“They don’t have kids.”
“No, but she’s wise, like grandmother wise.”
“Oh shit, you’d better find a different way to phrase that. I don’t think Caroline would appreciate you calling her a grandmother.”
Wave snorted. “I won’t, not to her face. But they are both older. Heck, Wolf is almost as old as my grandfather.”
“Really?”
“Well, within ten, maybe fifteen years.”
“Dude, don’t tell them they are old when you call them.”
Wave pulled into the lot where they were meeting. “I won’t. I know Wolf could still kick my ass if he tried. I just think both of them have a handle on life, and I need some good life advice.”
“Yeah, I think we all do.”
Cy should talk to someone about Willa. She probably didn’t want him showing up out of the blue and asking more questions, but he didn’t think she would win this battle with Robert. The man seemed like the type who would punish her for some imagined slight. She already had bruises on her face. Any more punishment could put her in terrible danger.
7
Robert had wanted to ram his car into the back of that stupid idiot who’d blocked him from following Willa. If he had insurance, he would have run into the guy.
Anger still wound through him. He shouldn’t have to put up with this bullshit. Willa should be his.
He hated that she used Willa instead of Mina. When she was back with him, he would only use Mina because it sounded like Mine. And she was his.
Years ago, when that TV show about the guy who kept his girlfriend in the basement of his bookshop came out, he’d watched it like a middle-aged woman watching true crime documentaries. Studying the dude’s every move, not to escape death, but to figure out how to keep Willa close.
That idiot had made so many mistakes. There were too many things he’d gotten wrong. First, he’d picked wrong. And then he hadn’t used force to get her to stay.
Next time, he’d keep Willa shackled. He’d thought about building a quiet room for Willa, but hadn’t ever gotten around to it before she left San Francisco. But a quiet room wasn’t enough. He had to make sure she stayed with him for good.
He needed a better plan. If he showed up at her work again, she would go to the cops. He didn’t need that heat on him. There were a few things he’d done after Willa left that he’d gotten wrong.
When that woman fought back, he’d hit her too hard. Just seeing the blood drain from her had awakened something inside. He wasn’t here to do the same with Willa. Willa was forever. She was something to cherish. That other woman had been disposable.
8
Willa didn’t catch up with Bec the next morning. The woman left early for a trip to Sacramento. Good for Bec, but it sucked for her. She would have to wait until Monday, or maybe she could talk to Bec on Sunday night.
The man who dropped by may not have been Robert. The person might not have been looking for her at all. There were multiple women named Willa. Honestly, she hated the idea of someone out there looking for her.
Even before Robert started stalking her, she’d thought the idea of being stalked, someone watching her every move, lying in wait as she went about her day, was freaky as shit.
Someone had tried to get her to watch the TV seriesYou, but she couldn’t take it. Maybe she’d watched too many scary movies as a child. Her mom hadn’t cared what media she’d consumed. By the time she’d turned ten, she’d seenScreamand all theFriday the Thirteenthmovies. But those weren’t the only movies she watched. Every slasher flick she could get her hands on had been watched and rewatched. The scenes where the killer watched their victims, spying on them through windows, standing behind trees, or in bushes, those were the ones that got her.
To think Robert was out there, watching her, was almost too much. She had to believe that he wasn’t actually watching her, or she wouldn’t be able to function. When she arrived at Aces, she took a moment to study the cars in the lot. Every vehicle looked empty. But then she saw an SUV sitting a few spots down. There was a guy on the driver’s side who made eye contact with her, and then he opened the door of his vehicle.
Panic swept over her like a huge wave crashing against rocks. She thought about putting her car into gear and taking off, but something looked familiar about the guy. At first, she didn’t recognize him. Then his smile slipped, and he looked very serious. That was when she realized it was the guy who’d gotten Robert to leave Aces.
Relief dripped through her, and her shoulders deflated. She opened the door to her car and leaned out. “Sorry. I didn’t recognize you.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I was worried about you, and I had no other way to contact you.”
“Oh.” Why did he want to contact her?
“Last night I was reading an email and sitting in my car before I took off. I saw a white car drive past and got a good look at the guy. It was Robert. You walked out while I was figuring out what to do. He followed you.”
