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Darryl's eyes were closed in horror, and he repeatedly whispered, “Holy fuck!” under his breath. Andre's fists were clenched, his mouth a grim line, his nostrils flaring in rage. Michael's mouth was hanging open, his eyes wide in disbelief. Sammy had gone pale, a grey tinge to his skin.
“You mean that filth he's been putting up on the forums was targeted at Allee? He's done those things to her?”
Noah nodded at Sammy's question.
“I'd say so. Allee told us last night that she felt as if she's been watched a couple of times over the last week or two. We don't know if he has been watching her constantly or just keeping tabs. The point is, he knows where she works, and he knows where she lives. That's why we got you all in here. Allee cannot be left alone. She will need to have people stay with her, not only to bring her to work and take her home but to be that extra body at home, so she doesn't feel so vulnerable. I won't be staying with her at all, she won't let me, but I'll be looking after her cat once she's been released from the vet.”
Charlie spoke up at that point, putting an idea across, “It would probably be a good idea if, over a weekend, we had two people stay with her at a time. We don't know if he will try anything, but if Allee needs to go somewhere, at least she'd have an extra person with her. Plus, now that Piddle will be safely hidden away, Allee will pack up anything precious to her and stow it at my place, so if she needs to, she can just leave and not go back. During the week, she'll be here in the office and surrounded by people, but she'll feel more exposed on the weekends. Hopefully, if we can get a couple of people staying with her, she won't feel like that.”
“Well, fuck him. Allee is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, and if he lays a finger on her, I'll be extremely happy to fuck him up. I'm in. I'll do weekend duty and split it with someone else.”
Noah nodded to Andre, making a note.
For the next several minutes, the group discussed when they'd be available to help, and once they were agreed, they went back to their workstations. Noah headed towards Allee's office, knocking on her closed door before opening it and walking in.
Allee had spent the last hour closeted in her office, going through emails and phone messages. She had queued up her Chill Out playlist, turned the volume up, and lost herself in her work. A knock at the door had her looking up, and she watched silently as Noah entered her office, closing the door softly behind him. Her stomach began churning. While she could immerse herself in something else, she could still pretend that Stuart hadn't found her and that Piddle was unharmed.
“Hey,” Noah could see that Allee was on edge.
“Hey. So, what happened?”
“Everyone knows that someone broke into your house and that the same person is responsible for the graffiti and the stuff on the forums. They know that he's someone you know and that he's after you for some reason, but that's it. We've told Sammy, Darryl, Michael, and Andre a bit more, and we've come up with a roster of who will be staying with you, and Beth and Mark will take you home tonight. Andre has said he'll come over with Sammy in the morning, and they'll bring you to the vet to meet me so we can pick up Piddle.”
Allee could see Noah was angry and upset that she wouldn't let him stay with her. She didn't know how to explain that Noah was too important to endanger. If Stuart found out she was seeing him, especially that they were sleeping together, Allee knew he would have no qualms in harming Noah, partly to hurt Allee and partly because Stuart believed she belonged to him. In his mind, no other man could be anything other than her acquaintance or colleague.
“Noah, please, don't do this.”
“Do what?” Noah seemed genuinely puzzled.
“Please, don't fight me. I know you hate what I've asked, but I couldn't bear it if anything was to happen to you as well. You don't know Stuart. You don't know what he's like. If he knew about us if he found out where you lived...I can’t even think about what he’d do to you!”
Noah moved over to her, tenderly gathering her in his arms, kissing the top of her head.
“Sweetheart, I can't deny that I hate that you won't let me protect you. But I don't blame you for that. I blame him. If I don't do something, I just feel I'm not giving you the support you need right now. I love you. I'm in love with you. It tears me apart knowing I can't do anything to help, and that's all I want to do. I want you to be happy, to feel safe.”
“Noah, by asking you to stay away, I'm ensuring that you'll be there when I need you. I won't have to worry about you, and you'll be protecting Piddle for me. That is more important to me than anything else. Can we please let this go? I can't think about it any longer.”
The expression on Noah’s face betrayed his frustration and rage, but he placed another reassuring kiss on Allee's head, nodded, and walked back to his own desk.
Later that afternoon, Allee walked down to Beth and Mark's car, a feeling of unreality keeping her off-kilter. Until now, she'd thought herself safe and free, but she'd been so very wrong. All she wanted was to grab Piddle and run, to flee where Stuart would never find them, but she didn't know where she could go. She was so tired and wanted to curl up and sleep for a week. But that was impossible, not with the media launch looming. The only bright spots in her near future were the facts that the vet had confirmed Piddle could be collected in the morning, that she'd be seeing Gareth again the next week, and that Noah loved her. Allee couldn't understand how she'd managed to make such wonderful and supportive friends in such a relatively short time and meet such a caring and protective man.
As she climbed into the raised seat of the four-wheel-drive, Allee looked around instinctively. She had previously ignored the feeling of being watched, but now she knew her instincts had been right. She was determined not to make that mistake again.
Out of the corner of her eye, Allee saw a flash of colour. She looked around in time to see a metallic purple car turning around a corner. While she couldn't be sure it was Stuart's, she knew that the Monaro he'd restored was a similar shade. Allee got her phone out and sent Noah a text:
Have you seen a purple Monaro around recently? Stuart owns one.
Within moments, Allee had received a response:
Yes. Will call you when I get home.
Allee settled back in the seat as Mark drove the short distance to her complex. Mark punched in the code, then guided the car around to her house. Allee and Beth both got out, and while Mark parked inside the garage and then checked the house, Beth waiting outside with Allee. He came back nodding the all-clear, and in a few short minutes, they were all sitting comfortably around the kitchen table, the phone sitting silently at Allee's hand. The three of them chatted about inconsequential matters, lending a sense of normalcy to the scene.
When the phone rang, Allee answered and switched it to speaker phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey guys, it's me,” Noah’s voice echoed through the room. “Allee said she'd seen a dark purple car driving away from near work this arvo, although she wasn't able to tell what make it was. I've seen a really sweet looking HG Monaro with a metallic dark plum paintjob lingering in one of the upper car parks recently. It was kind of hard to miss. Have either of you seen it as well?”
