There’s no possible way they can tell I rigged the algorithm, that much I’m certain of, but that doesn’t mean someone hasn’t tampered with our files, and with the limited information I have about Lexi’s attacker, I wouldn’t put it past him to have that kind of knowledge.
If I’ve got this call, there’s a very real chance Lexi has as well, and she’s probably freaking out.
My girl has an imagination that loves to run itself ragged.
I check the street again as I ponder my choices.
I could head home now, set Lexi’s mind at ease, and spend the rest of the day inside her pretty holes. But is that what this asshole wants? He wants to sow doubt into her mind, and me running to reassure her might play right into his hands.
The club is on the way back to the apartment, so I may as well do my checks there and then head home with lunch for my wildcat.
It was my final locked-in location to hit today anyway, and if our stalker somehow has access to my calendar, he won’t suspect anything is amiss by that move.
Decision made, I turn the corner to take the shortcut through the back streets.
I’ve been taking as many of these routes as I can because I’m more likely to spot someone out of place than I am on the busy street, but so far it hasn’t done me any good.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and when I pull it out and see Lexi’s face there, I can’t help but smile as I answer her call. “Wildcat.”
“Colten, you have to come home. He’s following you.” The panic in her voice makes my chest clench painfully. There’s nothing I hate more than seeing or hearing Lexi upset, and I doubt that will ever change.
“Lexi, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine! You’re the one being followed. He took photos of you. They were delivered to the apartment. There was a note. A threat.”
Her words are rushed and full of anxiety, but I get the general gist of what she’s telling me.
I don’t say it to her, but it’s good to know he has actually been following me today because I would have been pissed if I’d done Cruz’s least favorite job for him for no reason.
“It’s okay, Lexi. I’m okay, I promise. I’m just heading to one more club, and then I’ll be home.”
“No, Colten. Please come home now. I need to know you’re okay. Please.”
Warmth spreads through my chest. Knowing she’s as scared to lose me as I am her is weirdly reassuring, and I massage the space over my heart in the hope it will calm the erratically beating organ.
“I’m fine, Wildcat. Even if he is following me, I can take care of myself. I’m armed. I’ll be okay.”
A sniffle comes over the line, and my resolve wavers. I could do the final check tomorrow, or maybe just leave it to Cruz. He is partial to that club, seeing as it’s where he met Riley the night before their wedding, so he won’t mind that much.
I press my eyes closed for a moment, thinking through how this decision could be perceived by the stalker, but it really doesn’t matter.
All that matters is Lexi, and if she’s upset and needs me home to calm her, that’s what I’m going to do.
“Okay, I’ll come home.”
She breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Colt. Thank you.”
“I’ll see you in twenty.”
We end our call, and I slip the phone back into my pocket.
I’m almost to the end of the alley when I feel the cool barrel of a gun press to the back of my head, stopping me in my tracks.
“You should have kept your filthy hands off what doesn’t belong to you.”
FORTY-THREE
LEXI
