“Our guy fucked up big time with the latest stunt,” Whit announced, his deep voice filled with satisfaction. “He missed the camera you added to the alley last night, and we got a clear shot of his face, his car, and the license plate. He got cocky. Didn’t even bother to swap out the plates or use a different vehicle. We have his name and address, along with visual confirmation from his driver’s license that it’s him.”
A surge of adrenaline coursed through my veins. “Were you able to follow his vehicle on the city’s street cams to see where he went?”
“Yup, and the bastard headed straight to his house. I just drove past and can confirm he’s home.”
I turned to look at Mel as I asked, “Did you call the cops already?”
Her eyes widened, and she crawled off the bed, throwing on clothes while Whit answered, “Yeah, but only because they’re already involved, and I don’t want you to be stuck with conjugal visits for the foreseeable future. So, if you want to see him taken away in cuffs, get your ass over here. I’ll text you the address. No way in hell is he going to get past me. Your woman will be safe in your fortress while you take care of this.”
I disconnected the call and waited until his text came through before I walked over to Mel. I could get there in under fifteen minutes, so I wouldn’t be gone long. “I need to go. I’ll be gone for less than an hour. I’ll set the alarm before I go and let the doorman know that nobody’s allowed up until I get back. Turn your show back on and wait for me.”
Her bottom lip trembled as she asked, “They found him?”
“Yes.” I walked over and wrapped my arms around her. “Whit has eyes on him, so he’s not going anywhere until he’s arrested. And with the evidence they have against him, a conviction will be a slam dunk.”
She heaved a deep sigh and nodded before stepping back to climb onto the bed. Then she turned the television back on and pulled the blankets all the way up to her chin. I knew the next hour would be hell for her, but I needed to be there when he was arrested in case anything went wrong. Once she was settled, I went into my closet and got dressed, pausing only to drop a kiss on the top of Mel’s head before I took off.
I ignored the speed limit and pulled up behind Whit’s truck thirteen minutes later. Four squad cars were parked in front of the perp’s house, lights flashing. I’d arrived just in time to watch two of the police officers walk up to the door and knock on the hard surface. Things went FUBAR from there, though.
Instead of opening the door, the douchebag broke one of the front windows with the barrel of a hunting rifle. “Fuck,” I hissed, drawing my Glock from my side holster. Whit did the same as we edged closer to provide backup to the officers who’d responded to the call. The guy who’d been after Mel wasn’t fucking around and peppered the area with bullets. Luckily, he couldn’t aim for shit and didn’t hit anyone. One of the cops laid down fire toward the window so the two by the door could retreat, and the asshole must’ve been dumber than I thought because he didn’t even drop low. I saw him take a direct hit to the chest through the broken window, and then there was eerie silence surrounding us.
Whit and I reholstered our weapons before the cops noticed us. We lifted our hands in the air, and Whit called out, “Kane Security. We’re the ones who called in his address. He’d been stalking one of our clients.”
Everything went quickly after they checked our identification and confirmed our story. Since it was an officer-involved shooting, the crime scene was going to be active for a lot longer than I’d told Mel I’d be gone. But the detective working her case knew about our relationship and was able to get my initial statement done quickly so I was only a little late. Ninety minutes after I’d left my woman, I was able to tell her the threat was permanently over. The only way I would have been happier was if I’d been the one to end the guy’s life.
13
MELISANDE
Almost twelve hours after Devon told me what had happened when the cops had gone to arrest my stalker, I was still having a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that my ordeal was actually over. The man who’d done so much to try to terrorize me—some of which I’d never know—was dead.
Devon had been worried about leaving me alone when he went to the police station, but I’d told him that I was fine. I’d been telling the truth, but then everything started to sink in a few hours after he left. I still hadn’t gotten out of bed, which probably wasn’t helping my mood because I was just staring up at the ceiling and getting lost in my thoughts.
I needed to do something so I wasn’t curled into the fetal position when Devon came back. Stretching my arm out, I patted my palm against the top of the bedside table until I felt my cell phone. Curling my fingers around it, I lifted my arm and held the screen toward my face. I didn’t have any missed calls or text messages from Ana, but it was past time that I let her know what had been happening.
Bracing myself for how upset she was going to be, I pulled her up in my contacts and clicked on her phone number, quicklyswitching it to speaker mode. She picked up on the second ring and squealed, “I’m guessing things have been going well with your knight in shining armor since I haven’t heard from you in so long.”
“I really wish that’s why I’ve been so quiet,” I warned before explaining everything that had happened over the past nine days.
“Holy crap, Mel. I can’t believe some psycho was stalking you. Why didn’t you call me sooner?”
I set the phone between my boobs and scrubbed my palms down my face. “I didn’t want you to worry. Not when there wasn’t anything you could do about what was going on.”
“I’m so sorry,” Ana cried. “If I hadn’t put up that stupid auction and done the television interview, your life never would’ve been in danger. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Ana, stop. This isn’t your fault.” I picked up the phone and moved to a sitting position, crossing my legs. “I know I gave you a hard time about how a serial killer could have bid on me, but that’s not what happened. Devon won that auction and really has been my knight in shining armor ever since.”
“Yeah, but what if he hadn’t seen the interview and that guy was the one who had the highest bid?”
My sister tended to get overly dramatic when she was upset, so I wasn’t surprised she wasn’t willing to let this go. “You never would’ve given him my information, Ana. You had your neighbor who’s a cop look into Devon, right? You would’ve done the same for the bad guy, dumped his bid when he didn’t get the thumbs-up from your neighbor, and moved on to the next bidder.”
“All this time, I’d thought you’d gone radio silent because you were spending all your free time with Devon.”
I was glad that I neglected to tell her about the guy’s lack of criminal history because she finally calmed down...while Igot a chill up my spine at the thought of how horribly wrong everything could have gone if Devon hadn’t stepped in to save me before either of us knew that was what he was doing. I forced a light note into my voice as I said, “You wouldn’t have been wrong. Devon has barely let me out of his sight since we flew back from Portland. It’s going to be super weird going from spending twenty-four seven together to seeing each other a few times a week or whatever normal couples do when they’re dating.”
“I bet. But it’s not as though there’s a rule that says you have to go back to your apartment right away.” She made kissy noises into the phone. “I bet Devon would be cool with you staying longer.”
“I don’t know. The idea of staying at my place gives me the heebie-jeebies.” I shivered, thinking about what it would take to clean up the DNA the stalker had left behind. I’d probably have to get rid of everything in my bedroom and sleep on my couch until I saved up enough to buy a new bed. “But I can’t just assume that I’m staying here.”
