“I’ll be walking the perimeter as the gear hasn’t arrived yet. But tomorrow, you can set it up and install it, then get to work trying to track down the stalker via his tweets and messages while monitoring the system.”
“I’ll start tonight,” Bryce said. He held up the folder. “I have enough to get a foothold.”
“The shipment is scheduled to arrive by 8 AM tomorrow,” Nash said. “You can get here then to start the install. Here’s the stats on what’s incoming.” Nash handed Bryce a paper listing all of the equipment on order.
“This is comprehensive,” Bryce observed. “Good.”
“I can help with the camera mounts in the morning, that shouldn’t take long,” Nash said. “Then you can set up in here with the other hardware.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Bryce agreed, shaking Nash’s hand.
Bryce and Nash left Steve in the pool house. But before they left, Bryce noticed a men’s toiletry bag by the sink in the bathroom and a duffel on the bed of the second guest room. Bryce bristled, jealous that Steve would get to sleep so close to Hayley. Bryce hadn’t even gotten to meet her yet. Would he? Or would he just do the install and leave? He didn’t want to ask; he didn’t want to seem too eager, too obvious like a kid with a crush.
He started the engine on his rental and backed out of the driveway, staring at the house’s dormer windows as he went, wondering if the beautiful Hayley Wild was watching the men tasked to protect her from behind the blinds.
6
Haley’s Muse
Hayley didn’t understandwhy her mother felt the need to turn the house into Fort Knox because of one car accident. Plenty of drivers fled the scene after causing a crash for a variety of reasons. Hayley hadn’t felt like the man in the other car had been approaching her in a threatening way before he took off, but then again, her mother always said she lacked common sense when it came to danger and other people. Hayley had a compassionate disposition towards people and, in general, was too quick to place her trust in strangers she had just met. The world was was cold enough without thinking everyone in it was a threat.
Still, her mind had shifted slightly since receiving the text message yesterday.
Hayley peaked out from behind the curtains of her room, as the security team walked across the back patio toward the pool house. She’d met Nash and Steve already, but then the new guy had arrived. Hayley sucked in air as he turned so she could see his face – he was the most handsome guy Hayley had ever seen, and it surprised her. She’d been expecting another older man – grizzled and grey – like Steve and Nash.
This one, though – the guy her mother said was flying in from New York to set up the home security system with top of the line features – couldn’t be older than his early twenties. Hayley could tell just by the cut of his clothes that he wasn’t the kind of computer geek who sat behind a desk all day - he worked out. A lot. Mia was right that Hayley had a type - muscles from top to bottom, with a face that was equal parts small-town boy sweet, and dashing like Daniel Craig’s James Bond portrayal. Hayley had somehow assumed she’d never see a man like that in Jackson, let alone on her own property. She glanced down at the notebook she had written and scribbled lines in over the past hour, trying to write lyrics that proved she could pen a love song notsecretly written for her dog. Maybe Mia was right – she’d simply been lacking sufficient inspiration.
Hayley slowly sipped her glass of ice water, trying to cool the heat that crept up her body as she watched the new man survey the house and grounds. His features were sharp, and his eyes seemed to take in everything, a little like a human processor. Hayley shook her head. Guys like that were probably cold, calculating and singularly focused on their job. She was projecting on him because that’s what she wanted to see. She leaned closer to the window to check him out again. If only Mia was there with her, they would giggle over how cute the man was, like they’d had in middle school.
Hayley glanced around the room, embarrassed even though she was alone, and took out her phone instead. She pressed her phone to the glass, zoomed in, and snapped a picture of the new guy. She texted it to Mia, with a quick note:Who says hot guys can’t fall in your lap?Or your pool house.
The man turned toward the house to say something to Steve, before he disappeared into the pool house.
Hayley held her breath, suddenly seized by the desire to run downstairs and introduce herself. But what would he think of her? That she was some silly girl with too much money, throwing it away on unnecessary security measures that were better suited for presidents and royalty?
For all Hayley knew, her mother had ordered a personal Pope mobile to sit in and wave at fans after concerts – bulletproof glass and all. Mrs. Wild had always been overprotective, but it wasn’t without reason. She had often been the only person standing between Hayley and Valerie when their father was drunk and violent. Hayley still couldn’t describe how freeshe felt when her parents had finally divorced. She had felt even freer when her first royalty check had arrived and she could buy her mother a new, reliable car. Since then, Hayley had been able to buy this house, pay for Valerie’s school tuition and gymnastics class, and hire a maid service to give her mother a break for the first time in her life. If hiring security gave her mother peace of mind, Hayley didn’t want to fight her. But still, it was embarrassing. She felt as though she did not merit this level of fuss.
Then again, Hayley thought, straining to see the new guy through the pool house window, her mother’s paranoia had led to this excellent view she now enjoyed.
Hayley crossed out the lyrics she’d been working on, and started again:
Dreamed up a man no one could resist
Easier to love a dream who can never exist.
Saw you from a story up, some stories just won’t stay made up.
Hayley wiped away flecks of eraser from her previous thoughts, when her phone dinged. Mia.
Shut up. He’s gorgeous. Who is that?
New security guy, Hayley wrote back.
Mia wasted no time replying:Get on that. Or I will.
Hayley laughed to herself and put her phone away. She knew she was just procrastinating. She tried a few more lines about handsome strangers and instant chemistry, when her phone dinged again.
She took it out, expecting a text from her manager or Mia. Instead, a new number appeared. Hayley’s stomach squeezed. Who could be the sender? Less than ten people had her personal cell phone number. The text message had been short:I like my wife in blue.
