Chapter Fifteen #2
“I don’t think so. I don’t think it was a robbery.”
“You think it was him?”
I nod.
“Shit,” he says again.
“We’ll wait over here,” I tell him. “There might be a few calls.”
“Of course.”
I take her over to the corner of the waiting area.
Should I get her out of the building? Is her life in danger?
She’s looking at me with her big green eyes, expecting me to take charge.
She’s so small, like a fragile bird. I move closer to her automatically, blocking the view of anyone coming into the lobby.
“Do you want to sit?” I ask awkwardly.
She shakes her head.
“A glass of water?”
“No. Luke, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, I needed to get you somewhere safe before we had this conversation.” I take a deep breath. “You have a stalker. He began sending you messages and gifts back in December. The security team has intercepted most of them, but the occasional one gets through.”
She blinks. “The roses?”
“Yes. And the whistle.”
Her jaw drops. “That wasn’t from Ella?”
“No.”
“What kind of messages?” she whispers. “Are they…” She swallows. “Death threats?”
“No, no. Nothing like that.” I’m trying to make her feel better, but we both know that him coming into her apartment and going through her underwear is creepy as fuck.
“You said someone might kidnap me and ask for a ransom—does he want money?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What the fuck does he want, then?”
“He wants to frighten you.”
She swallows. “He’s succeeding.” She’s breathing hard. “Everyone knows?” she asks, her eyes like a rabbit in the headlights. “Mum, Dad? Marcus and Caesar?”
“Yes.”
“All the security team?”
“Yes.”
“Roy knows.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze comes back to me. “And you knew. Back in December, at the ball.”
“Yes.”
She looks away, thinking. “Of course.” Her voice is a whisper. “It all makes sense now. Why it felt as if everyone was overreacting. And why I was the only one who was given a CPO.”
Her eyes flare. She’s getting angry. That’s good. I want her mad. That’s a hell of a lot better than being scared.
“Why didn’t they tell me?” she demands.
“Your parents thought it would frighten you. They didn’t want you to stop living your life. Marcus and Caesar thought you should know, but your parents insisted you weren’t to be told.”
“And you?” She looks hurt. “How could you keep this from me? I thought you were my friend.”
That stings. “I am. I always will be. But it was my job. I had to do what your parents wanted.” I dip my head to look into her eyes. “Even though it nearly killed me.”
She’s breathing fast, and her eyes are shining. I can see the emotion building up inside her. “Everyone’s coming here?”
“Yes.”
“The police, Ella, and my parents?”
“Yes.”
“Oh God.” Her eyes widen. “I don’t want everyone seeing it, talking about it, laughing…”
“Nobody’s going to be laughing, Aurelia, believe me.”
She sends me a pleading look. “Please… let me go back and put it in my bedside table.” For the first time, color appears in her cheek, and she looks mortified.
She’s not worried about the lingerie. It’s just clothing, and we both know nobody will flinch when they see that.
But the vibrator… it’s intimate, sexual.
The bastard chose it because he knew the thought of other people seeing it would humiliate her.
I understand completely why she wants to hide it.
“Sorry, but it’s evidence,” I say softly. “It could hold the bastard’s fingerprints, and I’m not going to give up that chance to catch him.”
She bites her bottom lip. “My father…”
My insides twist with pity. “I’ll make sure nobody sees it except the police officers. Okay?”
Her eyes blaze, and for a moment I think she’s about to try to take me down in a shoulder lock. But she just blinks and folds her arms. She’s trembling. “How did he get in?”
I want to take her in my arms and hug her, but I have to stay professional. “He must have access to a key card.”
“Do you have any idea who he is?”
“No. But every time he does something different, he reveals something else about himself. We’ll get him. I can guarantee you that.”
Except I can’t, of course. I have no idea who he is, how he got in, or why he’s so focused on her. I’m useless, and she knows it.
The main doors to the building slide open. It’s Ella, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She spots us and comes straight over. “Aurelia,” she says with relief, as I move back. She holds her by her upper arms and looks into her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Aurelia says stiffly.
Ella rubs her arm, then lowers her hands and looks at me. “You’ve told her?”
“I had to.”
To my relief, she just nods.
“I didn’t check the apartment,” I say awkwardly. “He might still be there. And I should have asked Rick to check the camera footage.”
“He’s onto it, don’t worry.” Ella touches my arm, too. “You recognized the threat and got her out. You did the right thing.”
I blow out a breath. I’m trembling a little, too. I guess it’s shock. I didn’t expect this to happen, not in her apartment.
Ella looks at Aurelia. Casually, she says, “Have you heard from Dominic lately?”
Aurelia isn’t fooled by her casual tone. “What?” Her eyes widen again. “You think Dominic did this?”
“No,” I say. “We don’t have anything to tie him to it.”
“We do,” Ella says. “The photo.”
“What photo?” I ask.
Ella looks at me, startled.
“I hadn’t got around to that,” I advise.
“What photo?” Aurelia demands.
Ella clears her throat. “We intercepted a photo sent to you by text. It turns out it was taken by Dominic.”
Aurelia looks from her to me. “What kind of photograph?”
“Of you lying on the bed,” I say reluctantly.
Her mouth forms an O. “Do I… have any clothes on?”
“No. But you’re on your front, mostly covered by the duvet.”
“You were tied up,” Ella says. I glare at her. I wouldn’t have mentioned that.
Aurelia turns absolutely scarlet. “Oh my God.” She looks at me. “You saw it?”
I give a short nod.
She covers her mouth with her hand and her eyes shine. “Did… my family see it?”
“No,” I reassure her. “I swear. They know about it, but we didn’t show them.”
“Jesus.” She turns and walks a few steps away. “This is like a nightmare.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.”
She turns back to face us. “Why did Dom send it?”
“I don’t think he did,” I say. “I think someone either hacked into his phone or broke into his cloud account and uploaded the photos from it.”
“Photos? Plural?”
“He still had several on there. He hadn’t deleted them.”
She gives a short, humorless laugh. “That fucking bastard.” Her eyes meet mine. “That’s why you went to his office?”
“Yes, to see whether he took them. When I realized he still had them, I wanted to kill him.”
Her expression softens, just a little. Then she looks past me, and I turn to see two police officers entering the building.
I feel a surge of relief. My job was to get her out of any dangerous situation and keep her safe. Technically, my work here is done.
But they’re going to have to use a crow bar to get me away from her. The threat is real, and I’m not leaving her side until this guy is caught.