Chapter Twenty-Four
ABBIE
I stare down at my phone, my heart twisting in my chest and my blood running cold. It happened again. He won’t go away.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Unknown: I’m running out of patience, Little Lamb.
This is the first text I’ve gotten since the stalker wrote his message to Jake on my sliding glass door last week. I knew he wasn’t giving up or anything, but seeing him reach out again like this is heart wrenching.
I start to shake and hope up from my desk, rushing to shut my office door so Dr. Westbrook doesn’t happen to walk by and see my distress.
Swallowing, I quickly take a screen shot of the message and send it to Detective Peterson so he has it for evidence.
Just as I hit send, my phone starts to ring, startling me so badly I nearly drop it. When I see that it’s Jake calling me, I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Hey,” I answer, quickly doing my best to mask my fear so he doesn’t pick up on anything. “What’s up? Are you on your way back home?”
“I am,” he says, his deep voice sending heat pulsing through me immediately. “You okay?”
Fuck. This man’s way too perceptive.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I try to reassure him. “What’s up?”
He hesitates and I can tell he wants to push, but he seems to think better of it. “I had a thought that I wanted to run by you.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“I want to take you on a proper date tonight. What do you think?”
I can’t stop my smile, my heart leaping in my chest. A date? He wants to take me out on a date? Mr. No-Commitment, Only Hook-Ups, wants to take me on a real date?
“Yes, I’d love that!” I tell him.
There’s a moment of excited silence. I swear, I can feel him smiling through the phone.
Then, remembering the text, I feel a pinch in my gut.
I should tell him now, so we can keep it all positive on the date.
With a deep sigh, I say in a more somber tone, “Well, first off, though… there’s something I should tell you, though.
I got another message from the stalker.”
“What?” he growls. “What did he say?”
“It doesn’t matter. I sent it to Detective Peterson.”
“All right.” His voice drops before he hesitantly continues, “Maybe we should just stay in tonight then…”
“No!” I gasp, my heart twisting. “I mean, no, I… I don’t want to live my life in fear of this guy. Sooner or later, he’ll slip up and the police will catch him. Besides, I feel safe when I’m with you.”
I hear his sharp intake of breath through the phone. “Oh? Well, I mean, I suppose if you feel safe with me, then we could probably go out and it will be fine.”
He sounds pleased, though he’s trying to hide it and that makes me beam.
“Great,” I murmur. “I’m looking forward to it.”
We hang up and I’m still smiling. Just talking to him makes me feel more at ease.
Pulling up the security camera app on my phone, I check the apartment - the front door, the balcony, the living room - and am relieved that everything seems peaceful and quiet.
I tell myself it’ll be okay - I can go out with Jake and have a good time.
The apartment is secure. There’s still a police patrol that drives by the building throughout the day, and Detective Peterson has the stalker’s latest text.
I’m safe. I can enjoy myself and have a good time, so I’m going to take the words I said to Jake to heart.
I’m not going to live my life in constant fear. That would just be letting the fucker win.
Later that evening, Jake drives us to downtown Willow Creek to a new Italian restaurant that I’ve been wanting to try for a while now.
He pulls into a spot in the parking lot and turns the car off.
I reach for the door handle, but he stops me by cupping the back of my head and turning my face toward him.
I furrow my brow. “What are you…?”
He cuts me off with a hard, hungry kiss. I moan, sinking into him and parting my lips under his. The kiss goes on for several moments before he pulls back, leaving me stunned and breathless.
“What was that for?” I murmur, gazing at him in a haze.
He smirks. “Because you look so beautiful tonight, and I just couldn’t help myself.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re gorgeous.”
I suddenly don’t want to leave the car. In fact, I want to tell him to drive us back home right this instant so we can strip naked, but I remind myself that I was insistent that we come out so I could prove I wasn’t afraid to live my life.
“Come on.” I grin. “I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”
“All right, but we’ll finish this later.”
I feel a tingle between my legs at his words and quickly get out of the car before I lose my willpower.
Jake comes around to my side of the car and grabs my hand. God, he’s handsome tonight. He’s wearing black slacks and a deep maroon button-up shirt. He cuts a striking figure with his broad shoulders and muscled physique, and the way he has his sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms…
Mmmm, shivers.
