12. Sarah
Shit. She shouldn’t have told Theo that.
‘What the hell, Sarah?’ Theo jumped from the chair and spun to face her, cut hair falling around them like rain.
Did she accidentally cut a big chunk out of Theo’s perfect hair? Should that be something she was thinking about right then? Probably not, but focusing on the normal things would stop her from freaking the fuck out.
‘It’s nothing,’ she said, taking her phone back from Theo and tucking it into her pocket.
‘That is not nothing.’
‘I… ah… I misspoke.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘Please sit down. You’re drawing attention to us.’
‘I really don’t give a fuck about that right now,’ he said, but he did as she asked, lowering himself back into the chair and glaring at her in the mirror.
Sarah avoided his eyes and checked the haircut. It was fine. Her scissors had been well out of the way when she’d handed Theo the phone.
‘Tell me the truth,’ he said. His jaw was clenched so tight the muscles twitched and a vein stuck out down his neck.
Sarah ran her fingers through his hair—partly to calm him, partly to calm her, and partly to check the cut. She didn’t think she could hold scissors right then, and there was no way she’d allow herself to even attempt to cut his hair—not with her hands shaking so much.
‘There was a guy,’ she started, unsure how to explain the situation. The police had barely believed her, especially since she couldn’t identify him. ‘He started sending me gifts. Innocent things at first, like stuffed toys and candles; flowers once or twice. Then I would get phone calls. There would be no one on the other end. He would never speak. Then he started sending text messages.’
‘Please tell me you went to the police. Please tell me he was arrested.’
‘They couldn’t arrest him, because I didn’t know who it was.’
‘Couldn’t they track his calls? The messages?’
‘All from a prepaid phone.’
‘That’s ridiculous. What the hell are the police doing?’
‘It’s not their fault. I couldn’t give them anything to go on.’
‘You never saw him?’
‘Just… once. I felt like someone had been following me a few times, but there was never anyone there. Then one night, I saw him.’
‘Who was it?’
‘I don’t know. I couldn’t see his face. I don’t even know if it was really him or just some random person on the street that I was projecting on.’
‘So what did you do?’
‘I moved. I changed my number, and I changed my job. I’ve heard nothing from him for months.’
‘Until today?’
‘Until today,’ she agreed.
Her fingers were still in Theo’s hair, except she was no longer stroking. She had a vice grip on the thick strands—not that Theo seemed to notice or mind. He was also clinging tightly to the arms of the chair.
‘It’s that Bodie guy,’ he said decisively.
‘It’s not Bodie.’
‘How can you be sure?’
‘I just… know.’
Theo grumbled something under his breath that Sarah couldn’t hear. She relaxed her fingers and picked up a comb and the spray bottle. Theo now had a kink in his hair from where she’d been gripping.
‘I know what you’re doing,’ she said.
‘What?’ Theo looked right at her in the mirror.
‘You are thinking about every person you passed on the street this morning. You’re thinking about every person we may have run into when we were out the other night.’
‘How—’
‘Because that’s what I did. It’s probably what I’ll be doing for the next however long it takes to find him or throw him off my scent again.’
Theo was quiet for a long time, and Sarah busied herself with styling. Running the blow dryer gave her a few more minutes before the inevitable questions would continue.
‘Move in with me,’ he said when she switched the hair dryer off.
Sarah snorted a sardonic laugh. ‘With you and your mother? I don’t think so.’
‘I’m buying a place today?—’
‘Theo, you know it’s going to take longer than a day to buy a place. Besides, I don’t want to run again. I let that bastard disrupt my entire life before. I don’t feel like doing it again.’
‘Let’s go overseas. I can get work in Paris. You would love Paris. Or Japan? It’s a bit hot there right now, but we could go to Hokkaido…’
Sarah rested her hands on Theo’s shoulders and gently massaged them. ‘I’m not running away.’
‘It’s not running away. It’s self-preservation. I can hire someone to impersonate you, someone with combat experience, an undercover cop, or something. We get out of the country, and she takes your place, and they set a trap for him?—’
Sarah leaned down and kissed his cheek. ‘You’re being very sweet and a little… ridiculous. Thank you, but no.’
Theo spun the chair so he was facing her again. ‘So what are you going to do? Just wait until something more serious happens?’
‘The police can’t do anything unless he does.’
‘That’s… I can’t even put into words how much that sucks. So, this guy has to hurt you before they can do anything?’
‘I suppose technically he hasn’t broken the law?—’
‘That’s bullshit. Stalking is illegal.’
‘Except we don’t know who he is.’
Sarah rubbed her face, not caring if she messed up her makeup. Their conversation was going around in circles. She understood Theo’s reaction. If she was by herself, then she would probably have the same reaction. And sure, running away to Paris sounded amazing, but it wasn’t practical. She’d just gotten her life back on track. She’d poured her blood, sweat, and tears into her salon, and she would not abandon it.
Theo stood and pulled her into his arms. She relaxed against him, feeling the solid security of his body. She closed her eyes, and for just a moment, she let him be her strength.
‘What do you need me to do?’ Theo said softly, keeping her wrapped in his hug.
She pulled back, just a bit, so she could look up at him. ‘I need a new phone?—’
‘Done,’ he said.
‘Nothing expensive… actually, I don’t need a phone, just a SIM card?—’
‘New phone, what else? A car? A week in a hotel? Flights to Jamaica?’
Sarah laughed. ‘Jamaica?’
He smiled down at her. ‘It was worth a shot.’
‘Just a SIM card,’ she said.
‘And you’ll tell Alexis?’
Sarah pulled out of his arms and turned to clean up the station. She had another client coming soon?—
‘Sarah. You are going to tell Alexis, right? And your parents? Your brother?’
She paused and turned back to him. ‘I don’t want to worry them. It could be a wrong number. I could be freaking out over nothing.’
‘If you don’t tell Alexis, then I will.’
‘You wouldn’t.’
‘Watch me,’ Theo said, and Sarah had never seen him look so serious.
‘Fine. We’ll tell Alexis. But I won’t tell my parents yet. My mother would get too hysterical, and I just can’t deal with that on top of everything else.’
‘And tell your brother and… Bodie.’ Theo screwed up his face as he said Bodie’s name.
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Now get out of here. I have work to do.’
‘I’ll be back to pick you up at midday?—’
‘What?’
‘Apartment hunting, remember?’
‘Theo, no. I’m meeting Alexis, and we’re coming together.’
‘Then I will come and pick both of you up.’
‘Theo—’
He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders, imploring her to look at him.
‘Please,’ he said, his voice low and rough. ‘Please, just do this for me.’
Sarah returned his gaze and finally relented. ‘Fine. But remember, we’re not supposed to be together.’
‘Seriously? We’re still going with that?’
‘Take your pick. I tell Alexis about the stalking, or we tell her we’re dating. It’s one or the other. Not both.’
‘You are being extremely pig-headed about this.’
‘Those are my conditions.’ Sarah crossed her arms and stepped back out of his reach. ‘Choose.’
Theo swore softly. ‘Fine. We’ll pretend we’re not dating. Happy?’
Sarah beamed a smile at him. ‘See you at lunchtime.’