big deal and hadn’t even wanted to involve the police. How wrong I was?
“Did you hear me?” Sheldon asks, his voice has deepening. The timber is distracting enough to bring me back to the moment and give him my full attention.
“Sorry, Sheldon. I heard you; rfI’m just trying to process it all.”