We make our way inside the restaurant and the hostess greets us with a polite smile before showing us to our table. As we weave through the dining room, a familiar face catches my eye, and I tense.
It’s Stuart. He’s at a table alone, wearing the same thin jacket and khaki pants.
I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence or if this guy always has a way of showing up around me at the most inappropriate times, but there’s just something about him that continues to make me uncomfortable.
It’s almost in the way he looks at me, not hiding how his gaze always seems to settle on my chest.
When he spots me, he immediately breaks out into a wide smile. I can see that we’re going to pass right by his table, and I brace myself for whatever he might try to say or do.
“Hi, Abbie,” he greets as we get close. “You look lovely tonight. That dress is… wow.”
Suddenly, the sweetheart neckline of my little black dress feels too low and the skirt too short. I clutch Jake’s hand and force a polite smile.
“Thank you, Stuart,” I reply in a tight voice. “Sorry, I can’t talk, though. I’m on a date.”
As if to stake his claim, Jake slips his arm around my waist, giving Stuart a pointed look and frown before pulling me away. We get settled into our table, but it’s hard to be comfortable, because Jake keeps glancing back.
“Who was that?” he mutters, shooting Stuart another look over his shoulder. “Wasn’t he at the clinic the other day?”
“Yeah. He’s a patient,” I sigh. “I keep running into him around town.”
“Seriously?” Jake furrows his brow. “Is he ever inappropriate toward you?”
“Technically… no, but I get weird vibes. Very weird.”
“Not technically?” He clenches his jaw and tenses. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It’s hard to explain,” I murmur. “Like, for instance, he knew I was a nurse at my uncle’s clinic — even called me his favorite nurse — but that was before he was ever a patient. I mean, even before his appointment with me, his last record said he hadn’t been to an appointment in over three years.”
“That’s weird,” Jake growls and starts to turn his head.
“Stop looking back there,” I hiss. “He’ll know we’re talking about him!”
“Maybe he should know. Maybe I should go back and tell him to back the fuck off.”
“What?” I almost laugh. “You’re going to go all possessive caveman because of Stuart ?”
“Don’t forget you’re the one with a stalker,” Jake grumbles. “Who’s to say he isn’t the fucker?”
I frown. I can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. But still, he doesn’t seem like he’s the type. Weird, but not like that. “I don’t think so,” I murmur.
“How are you so sure?”
I nibble my lip and squeeze my purse a little harder. “Well, I guess it’s just a gut feeling.”
He snorts, side-stepping a chair someone suddenly pushes away from a table. “That’s not really convincing me.”
Sighing, I shake my head. “Look, it’s fine, okay? Please don’t worry about him. I’m not. I swear.”
He doesn’t appear convinced, but he grumbles, “All right. Just keep your guard up around him, okay?”
“Okay,” I assure him. And as I look over Jake’s shoulder, I realize Stuart has already left the restaurant. Thank God. I let out a long breath of relief and relax into my seat.
“Okay, okay.” Jake smiles. “Listen, let’s talk about better things. You know, I never properly thanked you for standing up to my family.” He stares into my eyes, and smiles softly. “You don’t know how much that meant to me.”
Remembering how thoroughly he pleasured me in the car after that awful dinner, I actually think I’m all too aware of much it meant to him. I shift back and forth in my seat, rubbing my thighs together. “I think you thanked me plenty.”
His eyes gleam with heat, clearly remembering as well. “You know what I mean.”
Biting my lip, I glance down shyly, then peek back up at him again.
It’s so strange that we’re here right now.
The circumstances aren’t exactly ideal - Jake’s really only in my life again because he feels the need to protect me.
Still, he seems different than before. More level-headed and grounded somehow. More serious and solid.
I know I need to be careful. I can’t give into my growing feelings for him so easily this time.
I don’t want my heartbroken again, plus there’s Lilah to consider.
If Jake finds out — when he finds out — that Lilah is his and that I chose not to reach out and try to tell him these past three years, he might hate me.
And I might deserve it.
“I’ve been enjoying having you around,” I confess, my cheeks burning. “I’m not going to lie, I dreaded the idea of you being in town, but…it’s been nice spending time together. And I really appreciate you stepping in to protect me. Or whatever you want to call it.”
He gives me a crooked little smile and reaches across the table to take my hand, brushing his thumb over my knuckles.