Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
“Holy shit,” Theo hissed from behind his computer screen as he flipped through hundreds of my emails from my stalker. “This is…extreme, to say the least.”
An hour after the police declared my cabin an active crime scene, my entire group of friends gathered in Alex and Cole’s living room, ready to discuss what had happened. I wasn’t sure if I was prepared to talk openly about what had gone down, but after a long phone call with Dr. Kedir, it was clear it was time. I’d grabbed the envelope filled with emails and letters before leaving my cabin, at least the ones I had kept just in case. There were still a few more sitting in an evidence box in the police precinct in the city, but after months with no word, I was sure they wouldn’t give us any more insight.
Victoria stood at my shoulder the entire time I spoke, her hand never straying too far from my back. If I hadn't already known I was in love with this girl, tonight would have cemented that fact. I was prepared for her to run away, closing off my heart so she couldn’t destroy it as she left. The last thing I expected was for her to demand to stay at my side and help me track down the person responsible for so much pain.
Maybe it was selfish of me to hold on so tight, but in truth, I couldn’t get through this without her. She was my port in the middle of the storm, my light guiding me to safe passage. Without her, I would have let the darkness absorb me, falling back into the crater I created months ago.
When I finished, Cole sat back on the couch, running his hand over his face. I knew he wasn’t happy she was still here, petrified his sister would get in my stalker’s crosshairs. But once she insisted it was her choice, there was nothing he could say to change her mind.
The only concession Victoria made was that Emilia leave town with Cameron. With his meeting in Boston in two days, they decided to head down to the city early, telling Emilia it was so they could explore the sights together. Hadley had even agreed to go along with them to watch Emilia while Cam was meeting with the team. Victoria would have nothing to worry about.
Watching her drive away was painful for me, but it was downright torture for Victoria. I held her as the tail lights went up the path, whispering in her ear, “You could still go with them. No one would blame you for wanting to sit this one out.”
“No,” she insisted. “My place is here, with you.” She turned and linked our hands. “We’re fighting for a life together. All three of us. So let’s figure this out so Emilia can come home.”
I nodded as we walked inside, half-heartedly smiling at the people who came to support us. By the time everyone showed up, there was barely any room to breathe, but no one wanted to leave, hoping to help in some way. Even Devyn and Gray had cast their differences aside, working together without an issue.
Seeing this group, this community, band together to fight my demons made hope rise in my chest. Maybe we’d actually be able to find this person and put an end to all this misery.
As the shock from my admission wore off, everyone started assigning themselves tasks. Alex and Cole pulled up the recordings from all the security cameras around Fox Creek, trying to align the angles with the pictures my stalker had taken. The only good news was that there were none from inside Victoria’s apartment. Whether it was because the front entrance was covered or because of the constant people around, we couldn’t be sure. But there were only a couple of pictures with Emilia in them, and it was clear she wasn’t the focus of my stalker’s rage.
No, that had been saved for Victoria.
As we started pulling down the photos, it was clear she was the target of their rage. Her face was scribbled out of almost every single image, either with a marker or a sharp object. Victoria tried to stay calm when she saw them, but I could tell she was rattled—we all were.
“Nothing,” Alex hissed, slamming down her laptop lid. “Whoever this fucker is, they know where our cameras are located. They managed to avoid them for months.”
“Do you think it could be someone on the staff?” Javi asked.
Alex looked at me in question. I ran my hand over my face. “No one stands out. Most of them know me, but they’ve kept their distance. The only one who might have shown an interest was that one waitress…What’s her name? ”
“Delia,” Cole answered. “Can’t be her. She's out of town for her grandmother’s wake.”
“Unless she’s not really,” Calla said. She glanced around the room. “What? This person clearly has some issues. Can we really assume they wouldn’t stoop so low as to claim a fake grandparent’s death?”
“I’ll stop by her place first thing in the morning,” Cole said. “If she’s not involved, I don't want to scare the shit out of her by showing up in the middle of the night.”
“Good call,” I said, looking around at the tired faces surrounding me. “In fact, all of you should go home. It’s late, and you all deserve some sleep.”
“Not going to happen,” Alex said, standing up with her hands on her hips. “Whoever wants to leave is more than welcome to, but I’m not going to bed knowing this person is out there, possibly plotting their next move against you.” She shifted, moving toward the kitchen. “I’ll put on another pot of coffee.”
“Alex is right,” Cole added, turning to me. “But you should crash, and it’s been a long night already. The guest room’s all yours.”
I shook my head. “I can’t impose on you any more than I already am.”
“I’m sorry. Do you think I meant that as a question?” Cole’s eyes narrowed in reprimand. “You’re staying with us until this thing blows over.” He gave the same look to his sister. “The same goes for you, trouble. Neither of you are leaving this house alone until this person is behind bars, got it?”
