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“James?” Steph frowned at the surname. “As in Bruno James? The prominent businessman who is running for mayor?”
“Yes.” The officer nodded. “Kendal is his only child.”
Something occurred to Steph. “When you saw her, you didn’t seem surprised that I’d reported her.”
“I was just about to warn you about her,” the officer told Steph. “It’s not her first stalking offense.” He started walking toward the front door. “Please be careful. She’ll probably back off now as she didn’t get to intimidate you, but just watch out for her.”
“Thank you, officer,” Steph walked him to the door and saw him out.
Once the police car had driven off, Steph allowed herself to give in to her fear and felt as if she’d been trapped in a bad dream. It all felt so unreal. After ensuring every window was shut, and the doors were locked, Steph finally got to freshen her bath and climb in, letting the soothing bubble water soak away the fear. Only the doubt that had crept in and hidden behind was left behind, stuck in her mind.
The following two weeks became a silent nightmare for Steph. She’d asked Max about Kendal James, and he’d told her she’d sent him some chocolates and thank-you notes for saving her. Max had fobbed it off as Kendal being grateful that Max had helped her get to an interview on time.
Steph had wondered what interview she’d be having in the evening but had let the matter go. She hadn’t told Max about the incident at the house as he’d been so busy at work. The station captain had a heart attack two days after Max’s Naples course had finished. As second in command, Max had stepped in as acting captain.
Three days after Steph had gotten Kendal taken away from the house by the police, she’d started getting threatening text message boxes of dead roses sent to the hotel for Steph. On numerous occasions, Steph would walk home and catch glimpses of Kendal lurking around. Then, one night, Max was in the shower when Steph saw a message from Kendal flash up on Max’s phone.
Hey handsome, we’re having a party at the Marine Center, you should come join us.
Steph had gone cold, and her heart felt like it had dropped to her feet. Max hadn’t mentioned that Kendal was associated with the Marine Center, and the doubt had flooded in. Steph had asked Max, and he’d confirmed that Kendal also volunteered there as she was a qualified marine biologist, just like Max was. Suspicion had been born in Steph’s mind that night, and she had a horrible feeling that Kendal was dangerous.
Max didn’t think anything of Kendal appearing wherever they were or that she seemed to like and do everything Max did. Whenever Max was out surfing with the twins or at the Marine Center volunteering, Kendal would send Steph a message letting her know how much fun she and Max were having. When Steph tried to broach the subject of Kendal being obsessed with Max, he’d laugh Steph off and tease her about being jealous before letting her know that no one could replace Steph in his heart—Kendal was just a friend.
Steph was left in a situation where she didn’t want to come across as the jealous, mistrustful wife, but the doubt and suspicion were setting in more and more. She did her best to ignore and brush Kendal’s taunting’s aside until, one day, Steph had stayed at her parent’s house to look after her gran. When she got home the following day, she saw Kendal leaving the house in one of Max’s shirts.
Steph had taken a photo of Kendal sneaking out of the house, and when she’d gone, Steph had rushed inside, but Max wasn’t home. That was the first time she’d called one of his firefighters to find out if Max had been at the station the entire night. The firefighter had assured Steph he had been and hadn’t left. It had left Steph feeling unsafe, and she’d known that Kendal had been watching her. That’s when Steph knew she could no longer keep what was happening to herself and had called Wallis for help.
Wallis and his father took over the case, and Kendal’s harassment stopped. She disappeared for over a year and returned ten months ago after getting a position as a marine biologist at the Marine Center. While Kendal no longer harassed Steph, the woman made subtle hints at her relationship with Max, using Clyde as her tool to deliver the messages. Clyde didn’t know he was Kendal’s pawn, and Steph suspected he was in love with the horrid woman. When he griped to Steph about how Kendal followed Max around like a puppy, he did so out of jealousy as she wasn’t paying him the same attention.
Present Day
Before Steph realized it, she was driving into Marco Island, and her heart started thumping against her chest as she neared home. As she passed hers and Max’s house that was being renovated, something made her stop. She pulled up, parked the car, and walked through the front gate. As she stepped through, she froze, and her eyes widened as her breath caught in her throat.
She felt like she was glued to the spot as she watched the scene she dreaded most play out in front of her eyes. Max and Kendal stood near the front door. His back was to the gate as his attention was glued to Kendal and hadn’t noticed Steph standing at the gate. Before she could call him Steph’s eyes collided with Kendal’s. Kendal’s lips curled into a smirk as she looked smugly at Steph, then turned to Max and plastered her lips to his.
Steph felt like she’d been impaled through the heart with a dagger of betrayal as Max’s arms shot out, and his hand gripped Kendal’s arms. Anger, hurt, jealousy, and a host of other emotions Steph couldn’t identify flooded through her.
Before she could stop herself, she shouted, “And you accusedmeof having an affair.”
Before waiting for Max to realize she was there, Steph turned and fled. As she pulled off in her rental car, tears streamed down her face, and she drove off.
CHAPTER 8
Maxhadbeensoexcited to be able to help put the finishing touches on his and Steph’s house. It was finally finished, and when Steph and the twins got home, they could move in within a few days. Max couldn’t wait. While he loved his in-laws and extended family, he loved his own home, and he knew the boys, and Steph missed it as much as he did. But the storm damage from the previous year had forced them to evacuate and for the house to undergo repairs, which presented them with the perfect opportunity to renovate it as they had planned for the future.
Max was finishing giving the bathroom in his and Steph’s bedroom its final clean when the doorbell had rung. He’d been surprised to see Kendal there with Chinese take-out and coffee. While Max was still trying to make sense of the story Wallis had told him about how Kendal had stalked Steph, he didn’t want her to figure out he knew about it. Max wanted to terminate her position at the Marine Center and needed to find a way to do it without looking like she was losing her job due to personal reasons.
Max also didn’t want to give Kendal a reason to start stalking and harassing Steph and was also terrified she may extend her harassment to his kids this time. After Wallis had told him about what Kendal had done to Steph, he’d started to realize what Clyde had been warning him about all these months. Kendal was trying to make him see her in a romantic way, but that was never going to happen. While Max and Steph were having a few relationship problems, he would never look at another woman. Steph was the love of his life and his soulmate. There’d be no other for him.
Max had contacted a few other Marine Centers to try and get her relocated to one of them. He had the perfect excuse to do so as soon as the new habitats were completed, and Max had pressured the workers to get them done quicker by bringing up the due date. Instead of them being completed in a month, Max wanted them done within a week, and thankfully, Mike had agreed to help Max with the finances to do it. More workers were starting the next day, and two students studying marine biology would be helping out.
“Max?” Kendal’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “I brought you some food and coffee!” Kendal held up the bag. “Clyde told me you were working on your house today, and as your wife and kids are out of town, I figured you wouldn’t have eaten.”
“I actually ate at the hotel,” Max told her, trying to keep his attitude casual and forcefully stopping himself from kicking her out. He didn’t want her inside his family’s house. “I’ve just finished what I was doing here and was heading out.”
“Oh!” Kendal tried to look past him into the house. “Maybe one of the contractors could have the food then.”
“Sure, I’ll have it,” Dave, a burly guy who was clearing away the building equipment, was walking past when he heard her offer.
