Chapter 21 – Philip
I’m worried about Haley. As we head to the safehouse, she sits in the front seat of my truck staring straight ahead. I reach for her hand, and it’s ice cold, so I lay her hand on my thigh and cover it with my own, hoping to warm her up.
She’s shutting down right before my eyes.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I say. “Between us and campus police, we’ll get this guy.”
“Not knowing who’s behind this is making me crazy. I suppose it could be Mark, but I don’t think it is. He’s blatantly inappropriate to my face. Why would he bother sending me anonymous notes when he’s okay with being a jerk to my face? But if it’s not Mark, then who is it?”
We arrive at the safehouse in about fifteen minutes.
I drive around to the back alley, pull up to the security gate, and input the access code.
As the metal gate swings slowly open, I drive onto the property.
Charlie follows me in. When we’ve cleared the gate, it swings shut and locks with a loud beep.
“Here we are,” I say. “Home sweet home, at least for the time being.”
The townhouse is a two-story brick building in a long row of similar attached buildings.
In the backyard is a two-story garage. The first floor is large enough to hold three vehicles.
The top floor is a separate apartment that doubles as a security office.
Charlie and Mateo will be living there, taking turns monitoring the security systems.
Charlie uses a remote to open the garage door and pull inside.
I park next to her, between her Civic and Mateo’s dark green Jeep Wrangler.
I shut off my engine and check my phone for messages. “Shane says he had some groceries and supplies dropped off here this afternoon, so we should have everything we need, at least for a while. If there’s anything missing, just let one of us know, and we’ll take care of it.”
“That was nice of him,” Haley says as she opens her door and hops out.
Charlie beats us to the back door. She opens it by entering a code into the electronic keypad. “Three eight four two,” she tells Haley.
“There’s no key?” Haley asks.
Charlie shakes her head. “No. This is more secure. The whole house has a back-up power source, so even if we lose power, the electronics still work.”
Charlie opens the door, and Haley walks inside. I follow them in.
“Wow,” Haley says as she takes in the spacious kitchen and all the stainless steel appliances. “Fancy.”
“This morning,” Charlie says, “Mateo and I inspected the property and verified all the electronics are working. All systems are go.”
“Thank you,” Haley says. “This looks like a professional kitchen.”
“Shane’s wife used to live here,” I remind her, “and her roommate was a professional sous-chef. Hence the upgraded kitchen.”
“Can you cook?” Charlie asks Haley.
Still a bit wide-eyed, Haley shakes her head. “Hardly.”
“No problem.” Charlie gives her a gentle nudge with her elbow. “I do. So does Mateo. I’ll teach you, if you like.”
Mateo brings up the rear and shuts the door. “The more important question is do you know how to protect yourself? Have you had any self-defense training?”
“Not really,” Haley admits. “Jasmine taught me a few things not long ago.”
“She doesn’t need to know,” I say, putting my arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. She lays her head against my bicep. “She has me.”
“She has us,” Charlie says. “But that’s no excuse for her not knowing how to protect herself.” She directs her gaze at Haley. “When we get some free time, I’ll teach you some basics you should know in case you find yourself in a bind. In the meantime, there’s something we need to do.”
Charlie nods to the kitchen table. “Would you set your backpack and purse on the table?”
“Sure,” Haley says, looking confused as she complies with Charlie’s request. “Why?”
“We need to make sure you’re not being tracked.” Charlie pulls a bug detector out of her pocket. “Guys,” she says to me and Mateo, “if you don’t mind, can you get lost for a few minutes?”
“They can stay,” Haley says.
“I just thought you might want some privacy,” Charlie says. “I’ll need to dump everything out of both bags.”
“It’s fine,” Haley says. “I have nothing to hide.”
“If you’re sure,” Charlie says. When Haley nods, Charlie proceeds to empty both Haley’s backpack and purse on the table. She runs the detector over all of Haley’s belongings and the empty bags as well.
“Clear,” Charlie says, rather unnecessarily as we’re all here to see that for ourselves. “I’m sorry, but we’ll have to do this each day after you return from school, just to be sure. It would be too easy for someone to slip something into one of your bags.”
Haley nods. “I’d gladly check a hundred times a day if it would prevent that creep from tracking me.”
“All right, guys, why don’t you bring in Haley’s things and take the boxes up to her room?”
Mateo and I head out the back door to get Haley’s belongings.