“Got it.” My voice caught in my throat, so I didn’t risk saying anything more. It was hard for me to put into words how much I appreciated everyone in this room. Even after I suggested they all leave for the night, no one moved toward the door. All my life, I’d tried to be the guy people could count on, the one with the ever-present smile on my face. I hated asking for help, hated to let anyone see any of my weaknesses. But looking around, I realized how foolish I had been. I would have laid my life on the line for any of these people, and how could I have been so blind as to not see they would do the same for me?
My eyes started to water from both thegratitude and exhaustion of the day. Victoria pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Go lay down.”
“I can’t,” I said. “Not while everyone else is working to help me.”
“Yes, you can,” she insisted, pulling me up to stand. “You’ve lived with this alone for long enough. Let us carry this weight for a little bit.”
I shook my head, starting to argue, but I stopped when I saw that determined look on Victoria’s face. My body slumped from the exhaustion, finally feeling like I could unload the weight for a little while. I squeezed her hand, “I love you.”
“Love you, too, Adam. Now, get some rest while we try to work all of this out.”
I started toward the stairs, but my feet paused when I saw Theo lurking in the darkness of the kitchen, alone, his computer screen illuminating his face. I glanced over my shoulder at Victoria, who was occupied with Alex and Javi, before heading in his direction. When I approached, Theo’s face lifted, regret filling his features like a mask.
“I’m sorry, Adam,” he muttered as I took a seat next to him on the kitchen island. “I should have seen something like this was going on.”
“You have nothing to apologize about,” I answered. “I didn’t tell you for a reason. I…I was embarrassed. I thought I co uld handle it on my own, and when I realized it was more serious than I thought, I didn’t want to burden anyone else with my problems.”
“Never do that again,” Theo said, his dark eyes boring a hole into mine. “You have a problem, we work through it together. Even if I can’t help you as your agent, you sure as fuck know I’ll be there as your friend.”
I nodded, trying to keep the catch out of my throat, but it was useless. “Thanks, Theo.”
“Thank me after we catch this asshole,” he grumbled, returning to his computer screen.
I peered over his side. “What are you looking at?”
“These emails from last year. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something familiar about the language your stalker uses. I think an old client of mine might have had a run-in with someone similar.”
“Can you talk to them?” I asked. “Find out what happened?”
“I can try,” Theo groaned. “The problem is, I don’t represent them anymore. They stuck with Jack and the agency when he took over my old office.”
We both sighed, guessing this would probably be a dead end. Jack was Theo’s former co-worker, one he once considered a close friend. But when Theo needed him the most, Jack betrayed him and forced Theo out of the office he helped build. There was still a lot of bad blood between the two, so it was unlikely he’d be willing to help us out.
“Actually, there might be one way to get that information out of him.” Theo smirked as he leaned over, calling out into the other room, “Devyn, can you come here for a moment?”
She strolled into the kitchen, her usual frown firmly in place. I didn’t know Devyn as well as her sister, but everyone could tell they were polar opposites in most ways. Calla was always smiling, a human version of eternal sunshine, while you could never quite know what Devyn was thinking. She watched everyone like a snake poised to attack, and it made it hard to relax around her.
But I’d also seen the lengths she’d go for her sister and anyone else she cared for. Hell, she even rushed over here in the middle of the night, having no qualms about losing sleep over two people she barely knew.
“Need something?” Devyn asked as she leaned across the counter from us.
“You’re in contact with Jack, right?”
Her resulting smirk was utterly devious. “Yes, everything is in place. I’m just waiting for you to give the word.”
“It’s going to have to hold off a little longer,” Theo sighed. “We might need his help.”
“Who’s help?” Calla asked as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.
Theo’s gaze flickered to Devyn’s, and a rare moment of uncertainty crossed both of their features. It was Devyn who relented first. “We might need to call Jack.”
“What?” Calla gasped. “Why on Earth would you need to talk to that cretin? Do you think he’s involved?”
“No, I don’t think he’d dirty his hands with something like this, but he might have crossed paths with Adam’s stalker through one of his clients,” Theo answered. “I hate involving him as much as you do, but it’s worth the risk. He might give us something to go on. Because otherwise, we could be running in circles for a while.”
Calla hummed in understanding before turning to her sister. “And why are you the one contacting him? Didn’t you block him months ago after everything came to light?”
“I unblocked him.” She shrugged. “I needed him for a… special project, so I reached out and convinced him he might have another chance with me.”
“But he doesn’t, right?” Calla’s whole face paled. “I swear, if you get back together with that asshole…”
“Relax. He doesn’t have a chance in the world.” She waved off Calla’s concern. “I’m just letting him think he has one.”
“And what is he really doing?”
Devyn’s smile turned from devious to downright lethal. “Digging his own grave.”