King mumbled, “Determined little bastard. Did you get all of his info for the reports?”
“Yup. Mack and I can get started on the paperwork. Could we have done anything differently?”
“No, and we can’t blame Mack for doing his job. We got him, and Ms. Flores is safe. That’s all that matters. You guys take him down to the police. I’ll stay here with her and get started on the report.”
Chase said, “Roger that,” and went out to the hallway. I heard Mack tell the stalker, “Let’s go, jackass. TheBed and Breakfastis waiting for you. You’ll like it. Stainless steel toilets and complementary bars throughout. Meals are included.”
I walked over to the window. King waited until Chase and Mack were out of earshot and asked me, “What do we do with windows?”
I felt terrible, and said, “We lock them, smarty.”
“Yeah, but don’t beat yourself up over it. You’ve been stressed out, and it’s that psycho’s fault, anyway. It’s locked now. I locked it when I shut it to stop the draft from getting in.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Standing there, I looked down at the street below. It was quiet. My eyes darted to every corner where someone could be standing, watching, waiting…waiting to try something again. I thought,Would this experience always have me looking over my shoulder?Is it just a hazard of the job I’ve chosen?Blowing out a breath, I said, “King…”
“Yeah…” he was still looking down at his phone.
“I want you to stayinhere with me. Stay with me in my apartment tonight. I know he’s locked up, but I don’t want to be alone. Will you?”
I wondered if he would say yes, and if we could handle it if he did.
Chapter 13
King
When Serayah asked me if I’d stay the night, I didn’t know if we could handle being so close to each other, I tried to let her down easy. “Ms. Flores…”
Her expression changed from soft to annoyed. She crossed her arms and said, “STOP calling me, ‘Ms. Flores.’ You called me ‘Serayah’ earlier.”
“What?”
“When you saved me from the stalker, you called me ‘Serayah.’”
“Well, it was a lapse in judgment. I shouldn’t have called you that. Therearerules, Ms. Flores, and I know I fail at it sometimes, but I’mtrying, especially after Nico.” I was scared for her, and I didn’t want anything to happen to her.
She huffed out, “You frustrate me.”
“I know, but protecting you is my duty, Ms. Flores. Listen, if you really want me to stay here with you, I will, but only if I sleep on the couch.” Staying in her apartment was the worst idea I had since trusting Nico.
“Fine,” she said.
I nodded and asked her, “What time do you typically get up?”
“I’m usually up at…” She looked at the clock on the wall and said, “Right now…four a.m. to write every morning. I’m going to lie back down for about an hour, though, and see if I can get a wink of sleep. You should plan on staying a little while. I’ll need security for another week, just to make sure that this guy is my only stalker.” Then, she walked to her bedroom and glanced at me briefly before shutting the door.
Quietly, I let out a deep breath and dragged my hands down my face. I was exhausted and still coming down off the adrenaline spike. If anything had happened to her, I don’t know what I would’ve done. Murdering that nutcase wasn’t off the table.
It was time to call Cass. I rang him up and let him know how we arrested the guy and turned him over to the police.
He asked, “Is everyone okay?”
I said, “Yeah, Ms. Flores is a little shaken up, but everyone is fine. She wants another week of security though, just to make sure there’s no one else stalking her.”
He sounded impressed, and said, “Smart girl. Have that report to me by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.”
