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“Grumpy ass man,” I mumble as I hang up the phone and look up at Mercedes. She’s chewing on her bottom lip as she reads something on her phone, not paying any attention to me.

“What are you doing over there?” I ask her, and her head pops up.

“I texted the lawyers and asked them what we could do but it’s not looking good. Do you know his name?”

I shake my head. “Just Chris but there is no guarantee that it’s his real name.”

“Shit. Without his name, we can’t even get a restraining order. I’ll look into beefing up security here but you should go be with Logan today. Just take your laptop with you, and I’ll have the letters delivered.”

My world is spinning, and I feel like I can’t even grab onto anything to keep me from falling into the abyss of this insanity. “Mercedes, I can’t just go running back home every time something happens. I need to work. You didn’t hire me to never be here.”

“Uh, one,” she snaps, her voice taking on a bit of an attitude, “you can work from anywhere, and two, you won’t be doing anything if this psycho kidnaps you or worse.”

I scoff. “Yeah, right.”

“You think I’m kidding?” she asks, leveling a glare at me. “Maybe when you’re done writing your column, you should do some research on stalkers. I’ve been reading up since this whole thing started. This is serious, Ali, and I’m sure your man would appreciate it if you started being more careful. Now, go home.”

Without another word, she stands and marches out of my office as I gape at her. Her words sunk in though, and I turn to my computer to do some research on stalkers when I remember that I promised to text Logan. My fingers shaking, I grab the phone and fire off a text to him.

Me:

Leaving now.

Logan:

I’ll be here.

Logan:

Please be careful, Kitten.

My heart breaks reading his message, and as I pack up my things, I promise to be more considerate of what he’s going through right now. Just as I’m about to step out of my office, a large man fills the doorway, and I gasp, slapping my hand over my heart as I take a step back.

He holds his hands up in front of him. “Sorry, ma’am. I’m the new intern. Mercedes sent me to carry a box out to your car for you.”

Sucking in a breath, I nod. “It’s okay. You just startled me,” I tell him, peeking around his wide body as Mercedes stops outside the door and grins at me.

“Lance, here, is going to help you carry the letters out to your car, Ali,” she says, a triumphant look flashing across her face. Of course she had to go find the biggest man in the office. He’s got to be well over six feet tall, and he’s as wide as a linebacker with a shiny, bald head and white smile. His polo shirt is stretched so far around his massive arms that it looks like it’s going to burst at any moment.

“It’s that box there,” I instruct, pointing to the box on the couch, and when he steps into the office to grab it, I glance over at Mercedes and roll my eyes. She practically skips back to her office as Lance follows me out of my office.

He’s quiet as we step out of the building and walk down the sidewalk to the parking garage. Even with him next to me, I start to feel like someone is watching me, and I pick up my pace, ready to get away from here and back to Logan all of a sudden. My heartbeat pounds in my ears, and it takes every ounce of restraint I have not to run the rest of the way to my car.

By the time we reach my car, my nerves are shot. I’m shaking, and my breath is choppy as Lance puts the box on the floor of the passenger seat and comes back around to stand in front of me.

“Thank you,” I say, my eyes darting all over the garage floor like danger might jump out at any second. He smiles and nods.

“No problem. Do you need anything else?”

I shake my head, and he tells me to have a good day before turning and walking back out of the garage. As soon as he’s out of sight, I climb into the car and lock it twice before grabbing the wheel and trying to force air into my lungs. No matter what I do though, it doesn’t help, and I know there’s only one thing that will make me feel better right now.

Logan.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alison

Tentatively, I walk up the sidewalk to Logan’s front porch, eyeing the open door before glancing around me. “Logan?”