That damn lion. He had to go and interfere in his plans. He watched from the shadows as she removed the choker while talking to the lion. What did he say to make her change her mind? Why did he have such a hold over her? It should behimwith that kind of hold over his precious gem, not that damn lion.
At the end of her shift, he waited for them to leave and noticed the other woman with his precious gem. A bodyguard? That complicated things. He needed a new plan. He headed home to start plotting.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Frankie
She settled into her new normal. She went everywhere with her shadow, AKA Sumi, hot on her heels. After a week, they were no closer to finding her stalker, and she was getting frustrated.
"I thought you said they were good," she said to Yaeger.
"They are, but they need something to go off of and so far, there's nothing. Silas is working night and day to find him."
"I know. I'm just frustrated. I'm sorry," she said with a sigh.
"It's okay, darlin'. You have a right to be. This whole thing has altered your life. We'll find him, I promise, and stop him."
"Don't. Don't make promises you might not be able to keep. I'll see you at work tonight," she told him and kissed him before she left his cabin to head back home to get ready.
It was a busy night, and she had to go to the back to restock several times already. Yaeger was at his usual table and had just ordered another lager from Tara, one of the waitresses. Frankie poured it and stepped in the back to restock yet again.
When she came back out, her world shifted. Tara was in Yaeger's lap and they looked awfully cozy. She stalked across the tavern and slammed her hands down on the table. "What the fuck is going on here?"
"F…Frankie, it's not what you think," Tara said at the anger in her voice.
"Really? Because it sure as fuck looks like you're canoodling with my man," she snarled. "How could you? I thought we were friends, but friends don't do this kind of shit. And you," she hissed, pointing at Yaeger, "I'll deal with you later." She had to get back to work.
"Wait, darlin'," Yaeger said, and his voice sounded funny.
"Don't you darlin' me," she hissed, ignoring how he sounded. It was probably just because he got caught.
When her shift ended, she rushed out, trying to avoid Yaeger. She couldn't face him. Not after seeing him with Tara. How could he do that to her? To them?
"I think there's more to this than we know," Sumi said to her once they were in the car. "Has he ever shown an interest in anyone besides you before?"
"No."
"Then why now, when all of this is going on with the stalker?"
"You think he had something to do with it? That's crazy."
"It's always a possibility," Sumi countered. "Stalkers come up with all sorts of crazy schemes."
Frankie thought about what she said as she drove home. Maybe Sumi was right. Maybe there was more to it than she knew.
They made it back to her house, and she barged inside, not letting Sumi check it out like usual. She was too pissed off to care.
Sumi followed her in and followed her to the kitchen. Suddenly, someone was behind her. There was a prick to her neck, and she turned, getting a look at her attacker, before blackness ate at her vision.
"Stupid leopard, you should have checked for interlopers," a voice hissed as she slid to the ground.
"Sumi!" Frankie yelled when she saw the woman go down. Then she saw who was in her kitchen. "You? It's been you all this time?"
"Yes, my precious gem, now you're coming with me," he said and pounced on her before she could think to try to run.
He jabbed something into her neck and the world started to go dark. "He'll find me," she mumbled before she passed out.
He'd felt fuzzy after the first few drinks of his lager. Next thing he knew, the waitress was in his lap, nuzzling him. He tried to move her off of him, but his arms didn't want to work right. When Frankie came over, misunderstanding the entire thing, she was pissed. But she wouldn't give him the chance to explain. He'd figured he'd explain after she got off. The waitress roofied him. He didn't know why, but she did. When Frankie bolted before he could get to her, he swore under his breath. Then he stalked over to the waitress who'd roofied him and grabbed her arm. "We need to talk."
