Page 102 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Stalker

I shook my head. “N… no,” I managed to gasp out.

“Daisy!” Jack’s voice came from somewhere behind me. He sounded panicked.

I sucked in a breath and ran over to the van. “Let me in, Ivan. Please.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” He clicked a button and the van door slid open. I practically launched myself inside.

I looked behind me and saw a male form running down the street after us. “Drive!” I shouted. Jack was still far enough away that I wasn’t sure he’d seen me, but he’d catch up quickly. He was running fast.

Ivan took off so fast at my screamed command that I fell out of my seat and landed hard on the floor of the van.

“Shit! Sorry, Daze.”

“No problem,” I lurched back up and into my seat, strapping my seatbelt across me. “God, I’m so glad you happened to be driving by right then.”

“Why? What the hell is going on?”

I looked up and met Ivan’s warm brown eyes in the rearview mirror. He looked so concerned, and I had to fight the tears back all over again. Why is it when someone shows sympathy when you’re feeling raw and vulnerable, you’re more likely to cry? “I think Jack’s a stalker,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. It was hard to admit it out loud.

“Seriously?” he snorted. “No way. That guy’s been on the cover of magazines and crap like that.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe he’s a stalker.” Then he frowned. “Well, he is weird, though. That whole order thing where he has to have the same thing every day.” He shrugged. “Hell, maybe he is a stalker.”

I looked out the window. “I’m afraid so.” I watched as we pulled out of Estates at South and headed towards downtown. “Where are you going? Back to the deli?”

“Nah. I’ll get the van back there tomorrow. I’ve got to drop this check by the bank, and then I’m headed home. Where do you want me to take you?”

I thought about it, unsure. I couldn’t go back to the condo. Jack had it under surveillance, and he’d expect me to go there. I could ask him to leave me at Sugar. But he didn’t know I worked for the Salazars. I didn’t want to have to answer a whole bunch of questions.

Ivan had just left Estates at South, and I didn’t really want to ask him to go back and leave me at Cinnamon House. I didn’t even know who would be home tonight. Everyone was probably at work. I shuddered. Jack would know to look for me there, too.

Where could I go? I ran through all my options and finally settled on Nia’s house. “Can you take me to Nia’s?”

“Sure. Do you know her address?”

I gave it to him.

“Hey are you thirsty?” He held up a water bottle, and I nodded.

“Gosh, yes. I’ve had nothing but champagne to drink over the past few hours.” He handed it back to me while keeping his eyes on the road. I took it gratefully. “Oh, you opened it for me. Thanks, Ivan. You’re so thoughtful.”

I glanced up. He was staring intently at me in the rearview mirror. “Can’t have you thirsty now, can we?”

I smiled, drank deeply from the bottle, and leaned back in the seat, worn out. It had been a long day and an incredibly bizarre night. I closed my eyes for a second, secure in the knowledge that I was safe with a friend.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Jack

I burst through the doors at Salazar Nights, only to find it mainly empty. It seemed the party had wrapped up, and most of the people around were from the nighttime cleaning crew.

“Fuck!” I yelled and had to stop myself from punching a wall.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Enzo Salazar walked up, a frown on his handsome face. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”

“It’s Daisy. I… screwed up. She thinks badly of me and ran out of the house.” I pushed a hand through my already messy hair. “I saw her get in some van, and now I can’t find her anywhere.”

Enzo looked confused. He was holding a glass of whiskey and leaning against the wall casually. “What the fuck did you do? I told you to treat her right, asshole.”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah. Well, I tried to, but I might not be the best at being a boyfriend. I’ve never actually done the whole relationship thing before.”