Ashley sat frozen, her arms wrapped around her waist.A sex tape. She hadn’t.They hadn’t.She rose and pulled on a wrap. She needed coffee to deal with this—cluster-fuck.
A coffee-scent floated in her direction before she reached the kitchen. Nelson and Gerry sat at the breakfast bar, cups in hand while they whispered their conversation. They fell silent when they spotted her.
“I have never, ever made a sex-tape in my life.Never,” she added with emphasis. “I need coffee.” She stomped to the coffeemaker and poured herself a cup. “I don’t understand any of this.”
Josh appeared in the kitchen wearing jeans and nothing else. “Bastard had a camera in our bedroom,” he snapped. “I’ve disabled it now, but Summer said the video has spread over the web. Thank god, it was pictures only and not audio too.”
That was good news? Ashley moaned, her stomach roiling. Pictures were bad enough. “What am I going to do?”
“You will get ahead of this shit-fest before it rolls downhill,” Josh stated and set her phone on the counter beside her. “Summer is drafting a press release for you to approve. Ring your campaign manager and tell him what has happened. Make a public statement detailing everything the stalker has done to you. Be as honest as you can.”
“Josh is right,” Nelson said. “Where is the camera? I suppose it has your fingerprints on it now.”
“Probably,” Josh said, unrepentant. “There was no need to give the guy more entertainment than necessary.”
Ashley’s phone rang, and she scowled. “So it begins.” She answered the call. “Geoffrey, how can I help you?”
“We need someone to search every room for more cameras,” Josh said to Nelson. “Are we any closer to finding Robert?”
“The local cops spoke to his parents last night. They haven’t heard from him, but it wasn’t unusual to go a week between calls. They have no idea where he is or might have gone. According to them, he lived for his work and is loyal to Ashley. Neither of them had heard him speak negatively about her. As far as they knew, he was dedicated and thought she had a good chance of winning her seat.”
“Another dead end,” Josh said.
Nelson shrugged. “He’ll make a mistake soon. Get sloppy. Whoever the stalker is, he’s angry and vindictive. Someone will see him.”
Josh dragged a hand through his hair. “Summer informed me I’m in the video, toward the end. Ashley’s brother is gonna kill me. What a fuckin’ mess.”
Ashley jumped into damage control, and during her first engagement of the day, she read her statement. Her voice remained steady, she kept her head held high, and she didn’t flinch when the press pounced and asked questions.
“My stalker is deluded and wrong in his or her assertions. I am a law-abiding citizen who has become a victim of these increasingly serious pranks. He shot at my fiancé, and it was only pure luck that saved Josh from a worse injury.”
“What about the sex tapes?” someone called from the back.
“As I told you,” Ashley said in a frosty voice. “I have never and will never make a sex tape. My stalker planted a camera in my bedroom, where one assumes a measure of privacy. I’m engaged to Josh. What we do in the privacy of our bedroom is our business, and this stalker has broken the law by filming us. It is a breach of privacy, and when the police discover this person’s identity, they will charge him to the fullest extent of the law. Thank you.”
“I don’t believe you,” a man’s voice called from the rear. “Hand me the popcorn. I think you’re using drama to make the public sorry for you. You’re not a suitable candidate, and you’ve concocted this plan to win votes.”
Josh relocated toward the man hurling accusations at Ashley. Surely the press would see through this bullshit. The bullet graze on his arm had gushed enough blood to show the stalker was real and not a figment of Ashley’s imagination. Josh pushed past two men and a woman reporter. The speaker was in his sights but retreating. Josh thought back to the night Ashley’s car had broken down. From memory, she’d mentioned a man who’d asked her if she had secrets. She’d intimated he looked like a homeless man.
He’d make a safe bet that Ashley’s stalker was hiring people to harass her and put her off stride. With his gaze on his quarry’s black beanie, Josh closed in. He glimpsed two policemen approaching the man from the other side.
The man spotted them and turned toward Josh, his long black coat flapping as the man swung around, intent on escape.
Josh planted himself in front of the man and braced for contact.
“Get out of my way,” the man shouted.
“I believe the police wish to speak with you.” Josh swiveled and blocked the man when he attempted to duck around Josh.
“This is harassment.”
Around them, reporters started to pay attention. Josh stayed the man enough for the police to grab him.
“You can’t arrest me. I have done nothing wrong,” the man shouted.
“We’ll take it from here,” a policeman told Josh.
“This is false arrest!”