After I lower the truck’s tailgate, Mateo grabs a couple of boxes. “How are you doin’, mon?” he asks as he secures the load in his arms.
“I’m fine.” Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it. “I’m more focused on Haley. She seems a bit spooked.”
“Can you blame her? This stalker has done some pretty nasty tings.”
It takes a couple of trips for us to carry in all of the boxes. The kitchen is empty, but it’s not hard to figure out where the girls went. We can hear them laughing upstairs.
I head for the back staircase. “Let’s take these up to Haley’s room.”
There’s a convenient staircase that leads from the kitchen to the second floor landing. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms and one full bathroom. The primary bedroom is right off the landing, and the two smaller bedrooms and bathroom are down the hall.
“This way,” I say to Mateo as I pass the main bedroom. “Haley will be at the end of the hall, farthest from the stairs and landing. I’ll sleep in the bedroom at the top of the stairs.”
If anyone uninvited comes inside, he’ll have to get past me before he can get to Haley, and that’s not happening.
We enter Haley’s bedroom and find her seated on the side of a full-size bed, clutching a small, pink floral pillow to her chest. She looks more than a little bit out of her element.
It’s a mid-sized room—not too small or too big. Besides the bed, there’s a nightstand with a lamp, a small sofa, and a dresser with a mirror. The closet is open, but it’s small and empty except for some hangers on the clothing rod.
The walls are pale pink, and the bedding is white with pink roses. It’s definitely a girly room.
Charlie’s standing at the window, scoping out the street. “Nice neighborhood.” She lets the curtains fall back into place and turns to face us. Pointing to an open spot in the corner of the room, she says, “Set her boxes on the floor over there. I’ll help her unpack.”
“My room is at the other end of the hall,” I tell Haley. “I’ll be close by at night in case you need me.”
Charlie murmurs something under her breath that sounds like you wish, and Mateo bites back a chuckle. I give them both dirty looks.
Haley nods as she sits there clutching the pillow.
“Hey, guys,” I say. “Would you mind giving us a few moments?”
“Sure,” Charlie says as she heads for the door. “I’ll check out the pantry and find something for us to have for dinner. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starving.”
As Charlie passes by Mateo, she grabs his arm and pulls him out of the room with her.
I shut the door after them, and then I go sit next to Haley. “If you’ve changed your mind—”
“About what?” she asks, almost panicked.
“Living here. You can always move back home with your parents. You might feel safer there. We can install a security team outside their house to keep watch.”
She shakes her head. “No, this is fine. It’s just a lot to process.” She releases the pillow so she can take my hand.
“Talk to me, Hale. Tell me what you’re thinking. What you’re feeling.”
She runs her other hand over the pale floral bedspread beneath her. “I’m feeling a lot of anxiety. Panic mostly.”
“Because you have a stalker? That makes total sense.”
“No, I’m not worried about myself, well maybe a little bit.
Mostly I’m worried about my parents. I know they’re terrified for me.
And I’m especially worried about Erin. My mom is tough, so is my stepdad.
And Mack—he can handle anything. But Erin?
” She shakes her head. “You probably know about what happened to her.”
I nod. “Yeah, I heard. It’s awful.”
“She’s been through hell and back. If anything happened to her—or if the stalker so much as tried to scare her—I’d be devastated.”
I pull Haley onto my lap, so that she’s sitting sideways.
“We’ve taken all necessary precautions, sweetheart.
Shane has security watching your mom’s house, and he’s added extra security at the apartment building.
And this property—hell, it’s wired so tightly no one can approach it without the security team knowing.
Charlie, Mateo, and I will be monitoring the security feeds around the clock.
And, of course, I’ll be accompanying you to school. ”
The corners of her lips turn down. “I hate that everyone is going to so much trouble because of me.”
“Hey, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you, babe.” I thread my fingers through her silky hair and gaze directly into eyes that are the color of the darkest chocolate. “Your safety and happiness are my number one priority. Nothing else matters.”
My gaze drops to her mouth, and I’m gratified to see those lips turning upward. I could stare at her mouth for hours, days. For years. Her lips are the prettiest shade of pink and so soft. And when she smiles, my heart stops.
When I lean in to kiss her, she responds instantly, grasping my arms and tugging me close.
“There aren’t any cameras inside the house, are there?” she asks with a nervous chuckle.
“No. Just outside. Your privacy in the house is protected. Your mom and Mack insisted on that.”